Tennessee Williams: Small Craft Warnings

Overview

© https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/tennessee-williamsRetrieved 21 July 2023For classroom and educational purposes only.
Williams was born Thomas Lanier Williams on March 26, 1911, in Columbus, Mississippi, the second of Cornelius and Edwina Williams' three children. Raised predominantly by his mother, Williams had a complicated relationship with his father, a demanding salesman who preferred work instead of parenting. Williams described his childhood in Mississippi as pleasant and happy. But life changed for him when his family moved to St. Louis, Missouri. The carefree nature of his boyhood was stripped in his new urban home, and as a result, Williams turned inward and started to write. His parent's marriage certainly didn't help. Often strained, the Williams home could be a tense place to live. "It was just a wrong marriage," Williams later wrote. The family situation, however, did offer fuel for the playwright's art. His mother became the model for the foolish but strong Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie, while his father represented the aggressive, driving Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. In 1929, Williams enrolled at the University of Missouri to study journalism. But he was soon withdrawn from the school by his father, who became incensed when he learned that his son's girlfriend was also attending the university. Deeply despondent, Williams retreated home, and at his father's urging took a job as a sales clerk with a shoe company. The future playwright hated the position, and again he turned to his writing, crafting poems and stories after work. Eventually, however, the depression took its toll and Williams suffered a nervous breakdown. After recuperating in Memphis, Williams returned to St. Louis where he connected with several poets studying at Washington University. In 1937, returned to college, enrolling at the University of Iowa. He graduated the following year. When he was 28, Williams moved to New Orleans, where he changed his name (he landed on Tennessee because his father hailed from there) and revamped his lifestyle, soaking up the city life that would inspire his work, most notably the later play, A Streetcar Named Desire. He proved to be a prolific writer and one of his plays earned him $100 from the Group Theater writing contest. More importantly, it landed him an agent, Audrey Wood, who would become his friend and adviser. In 1940 Williams' play, Battle of Angels, debuted in Boston. It quickly flopped, but the hardworking Williams revised it and brought it back as Orpheus Descending, which later was made into the movie, The Fugitive Kind, starring Marlon Brando and Anna Magnani. Other work followed, including a gig writing scripts for MGM. But Williams' mind was never far from the stage. On March 31, 1945, a play he'd been working for some years, The Glass Menagerie, opened on Broadway. Critics and audiences alike lauded the play, about a declassed Southern family living in a tenement, forever changing Williams' life and fortunes. Two years later, A Streetcar Named Desire opened, surpassing his previous success, and cementing his status as one of the country's best playwrights. The play also earned Williams a Drama Critics' Award and his first Pulitzer Prize. His subsequent work brought more praise. The hits from this period included Camino Real, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Sweet Bird of Youth. The 1960s were a difficult time for Williams. His work received poor reviews and increasingly the playwright turned to alcohol and drugs as coping mechanisms. In 1969 his brother hospitalized him. Upon his release, Williams got right back to work. He churned out several new plays, a book of poetry titled Androgyne, Mon Amour in 1977, a collection of short fiction called Eight Mortal Ladies Possessed: a Book of Stories in 1974, as well as Memoirs in 1975, which told the story of his life and his afflictions. But he never fully escaped his demons. Surrounded by bottles of wine and pills, Williams died in a New York City hotel room on February 25, 1983.

Recommended Media

Web Resources: Print

BIOGRAPHY: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/tennessee-williams-about-tennessee-williams/737/BIOGRAPHY: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_WilliamsBIOGRAPHY: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/tennessee-williamsBIOGRAPHY: https://www.thoughtco.com/biography-of-tennessee-williams-4777775FIVE BEST PLAYS: https://www.thoughtco.com/best-plays-by-tennessee-williams-2713543OVERVIEW: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/jul/27/tennessee-williamsKIP KIERNAN: http://www.elisarolle.com/queerplaces/klmno/Kip%20Kiernan.htmlWILLIAMS AT 100 (2011): https://www.americamagazine.org/content/all-things/tennessee-williams-100IMPORTANCE OF NEW ORLEANS: https://countryroadsmagazine.com/art-and-culture/literature/tennessee-in-new-orleans/RESEARCHING WILLIAMS: https://libguides.wustl.edu/tennesseeRE-EVALUATING WILLIAMS: https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/112918/Payne_SC_T_2021.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=yRE-EVALUATING WILLIAMS: https://www.salempress.com/Media/SalemPress/samples/williams_pgs.pdfRE-EVALUATING WILLIAMS: https://nymag.com/arts/theater/reviews/70941/RE-EVALUATING WILLIAMS: https://www.jstor.org/stable/48615526

