This was an interesting documentary. I had never heard of this woman. My grandmother lived the life of "My Antonia". She was raised in a dugout near a lake in Iowa. She married and raised 9 children. One was my Father. I was raised next door to my grandmother in the 1950-60's. She then lived in a regular house and tho she had no running water her house was spotless. She had a garden, canned vegs and made bread. She was a quiet pleasant woman. Never complained.Just did her work as if it was just the way it is and you do what you had to do. I wish I had asked her more questions about growing up in that dugout. But I imagie she would have had a different outlook on it than I did. When I think I have it rough I think about my granny and my gr grandmother who rased my granny and her 7 siblings in that dugout. And wondeer what I'm complaining about..
@tundrawomansays50672 жыл бұрын
Thanks so much for sharing, wow!
@Elizabeth-yg2mg2 жыл бұрын
yes, those women had hard lives and few choices. it's heartbreaking to think of what they went through.
@gardensofthegods2 жыл бұрын
PK , very well said ... and well-written . You have a bit of a writer in you and if you don't already write , you might want to think about doing so because you have a way with words that people will appreciate ... and maybe even benefit from .
@emilymarx55512 жыл бұрын
Yes, thank you for sharing your story. I can’t imagine I live in the dugout and raise kids and wash clothes no running water in boiling water to wash clothes that was a one full day of laundering. I would like to recommend the book: “Bird by Bird” which teaches you how to write in a simple way by Anne Lanotte. You may also want to read the book by Elinore Pruitt Stewart: “Letters of a Woman Homesteader,” Elinor is so down to earth humorous and endearing. It’s one of my favorite books I read each spring. She will also inspire you to write. 🌷 Wishing you all the best, ~ Nell
@PK-bh1ww2 жыл бұрын
@@gardensofthegods thank you . I've always wanted to write but have been a huge procrastinator. My High School English teacher always said I had talent too Maybe it's not too late. :-) I have a lot of events in my life I could put into short stories. My own life would be quite the novel.... Some nitty gritty and triumph combined....Thank you for the encouragement.
@alanaronald2442 жыл бұрын
I am struck by this careful, respectful look at the art and life of Willa Cather. Thank you.
@777cmoonАй бұрын
Finally after 40+ years of sitting on my shelf, I am opening a Library of America volume Willa Cather Later Novels. Watching this beautiful documentary is very emotional 😢 truly a great American, an amazing mind, a truly free woman
@kristinewatson37022 жыл бұрын
I wrote my undergraduate senior thesis on Willa Cather. I read most of her books. I really love her work. She had a unique voice for women. My Antonia was the focus but I just loved all of her female characters.
@westcoastgirl2 жыл бұрын
What a brilliant and gifted lady . Ahead of her time. By the way , to whoever who made this documentary , you did an excellent job . Support PBS .
@eddasturrup49122 жыл бұрын
🕊️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕊️VERY WELL SAID.....
@Janewomanpower2 жыл бұрын
yes! the clip of her at 14 getting her hair buzzcut blew me away. i have too many thoughts to write them all now!
@TheVeek1922 жыл бұрын
She was not "ahead of her time." She was exactly OF her time. It's where she lived and where she worked. IN her time.
@LisaPittman426 ай бұрын
First time hearing about her, interesting I like Walt Whitman. And John Keats.
@LisaPittman426 ай бұрын
I have a Shakespeare book
@judeirwin22222 жыл бұрын
This was a brilliantly conceived and executed documentary. The selection of the people who commented or criticized was faultless, as was the editing of their thoughts with the passages from Cather’s books. I would go so far as to say that this is one of the finest and most revealing biographical docs I have ever seen. Even the musical interludes were sympathetic to the content. Never before have I felt so inclined to find without delay and read the works of any author. bravo to the entire team who constructed this flawless portrait.
@gowlan2 жыл бұрын
😊😊😊
@alisonbest42402 жыл бұрын
I agree. The narrator of her work gives an exquisite performance. Every word savoured.
@advancedraymondology2914 Жыл бұрын
Agreed. It really is flawless. Even the discussion of her personal life and sexuality was done so well, no hyperbole or agenda. We don't KNOW, because we don't know. And it has nothing to do with the WORK, which is all that really matters. And Alison, the woman reading Cather's words is Marcia Gay Harden. Great actress. Miller's Crossing, Pollock, Mystic River.
@alybaker1 Жыл бұрын
You are a gifted writer yourself.
@LollieVox Жыл бұрын
So true! Love this doc too, was thinking it on the level with Ken Burns (in quality & emotions) & even better!
@whanuipuru89282 жыл бұрын
What strikes me about this very introspective and highly gifted writer is her humbleness and true grit to follow her path for writing. I am touched by her love for women who grant her wish of destroying their letters so their love and true selves are strictly private. A fascinating woman indeed. I thoroughly enjoyed the bio pic of Willa. Marvellous! Thank you.
