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Janet Marshall Stevenson

ジャネット・マーシャル・スティーブンソン

Janet Marshall Stevenson

Pen Names: Janet Marshall（Used as a shortened pen name）, Janet Lewis（Pen name for some works）, Clare Thorne（Pen name）, Allison Thorne（Pen name）, Jane (Holmes / Marsh)（Used as alternate pen names）, Janice Stevens（Pseudonym used on some screenplays）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1913-02-04 （Chicago, Illinois, United States）
Died
2009-06-09 （Warrenton, Oregon, United States） age 96
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Chicago, Illinois → Surry, Maine (worked in summer stock theatre) → New York City → Astoria, Oregon → Clatsop County, Oregon (Walluski, Hammond, Warrenton)

Career

Occupations
novelist, playwright, social activist, biographer, professor, journalist, politician
Active Years
1933-2009
Affiliations
University of Southern California (lecturer, 1951–1953), Grambling College (assistant professor, 1966–1967), Portland State University (lecturer, 1968), Oregon Women's Political Caucus (president)

Education

Bryn Mawr College
Degree: BA
Period: ～1933
Year of Graduation: 1933
Country: United States
Undergraduate degree; specific major not listed
Yale University
School of Drama (Theatre Arts) / Theatre Arts (MFA)
Degree: MFA
Period: 1935–1937
Year of Graduation: 1937
Country: United States
Master of Fine Arts in theatre arts

Awards

John Golden Fellowship (playwriting)
1938
Organization: John Golden Fellowship
Result: 受賞
National Arts of the Theatre Award
1953
Work: Weep No More (play)
Organization: National Arts of the Theatre
Result: 受賞
C.E.S. Wood Distinguished Writer Award (Oregon Book Awards)
1990
Organization: Oregon Book Awards
Result: 受賞
Oregon Woman of Achievement
1994
Organization: Oregon Woman of Achievement
Result: 表彰
Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission: 100 Oregon Books selection
2005
Work: Departure (novel)
Organization: Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission
Result: 選定

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Weep No More

1957 Novel (adapted from her play)

A novel adapted from her 1953 play, exploring interpersonal relationships and social themes.

interpersonal relationshipssocial conflict

The Ardent Years

1960 Novel

A novel depicting youthful passion against its historical backdrop.

youthhistorical context

Sisters and Brothers

1966 Novel

A family-centered novel focusing on sibling relationships.

familyinterpersonal relationships

Departure

1985 Novel

A novel set against the landscape and people of Oregon, regarded as a notable work of Oregon literature.

sense of placeidentity

The Slope

2009 Novel (contains biographical elements)

A work based on the life of Bethenia Angelina Owens-Adair, one of Oregon's first female physicians; a biographical novel aiming to rescue her from obscurity.

women's historypioneersregional history

The Undiminished Man: A Political Biography of Robert Walker Kenny

1980 Biography

A political biography of California Attorney General Robert W. Kenny, covering his defense of the Hollywood Ten and related historical context.

political historylaw and justice

Bibliography

  • Weep No More (1957)
  • The Ardent Years (1960)
  • Sisters and Brothers (1966)
  • Departure (1985)
  • The Slope (2009)
  • Painting America's Wildlife: John James Audubon (1961)
  • Marian Anderson: Singing to the World (1963)
  • Pioneers in Freedom: Adventures in Courage (1969)
  • Spokesman for Freedom: The Life of Archibald Grimke (1969)
  • Woman Aboard (travel, 1969)
  • Soldiers in the Civil Rights War: Adventures in Courage (1971)
  • The Montgomery Bus Boycott, December, 1955 (1971)
  • Women's Rights (1972)
  • The School Segregation Cases (Brown v. Board of Education) (1973)
  • Declaration (play, 1940)
  • Counterattack (play, 1943)
  • Counter-Attack (screenplay credit, 1945)
  • The Man from Cairo (screenplay, 1953)
  • Weep No More (play, 1953)
  • The Third President (1976, rewrite of Declaration)

Adaptations

  • Counter-Attack (film adaptation, 1945)
  • The Man from Cairo (screenplay involvement, 1953)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
socially conscious realismuse of historical/biographical materialclear, expository prose
Recurring Motifs
social justicewomen's rightspeace movementcommunity and sense of place

Legacy

Janet Stevenson was a playwright, novelist and activist whose career ranged from Hollywood blacklisting to local politics; she is recognized in Oregon literature and women's history, with honors such as inclusion in the state's notable books list and Portland State University's Walk of Heroines.

Academic Societies

  • Oregon Women's Political Caucus

Archives

  • University of Oregon Special Collections & University Archives (Janet Marshall Stevenson papers)

In Popular Culture

  • Included on Portland State University's Walk of Heroines
  • Departure selected for Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission's '100 Oregon Books'

Quotes

  • A lifelong campaigner for human rights, social justice and peace and a staunch advocate of equal rights for women.
    Source: Obituary (The North Coast Citizen) (2009)

Trivia

  • She was placed on the Hollywood blacklist for political beliefs and associations.
  • Served two terms as mayor of Hammond, beginning in 1986.
  • Wrote under multiple pen names (e.g., Janet Marshall, Clare Thorne, Janice Stevens).
  • Her papers include a manuscript, 'The Last Town in Oregon', about her years as mayor, unpublished at her death.