Web Resources: Video

BIOGRAPHY CHANNEL OVERVIEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_cO_71cZxQTRUMAN AND TENNESSEE (full film): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tYbMtYnW4YGLASS MENAGERIE (1950 FILM): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6gGYSt6LUM92nd STREET Y (TONY KUSHNER AND JOHN LAHR DISCUSS WILLIAMS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUPDkf63_yc

Web Resources: Major Works

• GLASS MENAGERIE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Glass_Menagerie• GLASS MENAGERIE: https://literariness.org/2020/10/12/analysis-of-tennessee-williamss-the-glass-menagerie/• STREETCAR: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Streetcar_Named_Desire• STREET CAR (film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Streetcar_Named_Desire_(1951_film)• SUMMER AND SMOKE: https://www.onstageblog.com/industry/2019/5/19/why-tennessee-williams-summer-amp-smoke-is-timeless• SUMMER AND SMOKE (review): https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/03/theater/summer-and-smoke-review.html• ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE (rewrite Summer and Smoke): https://variety.com/2008/legit/reviews/the-eccentricities-of-a-nightingale-1200522718/• THE ROSE TATTOO: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rose_Tattoo• THE ROSE TATTOO (film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rose_Tattoo_(film)• CAMINO REAL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_Real_(play)• CAMINO REAL: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/12/31/specials/williams-camino.html?• CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_on_a_Hot_Tin_Roof• CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_on_a_Hot_Tin_Roof_(1958_film)• SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER: https://smtd.umich.edu/past-performances/11-12-suddenly-last-summer/• SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER (film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suddenly,_Last_Summer_(film)• SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Bird_of_Youth• SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH (film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Bird_of_Youth_(1962_film)#• NIGHT OF THE IGUANA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_of_the_Iguana• NIGHT OF THE IGUANA (film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_of_the_Iguana_(film)• SMALL CRAFT WARNINGS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Craft_Warnings• SMALL CRAFT WARNINGS: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/12/31/specials/williams-craft.html• VIEUX CARRE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vieux_Carr%C3%A9_(play)• VIEUX CARRE: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/705123.Vieux_Carr_• ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE (film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roman_Spring_of_Mrs._Stone• ROMAN SPRING OF MRS STONE (novella): https://journals.openedition.org/jsse/138• BABY DOLL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Doll• BABY DOLL: https://www.highdefwatch.com/post/kazan-s-controversial-baby-doll-remains-a-shocker• ONE ARM AND OTHER STORIES: https://bookshop.org/p/books/one-arm-and-other-stories-tennessee-williams/12390118• ONE ARM AND OTHER STORIES: http://www.tennesseewilliamsstudies.org/journal/work.php?ID=123• HARD CANDY: A BOOK OF STORIES: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Candy-Stories-Directions-Paperbook/dp/0811202216• 27 WAGONS FULL OF COTTON AND OTHER PLAYS (with links to each play): https://www.concordtheatricals.com/s/6996/27-wagons-full-of-cotton-and-other-plays• WILLIAMS’ POETRY: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/tennessee-williams#tab-poems• MEMOIRS (review): https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/12/31/specials/williams-memoirs.html• MEMOIRS (re-evaluation review): https://therealstory.org/2018/12/21/review-memoirs-by-tennessee-williams/