@eileenmcgrath7652 жыл бұрын
Loved this ❤
@Blurb7772 жыл бұрын
It's because of Willa Cather that I took up writing. I love (and still own) the ancient copy of My Antonia from which I studied Cather's writing, word for word. She was able to make you feel the heat of the train car rumbling across the prairie, and feel the cloud of dust as your hand hit the hot, fading red velvet covered car seats. The Shimerdas - the life of the immigrants, the Swedes - she made it all come to life. I was always sad to read the ending of when Antonia was a mother with missing teeth due to her harsh life, so would always go back and read when she was a bright and sunny girl again, with chestnut cheeks. I must have read that book once a year for at least 3 decades - just to keep my own writing fresh. She, and F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," and Robert Nathan's "Portrait of Jenny," are the go-to books to study for any aspiring writer. As Anton Chekhov - another must-read writer, wrote, "Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass."
@LS-ei7xk10 ай бұрын
Loved *My Antonia*, btw... The Shimerdas were Bohemian, not Swedish. Also, haunted by *Portrait of Jenny*.. the movie was good, too. Robert Nathan was a rare find; a fellow librarian introduced him to me. I thought it was a true story (because of the intro?) Short but sweet. If you have a powerful theme, it doesn't matter how long or short your novel is. Hudson's *Green Mansions* is another haunting book like this. Not too crazy about F. Scott Fitzgerald, though. Still need to read Chekhov.
@Blurb77710 ай бұрын
@@LS-ei7xk If you were my neighbor, we'd be fast friends! It is next to never that I have heard of anyone has read Portrait of Jenny - let alone knew it was a book before they made the movie! Or who was as enamored with My Antonia as I. The Great Gatsby is in this group of great novels, I think, because his descriptions are succinct yet visually powerful, and one can learn a lot just through that alone. And he was only 27 when he wrote it! But, I do confess it took me decades to get into it. I had tried to read it but always shut the book after the first two paragraphs of the first chapter - until one day I forced myself to read it through, and I was hooked. Another great book is, believe it or not, A Christmas Carol by Dickens. But topping that book is his masterpiece, Great Expectations. The characters are so alive, you can feel sympathy for them, or hate them just as easily, but it also has that great twist in the end. He had characterization, form and plot down to perfection. My fortune is that I did not even know what the book was about until my friend nagged at me to read it - blew my mind. Add to that repertoire is, of course, Gone with the Wind. It is so thick, that one of my friends who begged me to read it after I balked at the size of the novel, promised me that I would not be able to put it down. I took up her challenge - and true to her word, read that whole, entire, voluminous book in one weekend, unable to sleep until I finished it. Regarding the Shimerdas being Bohemian and not Swedish - I guess I should have written that sentence more clearly - Yes, the Shimerdas were Bohemian, but Cather also wrote about the life of the immigrants as well as the Swedish immigrant population - the girls in town who took in laundry and worked for others. That is what I meant. A lot of love for the Nebraskan immigrants whether they were Bohemians or Swedes, went into Cather's writing. I'm thankful for the likes of her as well as Dickens, Nathan and other fine novelists, because the art of the novel seems to be dying in this texting and often vulgar age. We need to bring back the beauty of language.
@shirsch7048 Жыл бұрын
I wrote my Masters thesis (1987) on Willa Cather's southwest novels, Death Comes for the Archbishop, mainly and the two parts about the Southwest in The Professor's House and Song of the Lark. My thesis was that she treated landscape as a character in all of her novels, using all of these as examples. I read all of her novels and a great deal of the research on her. I had a fabulous Professor who taught a seminar class on her work, who was also a famous author, William Dickey, which sparked a love of her work; I had lived in both Nebraska and New Mexico (my favorite state) , as a military brat, as well as in Europe.
@svetlanasmirnova30625 күн бұрын
Thank you for the beautiful documentary, a piece of art in itself. I enjoyed every moment of it
@JackieQueally2 жыл бұрын
I watched this from Ireland and applaud you for a most beautifully crafted documentary
@Ocelot19622 жыл бұрын
This is one of the best programs of its kind that I have had the pleasure of viewing. Thank you, to all involved with creating this and getting it to us.
@rattyrachel43163 жыл бұрын
An amazing writer who led an equally amazing life. Thank you for a truly wonderful documentary!
@AuthorDocumentaries3 жыл бұрын
Of course!
@noemimcbee7262 жыл бұрын
So many things to learn from Willa Cather!
@christinaandler85112 жыл бұрын
Öl å was
@E-Kat2 жыл бұрын
“My Antonia” is available for free in PDF form. Just google the title and put pdf. Happy reading. 🥀
@dimitrialiberty27792 жыл бұрын
Thank you
@yeowkl75412 жыл бұрын
Thanks and hope to read it, after watching this fantastic documentary film.
