The sources listed herein have been selected as an
introduction to the life and works of James Thurber, one of the prominent figures in
American humor. Although some of the items that follow contain critical analysis of the
subject's works, the main focus of this pathfinder is on biographical resources. The
materials included in this pathfinder have been selected from the general reference and
biographical sources available at the Davis and Undergraduate Libraries on the Campus of
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- Since first impressions are the most important, the best introduction to James Thurber
is his own work. Put more succinctly, "James Thurber left his own monument. He
created it . . . in the pages of the New Yorker." ("Whisky and Wry."
The Economist, Feb. 17, 1996.)
- A List of Thurber's Works
Rtn. to Contents
- LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SUBJECT HEADINGS FOR RESOURCES ON THURBER:
| Thurber, James, 1894-1961 |
Very Relevant |
| Thurber, James, 1894-1961 -- Additional Terms |
Very Relevant |
| Cartoonists -- United States -- Biography |
General |
| Humorists -- United States -- Biography |
General |
| Authors, American -- 20th Century -- Additional Terms
|
General |
| Children's Literature -- Bio-bibliography |
General |
| Humorists, American -- 20th Century -- Additional
Terms |
General |
| American Literature -- Additional Terms |
Very General |
Rtn. to Contents
- BROWSING AREAS:
- Davis Library - Seventh Floor and Undergraduate Library - Lower Level
| PS3539.H94 A7 - PS3539.H94 Z464: |
Books by James Thurber |
| PS3539.H94 Z48 - PS3539.H94 Z77: |
Biographies, Literary Analysis and Critiques |
Rtn. to Contents
- AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS AND COLLECTIONS:
- Thurber did not write his memoirs. He didn't need to. He had been writing them his whole
career in the form of short pieces, called "casuals" by his New Yorker editor,
Harold Ross. Many of those who write about Thurber remark on how he put so much of his own
life experiences into his work, with liberal embellishments to - as he saw it - make the
story better.
-
- Thurber, James. My Life and Hard Times.
New York, Harper & Row, 1973.
Buy the Book
| PS3539.H94 M87 |
Davis - Seventh Floor |
- This is the closest that the subject came to an autobiography, although there is a lot
of literary license taken with the facts. The stories are of the day-to-day experiences of
a young Thurber living in Columbus, Ohio. An excellent read time and time again.
-
- Thurber, Helen and Weeks, Edward. Selected
Letters of James Thurber.
 New York: Penguin, 1981.
| PS3539.H94 Z48 |
Davis - Seventh Floor |
- The collection includes a whole range of correspondence between Thurber and his closest
friends and loved-ones to regrets sent to declined invitations. Many of the subject's
letters include illustrations. The book also includes an index to persons and subjects
mentioned in the letters.
-
- Thurber, James. The
Thurber Album: A New Collection of Pieces About People. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1952.
| PS3539.H94 T46 |
Undergraduate - Lower Level |
- This book is a collection of short stories that Thurber wrote about members of his
family, friends and acquaintances. Where the writing of this book is discussed in
biographies on Thurber, there was some opposition by his family on his portrayal of his
father in this work.
Rtn. to Contents
- BIOGRAPHIES ON JAMES THURBER:
- All the biographies on Thurber tend to cover the whole of his life, from birth to death,
differing from each other only in which facets of that life get the most attention. Some
stress the relationships and personal growth of the subject for its own sake, while others
concentrate on the writing or drawings and include the personal only as it directly
impacts or explains them.
-
- Joyce, Rosemary O., Rosen, Michael J. and Vickers, Donn F. Of Thurber &
Columbustown. Columbus, Ohio: Thurber House, 1984.
| PS3539.H94 Z73 |
Davis - Seventh Floor |
- An affectionate account of the subject's life told by his daughter, close friends and
admirers. Photographs and illustrations are on every page, as well as a lot of information
on the Columbus of Thurber's youth. This oral history does not include much information on
the subject's works.
