Selected Letters of William Styron Read Online Free Page B

     
Stepmother Eunice dies and Styron moves his father to a nursing home near Roxbury where he dies on August 10, 1978.
1979      
Sophie’s Choice
is published on June 11, Styron’s fifty-fourth birthday, reaching number one on the
New York Times
bestseller list.
1980      
Sophie’s Choice
wins the first American Book Award in February 1980.
 
Styron attends presidential inauguration ceremonies for François Mitterrand in Paris.
1982      
Publishes a collection of nonfiction prose entitled
This Quiet Dust and Other Writings
.
 
Alan Pakula’s movie of
Sophie’s Choice
is released.
1985      
Begins to suffer from clinical depression and considers plans for suicide. Admitted to Yale–New Haven Hospital on December 14. Receives treatment and medication and makes a steady improvement.
1986–90      
Speaks about depression at two events in 1989. Meets
Vanity Fair
editor Tina Brown who offers to publish his account.
1990      
Publishes
Darkness Visible
.
1990–2000      
Speaks frequently on depression to groups of physicians and therapists.
1993      
Publishes
A Tidewater Morning: Three Tales from Youth
.
2000–2005      
Styron’s final years are unproductive, as the results of depression affect his narrative ability. Cancer is discovered.
2006–07      
Hospitalized for much of the last year and a half of his life, Styron dies in Martha’s Vineyard Hospital on November 1, 2006, and his ashes are buried on the Vineyard.
 
A memorial service in his honor is held on February 2, 2007, at St. Bartholomew’s Church, New York City.

Styron reported to Duke University in June 1943 for summer school and military training. He was assigned to the V-12 Navy College Training Program for officer candidates, which ran university classes on an accelerated schedule
.
    T O W ILLIAM C. S TYRON , S R .
    September 15, 1943 Duke University
    Dear Pop,
    Well, it’s been a while since I last wrote you, but things have been just about the same around here. My grades, with the exception of Physics, are pretty good. Physics has thrown me and the rest of the Marines for a loop. To show you how hard the last test was: the average grade in the whole class of about 700 was 38; I got a 21. History, still about B; Polit., up to a B; French up to a C; English still a B; and Psychology still a B. Which all in all isn’t so very bad.
    Right now I am writing my chef d’oeuvre in English. It’s a short story about a woman evangelist in the deep South who is jilted in love. The theme of the Song of Solomon runs throughout. If it’s good enough, I might try to get it published somewhere—as the editors of most magazines need material badly. One of my stories is being considered for publication in the Archive , the Duke literary magazine. If it’s accepted, I’ll send a copy to you. *
    We’re studying boxing, wrestling and jiu-jitsu. They’re all very educational—especially jiu-jitsu. My partner is the son of a Marine officer who was stationed in Japan before the war—just my luck! I am continually being thrown on my can.
    Still getting up at six o’clock for exercise. The “cadet” system is still ineffect. They rotate officers, and any day now I expect to be made a platoon leader or something. Hope I don’t get nervous giving those “right and left flanks.” By the way, you can tell Eliza to have no fear of my oversleeping, as the early morning routine has now become pretty much of a habit. †
    I still have hopes of getting home in October. I may bring Don Strotz, my roommate, but I’ll let you know later. In the meanwhile, I’ll content myself with occasional trips to Durham and dates with the newly arrived girls on East Campus.
    Write soon and give my best to Eliza.
    Your son,
    Bill, Jr.
    T O W ILLIAM C. S TYRON , S R .
    September 28, 1943 Duke University
    Dear Pop,
    I got your letter and enjoyed it very much. I’m glad you had such a fine time on your vacation. I