@E-Kat2 жыл бұрын
@@dimitrialiberty2779 it’s such a pleasure to pass this on. 📚
@E-Kat2 жыл бұрын
@@yeowkl7541 I think the book might be even better than this amazing documentary. Enjoy! 📖
@patriciapalmer13772 жыл бұрын
You can smell, feel, taste, the world she paints artfully, each sentence crafted keenly, with beautifully chosen words. Her personal life was superfluous to her work and she knew it, God love her, and saw to it, it remain so. Smart lady.
@harmoniabalanza Жыл бұрын
her writing is truly like no one else's.
@Sheila0000 Жыл бұрын
I must say I really enjoyed this biography of Willa Cather. I had never heard of her but now I'm going to go and pick up one of her books. Thank you for introducing her to us
@RickBeall Жыл бұрын
A wonderful documentary. She was hugely brave multiple times to leave a pleasant "sure thing" and jump into the unknown again and again. And she succeeded in something many artists aspire to, she managed to erase her personal life and leave us only with her written work.
@Janewomanpower2 жыл бұрын
this showed up in my youtube recommendations! i am so happy! this was an incredible documentary! I look forward to watching more, especially women writer's.
@deborahhenderson1492 жыл бұрын
Same here. It is a wonderful depiction of her life. She seemed as if she never really knew herself and was continually searching all her life.
@sharronthurston61602 жыл бұрын
Loved this documentary, what an amazing woman and writer!! Thank you.
@melflo46512 жыл бұрын
I read “My Antonia” in college, and I love that book ever since.
@elainemessier28482 жыл бұрын
Reading her books took me back to a time and place that lived again through her writing...so moving.
@Dana943710 ай бұрын
...a beautiful documentary. I read My Antonia years ago when I was in my 20's. I'm 74 now and would like to revisit it.
@judist.esprit78972 жыл бұрын
This was a superb documentary in all its aspect from the writing, the narration, the photography, even the accompanying music
@curtjarrell97102 жыл бұрын
I've been a fan of Cathers' work for almost 30 years. This film has made me fall in love all over again. Thanks for this gift for lovers of enduring literature.
@cherylforfang86712 жыл бұрын
Beautiful documentary. Truly moving picture of her life.
@tonybennett41592 жыл бұрын
A truly great writer. Those two central novels "The Professor's House" and "Death Comes For the Archbishop" are as good as anything in American fiction. They deal masterfully with universal themes, so that they speak even to me, a reader sitting in south west London. There can be no greater accolade, and hopefully, with many of her titles now appearing in Penguin Modern Classics, she will regain the wide readership she deserves.
@sg6392 жыл бұрын
Was this remark posted by Tony Bennett, professor of cultural studies?
@chobers56592 жыл бұрын
Death Comes For The Archbishop was a truly magical reading experience for me. It was like being part of something sacred. Her writing style just grew on me. It's hard to describe. And this is coming from someone who can rarely sit still to focus on anything!
@harmoniabalanza Жыл бұрын
Death Comes for Archbishop is my favorite of hers.
@kristinfarson43202 жыл бұрын
Of course, I've known about her "forever," but just realized I have never actually read her books. This fine documentary has spurred me to do just that.
@gillianpolkas53942 жыл бұрын
7
@dawgmaw2 жыл бұрын
I've loved the writing of willa Cather since I was a teenager. The profound emotional impact of My Antonia and Oh Pioneers has haunted the many decades of my life. I recently reread My Antonia and was just as in awe as the first time I read it. Next, Oh Pioneers.
@laurenlane95642 жыл бұрын
Brilliant, elucidating, moving, documentary. I felt her so deeply and found it changed me. Thank you.
@soniaprovard58412 жыл бұрын
A thoroughly enjoyable documentary. I really enjoyed learning about Willa Cather. A true artist!
@patriciapalmer13772 жыл бұрын
I love her work and, as much, her fierce privacy and share her feelings. Many Americans, today, feel they are entitled to know public figures intimately and I don't blame their fury upon intrusion. She was truly gifted and under appreciated in today's pseudo intellectual literary landscape.
@maggietattersfield28592 жыл бұрын
Fascinating!!! thank you
@lisamh90372 жыл бұрын
How am I 59 years old and never heard of this author and her books? And I was a reader all my life. Going to have to catch up...
@vp-oe1em2 жыл бұрын
Because your school system sucked
@tulsacaupain28822 жыл бұрын
Well I am 57 and also just discoveted het on YT. I have some excuses tough.
@BoninBrighton2 жыл бұрын
Me too, which book should I start with?
@didierduplenne23252 жыл бұрын
My Antonia is a masterpiece
@anahata2009 Жыл бұрын
@@BoninBrighton I loved all of her works that I've read, but Song of the Lark was my favorite.
@darleenhampson3822 Жыл бұрын
So beautifully written and illustrated. Thank you for posting this!
@karenwright85562 жыл бұрын
My spirit connected to the first book I read by Miss Cather. Our journeys all start with that first step,we explore,we experience,we gain knowledge and understanding. Whether we ever gain success...we were here and then we move to our next life enriched. Willa conveyed that very well. Thank you.