-
- Kinney, Harrison. James
Thurber: His Life and Times. New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1995.
| PS3569.H94 Z75 1995 |
Davis - Seventh Floor |
- At over a thousand pages, this is a detailed account of the subject's professional and
personal life. The author quotes extensively from interviews with the family, friends and
acquaintances of Thurber; and provides a great deal of family history. The circumstances
surrounding the Thurber's creations are meticulously recorded, with candid reference to
the facts when persons' accounts conflict.
-
- Grauer, Neil A. Remember
Laughter: A Life of James Thurber. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press,
1994.
| PS3539.H94 Z68 1994 |
Davis - Seventh Floor |
- This well-written portrait of Thurber, the writer, uses the personal anecdotes as a
context within which to examine his work. The author relies on interviews with Thurber's
family, friends and contemporaries. The subject's childhood and youth are covered in the
first chapter, with the bulk of the book concentrating on the subject as an established
writer. A modest collection of the subject's drawings and family photographs are sprinkled
throughout.
-
- Long, Robert E. James
Thurber. New York: Continuum Publishing Company, 1988.
| PS3539.H94 Z76 1988 |
Davis - Seventh Floor |
- The author relies more on published and unpublished written materials such as Thurber's
correspondence and manuscripts, as well as conversations with his other biographers and
contemporaries. The subject's life and career are concisely particularized in the first
chapter. Each of the remaining chapters treats a category of the work, his drawings, his
fiction of the 1930's, "other stories," autobiographical-like works, parodies
and other humor pieces, and his fables and children's books. There is a detailed five-page
Chronology of the subject's life at the beginning of the book.
Rtn. to Contents
- FREQUENTLY REFERENCED TEXTS:
- Holmes, Charles S. The
Clocks of Columbus: The Literary Career of James Thurber. New York:
Atheneum, 1972.
| PS3539.H94 Z7 1972 |
Davis - Seventh Floor |
- For this biography, the author relied on interviews with the subject's brother and
second wife, friends and colleagues as well as personal correspondence and unpublished
materials. It should be noted that the author does not include direct quotations from
Thurber's letters, due to lack of permission. Every creative project by Thurber is covered
chronologically, with the subject's personal life and letters providing a context for each
piece discussed. Included is a short section of photographs.
-
- Bernstein, Burton. Thurber:
A Biography. New York: Arbor House, [1975] 1985.
| PS3539.H94 Z57 1985 |
Davis - Seventh Floor |
- A very complete biography, considered by some, particularly the subject's widow, to be
slanted toward the negative. Several of Thurber's letters and other unpublished writings
are quoted throughout.
-
- Morsberger, Robert E. James
Thurber. New York: Twayne, 1964.
| PS3539.H94 Z77 |
Davis - Seventh Floor |
- Includes details of the subject's life, an analysis of his work and a bibliography.
Provides a convenient Chronology of significant events in Thurber's life. There is an
index and a bibliography of primary and secondary sources, some of which are unpublished
and uncollected.
Rtn. to Contents
- HANDBOOKS, ENCYCLOPEDIAS AND DICTIONARIES:
- The reference books listed in this section have been selected for their large amounts of
detailed information on the subject's life and works. Reference sources with less than a
page or two of material are not included in this pathfinder, unless they offer information
not commonly found in other sources or an exceptionally useful bibliography.
-
- Magill, Frank N., ed. Cyclopedia of World Authors II. vol. 4,
Pasadena, California and Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Salem Press, 1989.
| PN451.C93 |
Davis - Humanities Reference |
- The pages devoted to the subject include only 1461-1463 and only a general overview of
the subject's life and works, but the bibliographical references at the end include useful
short descriptions for each source listed.
-
- Collier, L., and J. Nakamura, eds. Major
Authors and Illustrators for Children and Young Adults : A Selection of Sketches from
Something About the Author. Detroit: Gale Research, 1993.
| PN451.M37 1993 |
SILS - Reference |
- The information in this source covers pp. 2301-2309. Lists of dates and events
pertaining to his personal life and career and of his awards and memberships are followed
by a comprehensive list of his works, categorized by genre. A brief chronological account
of his life and work precedes closer examinations of many of his major titles.
