Elizabeth Alice Wahl (1924–1988) was an American novelist and short story writer. She was born on January 24, 1924, in St. Cloud, Minnesota, to Arthur and Romana (Seberger) Wahl.[1] She graduated from the College of Saint Benedict with a major in English and minor in French in 1945.[2]

Work

During her college years, an excerpt of Wahl's unpublished work was sent to author J. F. Powers by Mariella Gable, Wahl's professor in St. Benedict's English Department.[3] Powers came to the campus a month later to offer his advice and proposed to Wahl days later. They married the following year in April 1946.[2] She had five children with Powers: Katherine Anne (born November 11, 1947); Mary Farl (born November 29, 1948); James Ansbury (born November 13, 1953); Hugh Wahl (born November 25, 1955); and Jane Elizabeth (born July 2, 1958).[2]

Shortly after her marriage, Wahl made a debut in The New Yorker with a lauded short story titled "Martinmas."[4] Evelyn Waugh described it as "a brilliant sketch of convent school life which I read with relish." The New Yorker published "Gingerbread" in 1950.[5] Wahl wrote in a 1986 letter to Garrison Keillor that her work adhered to what she called "the world-in-a-grain-of-sand school of writing, which shies away from a great deal of action, preferring instead to reveal meaning through carefully chosen dialogue and setting."[2]

Under precarious financial circumstances due to Powers' unwillingness to work,[6] the family moved frequently and divided their time between Minnesota, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and extended stays in Ireland.[7] Living in County Wicklow from 1951 to 1952, the family met writers Seán O'Faoláin and Frank O'Connor. From 1957 to 1958, the Powers rented a Georgian house in Dalkey, County Dublin. This setting inspired Wahl to write "A Shorter History of the Irish People",[8] which appeared in The Kenyon Review. She later expanded the story into a novel, Rafferty and Company, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 1969.[2]

Life

Daughter and author Katherine A. Powers writes, in a collection of her father's letters, that Wahl wrote on "a strict schedule"[6] and held the family together: she "cooked every meal from scratch and sewed most of our clothes; she went to her parents for aid; she scrimped, rationed, and cobbled together the wherewithal for our survival."[7] Though both Wahl and Powers write about post-war Ireland and "satirize domestic itinerancy" in similar ways, only Wahl's work has suffered critical neglect.[9]

Wahl continued to write until her death on May 12, 1988,[1] and left behind a multitude of letters, three unpublished novels, and close to twenty short stories.[2]

Writing

References

  1. ^ a b "Betty Wahl Powers". St. Cloud Times. May 14, 1988. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Nelson, Cassandra (27 June 2008). "Betty Wahl (1924-1988)" (PDF). The Literary Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  3. ^ Grossmann, Mary Ann (26 October 2013). "J.F. Powers, a man of letters". Twin Cities. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  4. ^ Powers, Betty Wahl (8 November 1947). "Martinmas". The New Yorker. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  5. ^ Powers, Betty Wahl (21 January 1950). "Gingerbread". The New Yorker. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  6. ^ a b Hampl, Patricia (October 10, 2013). "Undomesticated: The Life & Times of J. F. Powers". Commonweal.
  7. ^ a b Epstein, Joseph (16 August 2013). "A Writer's Daily Bread". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  8. ^ Wahl, Betty (1964). "A Shorter History of the Irish People". The Kenyon Review. 26 (2): 305–316. JSTOR 4334428.
  9. ^ Murphy, John L. (2013). "J. F. Powers and Betty Wahl: Irish Americans and Returning Yanks". Estudios Irlandeses (8): 79–92. doi:10.24162/EI2013-926.
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