@tothelighthouse98432 жыл бұрын
This is such a thoughtful comment, so now I'm curious: what was the first book of Cather's that you read?
@karenwright85562 жыл бұрын
O Pioneers
@tothelighthouse98432 жыл бұрын
@@karenwright8556 Thank you! I'm adding it to my reading list.
@karenwright85562 жыл бұрын
@@tothelighthouse9843 Thank you,enjoy the good read!
@tammyburke94532 жыл бұрын
PBS, of course! Awoke at 3am, ciuldnt slerp, found this delight and now a new fan! What a fantastic bio. Looking forward to reading her works. Loved the excerpts.
@juliefakkema2 жыл бұрын
I happened upon "O Pioneers" in a library years ago. I remember it being one of those stories in which I lost myself. I was inspired with the hope the main character was able to find in love and in the prairie, but I absolutely bawled at the senseless deaths of the people she loved. The depth of thought and feeling Cather brought out in me is hard to describe. I'd need Cather's talent to do that!
@harmoniabalanza Жыл бұрын
great artists just show others what is in them.
@donaldkelly39833 жыл бұрын
Thank you for this! Willa Cather is my favorite American novelist!
@AuthorDocumentaries3 жыл бұрын
That's awesome! I love her short stories myself
@Tiger-One2 жыл бұрын
"Hell, even I thought I was dead once...'til I found out that I was just in Nebraska." ( Little Bill Dagget, _Unforgiven_ ).
@marykaras64352 жыл бұрын
The best story of an American writer I have ever read. Bravo
@hollygrosshans35292 жыл бұрын
My high school literature teacher introduced her work to me in the 70’s. I grew up on the prairie of ND. Never knew much about her life until now. Fascinating. Thank you for this gem.
@scotnick592 жыл бұрын
Very thorough biography; I am truly impressed
@WhispersFromTheDark2 жыл бұрын
I loved this. Rest in peace Ms.Cather, you are not forgotten.
@monicamiller98832 жыл бұрын
What a beautiful presentation -the music, the presenters, and of course the subject. I knew nothing of the lady. Thank you.
@sallyreno62962 жыл бұрын
When I visit Mabel Dodge Lujan House in Taos, I always stay in Willa Cather's room to soak up the vibes.
@ohthelovelypoems Жыл бұрын
Love that!
@613karen2 жыл бұрын
Extraordinary - thank you. “My Antonia” has been one of my favorite books for decades, read and reread it many times, but never knew anything at all about the author, now I know more….
@deannamoses8914 Жыл бұрын
This was a documentary that I never knew I needed. I am so glad I clicked to check it out though. Wonderful!
@sandrajurus3474 ай бұрын
Really a fine example of public television and public radio. I think this is a great documentary .
@Ravyne Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for uploading this documentary on Willa Cather. Her stories 'The Song of the Lark' and 'My Antonia' have lingered with me for decades.
@AphroditeLee2 жыл бұрын
What a splendid documentary. Thank you for introducing me to this fascinating person.
@margaretcallan10652 жыл бұрын
Thoroughly enjoyed this, thanks for posting. Had never heard of her before and eager to start reading her work. Thanks from Ireland x
@joelionnet2147 Жыл бұрын
I read Death comes to the Archbishop 45 years ago and it remains strongly fixed in my memory. A truly great novel.
@elizabethannegrey62852 жыл бұрын
Thank you for this wonderful documentary. Such personalities outlive their natural lifespan, and I am reminded of the artist Georgia O’Keefe, who also thrived in New Mexico, who also found inspiration in the untamed environment. I shall certainly endeavour to find her books.
@traciebecker66692 жыл бұрын
I haven't known any daughters who wanted to live a life like their mothers. This includes my friends, my grandmother, mother, my aunts, myself and my granddaughters That isn't some rare profound discovery of who a woman wants to be. She wants to be herself, off course.
@avaperry91672 жыл бұрын
You definitely aren’t Southern!
@traciebecker66692 жыл бұрын
@@avaperry9167 ah but I am born and bred.. I also don't want my daughter and granddaughters to be like me. I believe we are all meant to be unique. Of course there are similarities in biological traits and hopefully we teach each other to be caring and kind but I think our differences is what makes us, us ❤
@Joanla19542 жыл бұрын
Only 10 minutes in and being reminded of Will and Abby Deal that also moved to Nebraska after the Civil War. They are written about by Bess Streeter Aldrich in her book called, "A Lantern in Her Hand (1928)". I always wondered if Will and Abby Deal were her grandparents but have never really researched. Bess was born in Iowa in 1881 and died in Lincoln, Ne. in 1954. Her pen name was Margaret Dean Stephens but I never knew that until grabbing facts for this post. In any case I read that book at least 5 or 6 times as a pre-teen and teen. And a few others written by Bess. Just learning about Willa Cather and thinking that I'll be looking for some of her books. GREAT documentary thus far. Back to Willa Cather!
