Becoming Willa Cather: Creation and Career by Daryl W. Palmer (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Becoming Willa Cather: Creation and Career by Daryl W. Palmer Brianna Taylor Daryl W. Palmer. Becoming Willa Cather: Creation and Career. U of Nevada P, 2019. 247p. With Becoming Willa Cather: Creation and Career, a new biography focusing largely on Cather's early writings, Daryl Palmer compellingly examines her personality, relationships, childhood, and writing. It is in equal parts enjoyable and informative for established fans and new readers alike. The initial image of Cather as the "woman on the wheel," a young woman on a bicycle, "moving forward under her own power, aware of her youth and of a certain masculine prowess" (2) depicts her as the "New Woman," persistently moving forward and embracing her masculine personality traits. It continues throughout the book and propels readers through her career at a steady pace. Palmer focuses heavily on her early work--a move that admittedly would have frustrated Cather, who viewed much of it with disdain. However, the examination proves fruitful as it investigates her complicated relationship with Nebraska and the West in more detail than previous scholars, who identified her youthful writings as scornful of her homeland. By studying "the ways in which Cather's negative responses to the Great Plains in her early fiction, as far back as 1896, are interwoven with (and even enable) moments of recognition, resistance, and innovation" (17), this reimagining of her relationship with Nebraska allows a complex investigation of many other aspects of her literary production. Palmer positions her as a distinguished writer who straddles the border between East and West. Despite spending much of her adult life "back East," her childhood connection to the West and the territorial mindset is evident. Her obsession with "townmaking" started at just thirteen years old when she founded the town of Sandy Point in her backyard, enlisting the help of her father and friends. This imaginative endeavor was crucial to her development. The influence of Cather's "mayoral" experience showed her the importance of observation to the creative process (19). This childhood drive to both mimic and amend her hometown of Red Cloud resurfaces in many of her novels and short stories, where the town and its inhabitants are re-imagined. Palmer argues, "ultimately, it was the call of townmaking that really captivated Cather. And, once again, she [End Page 77] was following the example set by the territorial folk who preceded her" (40). Defining her as a follower of "territorial folk" creates a deep and abiding connection to the territory itself, key to understanding her identity as a writer. Cather's townmaking was not limited to construction. By establishing herself as editor of the Sandy Point newspaper, she showed an understanding of the significance of journalism in frontier towns. The territorial tradition of townmaking depended upon newspapers to promote new settlements (40). Palmer traces these dealings with the press through each phase of her career, again demonstrating the influence of her territorial childhood on her works. Because newspapers were so vital to the West, she inherited an appreciation of them as well as townmaking. Although the relationship was often complicated, Cather recognized the power and influence of journalism and editors. From her youthful experience with Red Cloud's competing newspapers, to her time on McClure's editorial board, her townmaking, writing, and editorial careers intertwined. This emphasis on the bonds with Nebraska, where territorial pioneer life could break down the boundaries between masculine and feminine (38), sheds new light on her complicated relationship with gender. The tendency to cast herself as the masculine lead in her stories is much more obvious in the early works, especially when viewed alongside her childhood activities. Weaving biographical details with literary analysis, Palmer demonstrates the complex ways in which Cather was experiencing and portraying gender; her relationship with gender, like everything else, was influenced by her relationship with Nebraska. This allowed her to sign her letters "William," dress in masculine clothes, and represent herself as male in her early stories. "Tommy, the Unsentimental" tells the story of a young woman named Tommy and her experiences in a small Nebraska town. While many critics have observed this aspect of her identity, the connection to "territorial folk" allows Palmer to...