Selected Bibliography

PLAYS Candles to the Sun (1936) Fugitive Kind (1937) Spring Storm (1937) Me Vashya (1937) Not About Nightingales (1938) Battle of Angels (1940) I Rise in Flame, Cried the Phoenix (1941) The Glass Menagerie (1944) You Touched Me (1945) Stairs to the Roof (1947) A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) Summer and Smoke (1948) The Rose Tattoo (1951) Camino Real (1953) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955) Orpheus Descending (1957) Suddenly Last Summer (1958) Sweet Bird of Youth (1959) Period of Adjustment (1960) The Night of the Iguana (1961) The Eccentricities of a Nightingale (1962, rewriting of Summer and Smoke) The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore (1963) The Mutilated (1965) The Seven Descents of Myrtle (1968, aka Kingdom of Earth) In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel (1969) Will Mr. Merriweather Return from Memphis? (1969) Small Craft Warnings (1972) The Two-Character Play (1973) Out Cry (1973, rewriting of The Two-Character Play) The Red Devil Battery Sign (1975) This Is (An Entertainment) (1976) Vieux Carré (1977) Tiger Tail (1978) A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur (1979) Clothes for a Summer Hotel (1980) The Notebook of Trigorin (1980) Something Cloudy, Something Clear (1981) A House Not Meant to Stand (1982) In Masks Outrageous and Austere (1983)
ONE ACT PLAYS Williams wrote over 70 one-act plays during his lifetime. The one-acts explored many of the same themes that dominated his longer works. Williams's major collections are published by New Directions in New York City.
American Blues (1948) Mister Paradise and Other One-Act Plays (2005) Dragon Country: a book of one-act plays (1970) The Traveling Companion and Other Plays (2008) The Magic Tower and Other One-Act Plays (2011) At Liberty (1939) The Magic Tower (1936) Me, Vashya (1937) Curtains for the Gentleman (1936) In Our Profession (1938) Every Twenty Minutes (1938) Honor the Living (1937) The Case of the Crushed Petunias (1941) Moony's Kid Don't Cry (1936) The Dark Room (1939) The Pretty Trap (1944) Interior: Panic (1946) Kingdom of Earth (1967) I Never Get Dressed Till After Dark on Sundays (1973) Some Problems for the Moose Lodge (1980) 27 Wagons Full of Cotton and Other Plays (1946 and 1953) «Something wild...» (introduction) (1953) 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (1946 and 1953) The Purification (1946 and 1953) The Lady of Larkspur Lotion (1946 and 1953) The Last of My Solid Gold Watches (1946 and 1953) Portrait of a Madonna (1946 and 1953) Auto-da-Fé (1946 and 1953) Lord Byron's Love Letter (1946 and 1953) The Strangest Kind of Romance (1946 and 1953) The Long Goodbye (1946 and 1953) At Liberty (1946) Moony's Kid Don't Cry (1946) Hello from Bertha (1946 and 1953) This Property Is Condemned (1946 and 1953) Talk to Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen... (1953) Something Unspoken (1953) Now the Cats with Jeweled Claws and Other One-Act Plays (2016) A Recluse and His Guest (1982) Now the Cats with Jeweled Claws (1981) Steps Must Be Gentle (1980) Ivan's Widow (1982) This Is the Peaceable Kingdom (1981) Aimez-vous Ionesco? (c.1975) The Demolition Downtown (1971) Lifeboat Drill (1979) Once in a Lifetime (1939) The Strange Play (1939) The Theatre of Tennessee Williams, Volume VI The Theatre of Tennessee Williams, Volume VII
NOVELS The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1950, adapted for films in 1961 and 2003) Moise and the World of Reason (1975)
SCREENPLAYS and TELEPLAYS The Glass Menagerie (1950) A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) The Rose Tattoo (1955) Baby Doll (1956) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) The Fugitive Kind (1959) Ten Blocks on the Camino Real (1966) Boom! (1968) Stopped Rocking and Other Screenplays (1984) The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (2009; screenplay from 1957)
SHORT STORIES and COLLECTIONS "The Vengeance of Nitocris" (1928) "The Field of Blue Children" (1939) "Oriflamme" (1944) "The Resemblance Between a Violin Case and a Coffin" (1951) One Arm and Other Stories (1948) "One Arm" "The Malediction" "The Poet" "Chronicle of a Demise" "Desire and the Black Masseur" "Portrait of a Girl in Glass" "The Important Thing" "The Angel in the Alcove" "The Field of Blue Children" "The Night of the Iguana" "The Yellow Bird" Hard Candy: A Book of Stories (1954) Three Players of a Summer Game Two on a Party The Resemblance between a Violin Case and a Coffin Hard Candy Rubio y Morena The Mattress by the Tomato Patch The Coming of Something to the Widow Holly The Vine The Mysteries of the Joy Rio The Knightly Quest: a Novella and Four Short Stories (1966) The Knightly Quest Mama's Old Stucco House Man Bring This Up Road The Kingdom of Earth "Grand" Eight Mortal Ladies Possessed: a Book of Stories (1974) Happy August the Tenth The Inventory at Fontana Belle Miss Coynte of Greeme Sabbatha and Solitude Completed Oriflamme Tent Worms (1980) It Happened the Day the Sun Rose (1981) Collected Stories (1985)
POETRY
 In the Winter of Cities (1956) Androgyne, Mon Amour (1977) The Collected Poems of Tennessee Williams (2002)
NON-FICTION
 Memoirs (1975) New Selected Essays: Where I Live (2009)