-
- Arner, Robert D. James Thurber: An Introduction. Columbus: State
Library of Ohio, 1979.
| PS3539.H94 Z53 |
Davis - Seventh Floor |
- After a short biographical summary, this monograph gives an introductory look at the
major themes and literary techniques in the subject's writings. Towards the end, the tone
becomes less positive. A bibliography of primary and secondary works is provided.
-
- Cech, J., ed. Dictionary of Literary Biography: American Writers for
Children, 1900-1960. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research, 1983. S.v. "James
Thurber."
| PS21.D5185 1978 v.22 |
Davis - Humanities Reference |
- The entry on the subject, found under "Thurber, James," includes pp. 315-320
of volume 22. After a short summary of the subject's other works, the entry provides brief
descriptions of the plot of each children's book and quotations from contemporary reviews
and the author regarding each. There is a photograph of the subject, an example of his
artwork and photos of two of his best-known children's' books.
-
- Kimbel, B.E., ed. Dictionary of Literary Biography: American Short-Story
Writers, 1910-1945, Second Series. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research, 1978.
| PS21.D5185 1978 v.102 |
Davis - Humanities Reference |
- The entry on the subject, found under "Thurber, James," includes pp. 319-334
of volume 102. Provides a detailed introductory survey of the subject's shorter works and
also includes information on his artwork, including several examples of it on p. 331.
-
- Rood, K. L., ed. Dictionary
of Literary Biography: American Writers in Paris, 1920-1939. Detroit,
Michigan: Gale Research, 1978.
| PS21.D5185 1978 v.4 |
Davis - Humanities Reference |
- The entry on the subject covers pp. 385-388, and focuses on the times the subject spent
in France and its impact on his writing. It also includes a short bibliography.
-
- Trachtenberg, S., ed. Dictionary of Literary Biography: American Humorists,
1800-1950. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research, 1978.
| PS21.D5185 1978 v. 11 pt. 2 |
Davis - Reference |
- The article on the subject is found on pp. 505-526, in part 2 of volume 11 of the
series, and covers all facets of the subject's literary career. There are a few
photographs, examples of the subject's artwork and a complete list of the his books.
-
- Unger, L., ed. American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies.
Suppl. I, pt. 2, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1979.
| PS129.A55 |
Davis - Humanities Reference |
- The material on Thurber covers pp. 602-624, and includes a large selected bibliography.
The article is a less-than-neutral depiction of the subject, explaining away negative
aspects included. There are more details on the subject's political philosophy and public
expressions of opinion on popular issues of his time.
-
- Gale, S. H., ed. Encyclopedia of American Humorists. New York:
Garland Publishing, 1988.
| PS430.E53 |
Davis - Humanities Reference |
- This is much more of an introductory source, providing concise overviews of the
subject's life and work. The entry on the subject, found on pp. 445-451, is organized into
separate sections, "Biography," "Literary Analysis" and a very brief
"Summary," followed by a short selected bibliography.
Rtn. to Contents
- HANDBOOKS, ENCYCLOPEDIAS AND DICTIONARIES FOR OTHER GENRES:
- The references to the subject within the more specialized sources for Theatre, Art and
Journalism are fewer in number and much briefer in content. Thurber is clearly much more
of a literary figure, but some recognition also exists in the other worlds.
-
- Bordman, Gerald. The
Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1992.
| PN2220.B6 |
Davis - Reference Desk |
- On page 456, there is a short entry in this source on the subject's most successful
play, "The Male Animal." It includes a synopsis of the plot and quotes from one
critique. The entry for this play is cross-referenced under "Thurber." There are
no illustrations or photographs.
-
- Hochman, Stanley, ed. McGraw-Hill
Encyclopedia of World Drama : An International Reference Work in 5 Volumes.