@advancedraymondology2914 Жыл бұрын
I'm far from a Cather scholar, but I've read a good bit of her stuff. The two, it seems to me, that most people talk about are Death Comes For The Archbishop and, of course, My Antonia. Both great books, but I would highly recommend The Song Of The Lark. That's the one that really got me. Anyone who is pursuing a life in the arts, or any life that is not the normal laid-out path - you would love that book. Her shorts, also, are great. "Neighbor Rossicky" had as much of an influence on my own writing as anything has. Style-wise, pacing-wise, I pretty much just imitated it for years. "The Enchanted Bluff," "The Sculptor's Funeral," "Coming, Aphrodite!" Etc, etc. Her shorts are really something.
@julielumsden51842 жыл бұрын
Thank you for this, I have appreciated hearing about this amazing writer who lived through challenging times.
@jessicaferrari17632 жыл бұрын
IMO....Willa Cathers' concrete imagery is amazing. And I love her view of things she thought was fascinating. I feel like she is a part of my own spirit.
@charlenetherrien37882 жыл бұрын
Wow! I read My Antonia many yrs ago and have never forgotten it. This is wonderful. I am motivated to read others! Thank you!
@hbrucerinker4595 Жыл бұрын
What an incredible early American writer! Why has her Virgina birth house outside Winchester, been abandoned?
@26751422 жыл бұрын
What a treasure. Thank you for creating the videos!
@lilwil-ns3uo13 күн бұрын
My Antonia was the first Willa Cather book that I read in 6th grade. I'm from Nebraska and now live in Virginia. I completely understand how she became passionate about those open spaces. I long for them even now as I get older. I became passionate about the ocean. I will stay here in Virginia because I love it, but I will long for Nebraska till the day I die. I love her books. They take me back to those open expanses.
@molliwilson56392 жыл бұрын
Love this. Thank you for the upload. New Mexico is a very Spiritual place
@simonebittencourt82512 жыл бұрын
What an extraordinarily done documentary! What a remarkable life story and work of an amazing writer and woman. I loved listening to the female voice reading Willa Cather's writings... such a hypnotic voice... Thank you so much for this gem!
@zharapatterson Жыл бұрын
The actress is Marcia Gay Harden.
@tothelighthouse98432 жыл бұрын
Great documentary--thanks for sharing this. I love that Cather closed the blinds on her private life, even though I wish like crazy that her letters had survived. My introduction to Cather was 'The Bohemian Girl', which is still one of my favourites.
@Ambimom2 жыл бұрын
I'll never understand why Willa Cather has fallen out of fashion. I've read almost everything she ever wrote, including the young adult novel of the French Canadians. IMHO she and Mark Twain are the two greatest American novelists. Her masterpieces are the stories and novels of the westward settling of the the Great Plains. They chronicle an American past that never really was, but that we all believe is true. These works are quintessentially American folklore but must be read with a critical eye. The truth is there, but not readily apparent in the same way the Little House sagas of the same period seem so idyllic but are full of hardship and misery romanticized out of existence.
@PK-bh1ww2 жыл бұрын
Young peope today don't care about the history of settling America. What past are you speaking if that really wasn't? My grandmother grew up in a dugout. I've been doing genealogy (fascinating and like reading a novel of pioneer days) and people in the mid 1800's traveled all over resettling. It really wasn't romantic. It was a very hard life. They had to always be preparing for the next day or week or they wouldn't have survived. My great grandfather helped settle the little town I grew up in.
@littleflower89152 жыл бұрын
An America that never really was? I think the lives described on My Antonia were the America that really was. Dugouts, suicide were only folklore? The corruption and decline of A lost Lady are folklore? Little House on the Prairie can't compare to Willa Cather's novels.
@alisonmorgan25152 жыл бұрын
The experiences during that time (and indeed ALL times) were lived and experienced individually and in different ways by every single person. There can never be one account of what happened, not one true reality. Novels are like people: one voice, working to describe and share an experience or a vision of their world. The fact that it might be fiction, biographical, autobiographical or based on actual history, does not matter one whit - it is a life lived. The way that life is described and presented is what makes it a success. We cannot say that any novel distorts a human life, because somewhere amongst all of human society there will be elements of those experiences, even the idealised or romanticised aspects. If we can understand this, we can read and enjoy well written fiction as a version of human life.
@zharapatterson2 жыл бұрын
Little House, book series written by Lauren Ingalls Wilder is meant for children, Willa Cather is a writer for adults, which is darker and more complicated than life on the "wholesome Nebraska Plaines".
@marjoriegarner53697 ай бұрын
Alison: Brilliant comment. Beautifully written. Thought provoking. Sound philosophy. Thank you from an 81 year old granny and frustrated writer in southwest Montana
@31Alden11 ай бұрын
Beautifully scripted, narrated, and orchestrated documentary on an exceptionally gifted writer.
