Shelby Hearon - 1931
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I. Biography
Shelby Reed Hearon, who was born in Marion, Kentucky in 1931, spent most of her childhood in Texas. From an early age, she showed a skill for writing. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1953. She then dedicated her life to raising a family with her husband Robert. In 1962, Hearon began to write again as she "had no work that grew out of [her] own personal identity." This statement echoes a recurring theme in many of Hearon's stories. Hearon's writing focuses mainly on the life experiences of women. The upper-middle class women in her novels seek their identity and " inner voice." Along with this search is a focus towards the importance of family and friends.
II. Literary Development
Hearon's first novel, Armadillo in the Grass, was published in 1968 after five years of rewriting and revision. In total, Hearon has published thirteen fictional novels as well as many short stories. Hearon's work is well recognized. She has won the NEA/PEN Syndication short- story prize five times in her career and has won the Texas Institute of Letters fiction prize twice. In 1984 she won the New York Women in Communications Award.
In 1990, she won the American Academy of Arts and Letters fiction award for her book, Owning Jolene. Hearon has taught at the University of Houston, the University of California at Irvine, the University of Illinois, Colgate University, and the University of Miami. She also served on the Texas Commission of the Arts and the New York Council of the Arts.
III. Works of Shelby Hearon
At Home After 1840 (1966)
Armadillo in the Grass (1966)
The Second Dune (1973)
Hannah's House (1975)
Now and Another Time (1976)
A Prince of a Fellow (1978)
Barbara Jordan (1979)
Painted Dresses (1981)
Afternoon of a Faun (1983)
Group Therapy (1984)
A Small Town (1985)
Five Hundred Scorpions (1987)
Owning Jolene (1989)
Hug Dancing (1991)
Life Estates (1994)
Footprints (1996)
III. Works Cited
Harry Ransom Research Center. "Shelby Hearon Biographical Sketch". University of Texas at Austin. 2 Nov. 1999
This essay was submitted by a student of Sheryl Row, a teacher at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas in Texas.