Hello
Gentle Reader
Paula
Fox was a distinguished writer for children and adults. Her work dealt with
themes of dislocation, dysfunction, alienation and abandonment; which were
attributed to come from her early life experiences as a child, in which she was
rejected by her mother, and would be left in the care of others. It is reported
in her memoir “Borrowed Finery,” when Paula was reunited with her mother at the
age of five, the young Paula was treated like a prisoner of war. The experience
was of course traumatic for the five year old, and she would later theorize
that if her mother could hide the deed and get away with it, she would most
certainly have killed Paula. It is at this point, Paula would have little
contact with her paternal mother, and life would go on as usual, with a few
missteps of her own. Paula became pregnant at the age of twenty, and give birth
to a daughter, whom she would give up for adoption. This daughter would become
Linda Carroll; who would become an author and couples therapist. Linda Carroll’s
daughter is none other than the grunge queen and singer and musician Courtney
Love, who is also the wife and widow of tragic musician Kurt Cobain, and mother
of visual artist of Francis Bean Cobain. Looking at this family tree,
complicated family relationships exist between mothers and daughters, as is the
case of Paula Fox with her mother Elise Fox; to her daughter Linda Carroll’s
relationship with her daughter, Courtney Love, and Love’s relationship with her
daughter Francis Bean Cobain.
Paula
Fox did not immediately turn to writing; as Fox did not start to write and
publish until well into her forties. Yet, when she began to publish and gain recognition
for her work, Paula Fox’s work was noted for complex characters, a pared-down
economic prose along with minute observations, and she gain special praise for
her ability to control the pace of her prose. She won the Newberry Medal (often
considered the Pulitzer Prize for children’s fiction) for her novel “The Slave
Dancer,” which became a controversial novel, about the slave trade in Atlanta
during the mid-nineteenth century. Fox is most well-known to adults for her
novel “Desperate Character,” in which she dissects the dissolution of a
marriage. Despite her foray into adult literature, and the bit of success she
found, her work for children often took greater precedence then her work for
the more mature audience, and would soon fall out of print. Yet with the praise
of Jonathan Franzen, Paula Fox’s work found a new renaissance during the
nineties, as many new readers were reintroduced to her work.
Paula
Fox is best regarded as the dark horse of American children’s literature. She won
numerous awards for her outstanding books in this field, including the Hans
Christian Andersen Award for her output in that genre. Her children’s
literature, often dealt with themes and issues, some would claim were best left
alone for children; yet Paula Fox appears to understand the child like capacity
to understand, to show compassion, and to have empathy for the human condition,
in which many would wish to shelter children from. Despite her mature treatment
and understanding of children, Paula Fox and her writing has not been accepted
without protest—as is the case of her winning the Newberry Medal.
Despite
being a dark horse of children’s literature, and slightly underappreciated for
her prose for adults, Paula Fox, is cherished by those who have read her, and
swear by her unique understanding of the human condition. She has been called a
unsung genius; and a master at work in which she depicts the modern plight of
the ordinary and their tragic mundane lives, better than most.
Rest
in Peace, Paula Fox.
Thank-you
For Reading Gentle Reader
Take
Care
And
As Always
Stay
Well Read
M. Mary
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