@jeanstatonglore82962 жыл бұрын
My mother had me read My Antonia when I was in grade school. Thank you, Mom. Great call. I am 64 and I still remember being enthralled.
@traciebecker66692 жыл бұрын
I wish people would stop so hoping for people to be homosexual to the point they would be disappointed if they aren't when they don't know enough about their sex lives. No wonder she wanted her things burnt, she knew her privacy would be destroyed. Some of us don't need to be all up in everyone's private life, to know what another woman or man chooses to do in their private bed. It's becoming where we are at risk of being defined by our sexuality. We are so much more than this. We are spiritual beings.
@hijodelaisla2752 жыл бұрын
Not any more, we're not. Now we're vulgar peeping Toms. (Not you and me, of course; "we" as a society.)
@alicel39922 жыл бұрын
Tracie Becker Very well said. Close the bedroom door and come to the table, read and enjoy the fruits of the good book. Let's go on a trip of another's life. What will we learn? What secrets will we uncover? Only read then you can find out.
@jenzen90412 жыл бұрын
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
@carolperczak99382 жыл бұрын
@@hijodelaisla275 Hubris seems to be your forte.
@hijodelaisla2752 жыл бұрын
@@carolperczak9938 And making baseless slurs seems to be yours.
@anneoboyle8447 Жыл бұрын
Thank you for this! One of my favourite Writers, Willa Ella Cather! 🙏🍀💕
@peterkirkman3357 Жыл бұрын
Like many people, I had not heard of this woman; another great PBS job, dramatic but without hysteria, a well held line.
@DomDollx2 жыл бұрын
I once did a spoken word where I was being filmed and I asked them to stop filming. I wanted people to remember me as I was and my words, my work. I totally understand what she meant. I got chills as the orator began reading a few lines of her words. Ty.
@josephcollins60332 жыл бұрын
How wonderful these documentaries are! Thank you.
@AuthorDocumentaries2 жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoy them!
@mikeletaurus47282 жыл бұрын
In the right hands, Cather's masterful "The Song of the Lark" could lend itself to becoming a brilliant epic film. To be successful, the crew and cast involved in its filmic adaptation would need to possess uncommon intelligence and sensitivity. An accomplished director of photography could transform the novel's many highly cinematic passages into spellbinding imagery that would compensate for the narrative challenges involved in depicting 30 years of Thea Kronborg's life as she grows from a small girl living on the edge of the Colorado desert into an internationally renowned opera singer performing Wagner in turn-of-the-century Manhattan.
@cheri23816 күн бұрын
What a wonderful documentary about the author, Willa Cather. I have all her novels.
@MM-qb9is2 жыл бұрын
Amazing documentary thank you! I'm so inspired and will be buying her novels
@ontime34622 жыл бұрын
Very much enjoyed this documentary. Thank you.
@kathrynpowell71092 жыл бұрын
I absolutely love her writing. Willa Cather surpasses others.
@mellodeedavis20982 жыл бұрын
Wow!! I have just witnessed a great writer I knew nothing about. Thank you!
@fastingcoach97112 жыл бұрын
Wonderful brilliant Thank you so much for your dedication to this subject documentary!
@denisepresnell28002 жыл бұрын
I grew up in south-central Nebraska. My father had a trailer on a lake where the nearest 'town' is Red Cloud. My brother-in-law's brother is married to a Cather - directly related to Willa. I love the plains of Nebraska - though I don't live there now. My mother grew up in the Sandhills and was an avid reader - handed down to all of us.
@denisepresnell28002 жыл бұрын
I am also a graduate of the University of Nebraska.
@encouragingword11722 жыл бұрын
Beautifully done documentary. Ive always been an avid reader yet somehow lve missed reading any of Willa’s work! I’ll now purpose to find some of her books and enjoy them. There was such beauty in the parts of her writing which were shared in this documentary! So much of what was said of Willa’s reticence to her changing world rings true to me and my own writings of over 50 yrs will probably forever remain in storage as l haven’t the courage Willa possessed! Bravo for Willa!
@gregorygarcia78072 жыл бұрын
I was on the mesa in the 1960's with my "Swinger" Camera . I can tell you I got a great picture of my fingertip and a half-a-snap of the cliff-dwelling. Good times were had by all!
@gloriamontgomery69002 жыл бұрын
I had a Swinger! I remember taking pictures of everything.
These are very fine bio videos. Yesterday I watched Maughm, which is just as good as this one. I love a good biography and wrirers/novelists hold special interest. Id love to have known Cather. Thanks for making these excellent programs available.
@Blurb7772 жыл бұрын
Can't believe it - but I watched this on April 24, 2022 - 75 years to the day of the anniversary of her death, 75 years to the day of my parents' wedding anniversary, 111 years ago to the day of my father's birthday, a Greek immigrant who came in 1932 and lived in Brooklyn amongst the Jewish, Italian, Polish and Greek immigrant community who made up the new America. Small world.
@giaatta93032 жыл бұрын
Me too. Wow eh? I have never heard of her. But will get her books
@Blurb7772 жыл бұрын
@@giaatta9303 you will LOVE My Antonia. It sticks to your ribs like hot oatmeal on a cold day.
@AlannahRyane2 жыл бұрын
I too had never heard of her but she brought me to this awesome channel. I'd forgotten the high quality of PBS docs and the storytelling of this amazing writer has given my wings a lift. Thank you for your amazing uploads
@williammedford58912 жыл бұрын
This documentary was beautifully realized. I'm sure Willa Cather would appreciate it.
@becca51002 жыл бұрын
I first read Willa Cather about 50 years ago. She continues to speak to me, though in different avenues...
@marjoriegarner53692 жыл бұрын
Magnificent documentary. Just exquisite. The story of a beautiful lady and of her life and her gift. Presented in such a perfect way.
@519djw62 жыл бұрын
*Thank you for this wonderful documentary! I learned to love Willa Cather's writing in my 20's, and "My Ántonia" was the first book of "serious literature" that I tried to teach when I started working as a college lecturer in Japan. This first course was not an overwhelming success, but I hope to be able to repeat it at least once more--now that I've learned "a thing or two" about conducting literature courses for students whose language and culture is so remote from that of the USA--especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries.*
@carpenterbluechicken2 жыл бұрын
Oh I read a few of her books and yes the energy you feel is so intense, and she flows like no other author I have read! I fell in love, and read Death for the Arch bishop and Oh Pioneer and My Antonia, I think of my Grandma coming to America through Ellis Island, going to North Dakota, in the 1800's. Just amazing How much you feel a part of it, want it crave it, Thank you for the wonderful documentary. She grew up here in Winchester not to far from where I live. I can't imagine how it was back then, Virginia's rolling hills, and valleys..
@kevinrussell11442 жыл бұрын
Under-appreciated now, but back in the day a big deal. Every high school read Cather 50 years ago, but I wonder if that is still the case. I suspect not. Most would now consider her a lesser light than say Steinbeck, Hemmingway, or Fitzgerald, but I don’t agree. Some of her writing is so achingly beautiful, so simple yet elegant, that you cannot imaging another way of describing her scenes. Yes, the combat scenes in “One of Ours” are contrived and don’t quite ring true, but the portions of that book stateside are perfect. If you also look at “A Professor’s House” or “A Lost Lady”, or some of her short fiction, I defy you to find more moving material, or anything so full of wisdom. The books on the other side of "Professor" are more historical novels than contemporary, but they are still infused with the same deceptive depth and beauty. Is “Shadows on the Rock” the equal of “The Grapes of Wrath”? Take your pick (most don't choose her) but read both. I’m glad both existed. I love Cather and have most of her work, and when I want to read something beautiful I reach for her, but I see where the culture is going. It’s sad, as is life.
@zeekwolfe62512 жыл бұрын
Willa Cather's MY ANTONIA is one of the best books I ever read.
@nelsaf365 Жыл бұрын
Excellent, in-depth documentary of a writer that, as mentioned, fell by the wayside after the wars. Upon seeing the Southwest for the first time, like Cather, I felt the enormity of space that is isolating yet comfortably accepting of the misfit or creative. That edition of "Death Comes for the Archbishop" shown in the doc is the same one I have here in New Mexico. Cather, so strong, independent, and creative, should be more widely known than she is now as it is obvious she was a trailblazer in journalism and creative writing.
@marjoriegarner53697 ай бұрын
Nels: Beautifully written comment. It's refreshing to read your well crafted words. I'm a frustrated writer. 81 yr old granny, in Montana, USA.
@AGMundy Жыл бұрын
I am perhaps one of the few Brits who knows the works of Willa Cather. Inevitably perhaps the first I read was Death Comes for the Archbishop. I think America produced some marvelous writers in the early part of the 20th century. Willa Cather I certainly rank in the top drawer, along with Theodore Dreiser (how relevant is The Trilogy of Desire today), Carson McCullers and so on.
@michaelwebster85772 ай бұрын
I'm from the UK and was fortunate enough to be introduced to Willa Cather at university 40 years ago. She is still my favourite writer!
@montanagal6958 Жыл бұрын
I have watched this twice now. Thank-you for a high quality biography of such an interesting person!
@KellyBell1 Жыл бұрын
For whatever reasons,..people cannot just enjoy something for the wonderful story. There’s always the JUDGEMENT. Who cares what she did or did not do in her personal life? She was about living her life to give others stories to enjoy….. Wonderful documentary! I think I will read My Antonia tonight…..Thank You Willa Cather……❤
@bartleymollohan10902 жыл бұрын
Having moved from a suburb of Dayton, Ohio (6 Target stores with in 20 minutes) to Hastings, Ne (one Target 60 minutes away) my wife absolutely identifies with the feelings of Cather moving to Nebraska.
@jillcockerell25642 жыл бұрын
Thank you for this documentary, I often wondered about her life, I have read most of her works and every time am drawn into the time, place and story.
@scottburbridge3170 Жыл бұрын
i went to college in York, Nebraska (in 1994-1995); very close to where she lived. i also visited the home there in Red Cloud that she lived in. i loved Nebraska when i lived there. Willa developed into a beautiful young woman in Nebraska. i only feel of Nebraska as magickal and peaceful and fascinating. i then lived in Texas, and then in DC. in 2018, i moved to (Garfield) Pittsburgh PA. Willa lived (in Squirrel Hill) at 1180 Murray Hill Ave. Willa wasn't bisexual ... i believe ... bisexuality was more difficult to her. her letters do not disclose any intimate details about personal life, but they do "make clear that [her] primary emotional attachments were to women." i adore Willa; such a gorgeous rock and a blessing to anyone who knew her.
@Lxx-tc4xc2 жыл бұрын
My tribute to my father in law, on the centennial of his birth. He grew up on the Oklahoma prairie, and died 11 years before I met his daughter. I was taught Cather's place in American lit during my sophomore year in high school. 40 years ago, I gave my mother a copy of "Death Comes to the Archbishop," a book she came to respect. "100 years ago today, a boy was born on a small desolate farm in Jackson County, Oklahoma. He was named Gordon. His father had acquired the land in 1904 under the Homestead Act. The land was unsuited to cropping, and mesquite was the only thing that grew easily on it. I've been told that the only "cash crop" on that farm was the few hundred Thanksgiving turkeys the family raised every year. He grew at least some of the corn the turkeys ate. The family also grew its own vegetables, and raised some chickens. I suspect that the family drank milk from a cow who ate whatever grass she could find. "Gordon was the fifth of six siblings, and the fourth of five boys. I am told that he was raised in fair part by his only sister, Inez, who did not spare the rod. I am confident that he wore mostly hand-me-downs. In order to attend high school, he had to bicycle at least 20 miles a day, on unpaved roads. At least the terrain was perfectly flat - a small favour for which Gordon was surely grateful. He did not live in a residence with electric power and plumbing until his freshman year in college. "Like so many men of his generation, Gordon served in WW2, in his case the Signal Corps. Early this century, some of his wartime letters to his folks were found. Those letters revealed that his unit helped liberate the part of France where my mother hailed from and where I was born. He married and had two daughters, one of whom I married. He died more than a decade before I met any of his descent. I never met his widow either; she too died years before I came on the scene. She was the daughter of a Nebraska homesteader, and the second woman to graduate from Oklahoma State in electrical engineering. Thanks to the GI Bill, Gordon too graduated from Oklahoma State in electrical engineering. "Gordon’s father died in 1944; his mother followed suit in 1960. In the summer of 2000, Ruth and I visited the homestead, which is 10 miles east of Eldorado OK. Gordon’s younger brother Doyle was our guide. All that remained of the homestead was an utter ruin, stripped of all paint by the stiff wind and harsh sun, and surrounded by mesquite that ran pretty near to the horizon. Electric wiring was installed in 1947 (traces of that wiring could be seen in 2000), but the house was abandoned a year later and has never been occupied since. Doyle also showed us Eldorado, with its stark rural poverty and decay. Google street confirms that nothing has improved since 2000. Thus many store fronts on Eldorado’s Main Street have been vacant for decades. Eldorado’s population is now about 400, one third of what it was during Gordon’s boyhood. "Dear reader, if you have come this far with me, you can appreciate why some of Larry McMurtry’s (1936-2021) writings mean a lot to me. McMurtry grew up near Archer City, Texas, which is about a 2-3 hour drive from Eldorado. Archer City is larger and somewhat less poor than Eldorado, mainly because one can commute to jobs in nearby Wichita Falls. His father was a two-bit cattle rancher who owned too little land, and whose life was an endless struggle with stubborn livestock and a Mother Nature indifferent to human comfort. For some pioneer families, the American dream never materialised until after WW2, when it finally became the case that anybody with a decent mind could obtain a college degree."
@naelyneurkopfen97412 жыл бұрын
A lovely tribute, thank you for sharing the story of Gordon with me,a daughter of Oklahoma.
@HelenA-fd8vl2 жыл бұрын
Thank you from the UK. That was moving.
@randymorgan8375 Жыл бұрын
Thank you for sharing. I was raised in small town kamay, my Doctor" was in Archer city, my schooling was in Holliday.
@randymorgan8375 Жыл бұрын
You my friend have Beautiful writing too.
@Lxx-tc4xc Жыл бұрын
@@randymorgan8375 Thank you for your compliment, which means a great deal to me.
@dorishanoum381129 күн бұрын
As Always PBS, has the Best programming & this Documentery was very well done🤗👍👏, Now I need to vsit my local Library & ck out what books they may have on Willa Cather, thank you👏😊