Vol. 5, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984.
| PN1625.M3 |
Davis - Humanities Reference |
- Indexed under the subject's name, there is short entry on his two successful comedies on
page 23 of the fifth volume. A small photograph of the subject in his later years marks
the short article.
-
- Taft, William H. Encyclopedia of twentieth-century journalists.
New York : Garland, 1986.
| PN4871 .T34 |
Davis - Humanities Reference |
- A very short entry on Thurber can be found on page 344 briefly sketching out his early
experience as a reporter, although his fame as a writer for The New Yorker are more
the reason for his inclusion in this source than his newspaper career.
-
- Becker, Stephen. Comic Art in America: A Social History of the Funnies, the
Political Cartoons, Magazine Humor, Sporting Cartoons and Animated Cartoons. New
York: Simon and Schuster, 1959.
| NC1420 .B4 |
Undergraduate - Lower Level |
- Two of Thurber's cartoons are shown in this source on page 126, and he is included as a
major contributor to The New Yorker's sophisticated style of humor.
-
- Murrell, William. A
History of American Graphic Humor (1865-1938). New York: Cooper Square
Publishers, 1967.
| NC1420 .M8 |
Undergraduate - Lower Level |
- Mention of James Thurber's "spontaneous untaught draftsmanship" is made on pp.
237-238, including a long quote from the famous Dorothy Parker essay on the drawings. One
example of the artwork is shown here.
Rtn. to Contents
REVIEWS AND ESSAYS ON
WORKS:
As this pathfinder is intended as an introductory guide to the subject, this section
has been limited to two compilations of the more well-known essays and articles which were
typically written with the wider audience in mind. The more in-depth and scholarly
analyses have not been included, because they fall outside the introductory scope of this
pathfinder. There is some overlap between these two sources.
|
 |
- Holmes, Charles S. Thurber:
A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall, 1974.
| PS3539.H94 Z72 |
Davis - Seventh Floor |
- This book provides good-sized group of the major reviews and essays about Thurber and
his work, including commentary from figures like Dorothy Parker and E.B. White. Each
article is unabridged and the book also provides a Chronology of important dates and
events in the subject's life, a selected bibliography and notes on the editor and
contributors.
-
- Harris, L., and Fitzgerald, S., eds. Short
story criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of Short Fiction Writers.
Vol. 1, Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research, 1988.
| PN3335.S56 |
Davis - Reference Row Four |
- The entry for Thurber includes pp. 411-436, and provides a chronologically ordered
selection of excerpts from the major commentaries on the subject's work. The bibliography
at the end is of modest length, but includes many of the standard sources.
Rtn. to Contents
- BIBLIOGRAPHIES:
- As there are relatively few stand-alone bibliographies on Thurber and his work, those
that exist are frequently referenced in the other materials about him. For these reasons
all the sources of this kind available in the Davis and Undergraduate Libraries at UNC-CH
are listed here.
-
- Bowden, E. T., James
Thurber: A Bibliography. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1968.
| Z8878.4.B65 |
Davis - Eighth Floor, Non-circulating |
- A frequently-cited source that supplies very detailed information on the subject's
original books and all the articles and drawings for periodicals. There is a section on
the subject's contributions to other books and another section devoted to the many
translations of his work. At the end, an index to the drawings and writings listed is
provided.
-
- Bruccoli, M. J., and J. S. Baughman, eds.
Bibliography of American Fiction, 1919-1988. Vol. 2, New York: Facts On
File, 1991.
| Z1231.F4 B47 |
Davis - Reference |
- Includes biographical references, comprehensive listing of subject's works, critical
studies, interviews with the subject and major journal articles. An index is also
provided, which shows the entry for "James Thurber" to be on pp. 500-503.
-
- Toombs, Sarah E., James
Thurber: An Annotated Bibliography of Criticism. New York and London:
Garland, 1987.
| Z8878.4.T66 |
Davis - Eighth Floor |
- This book catalogs secondary references to Thurber's writing, including articles of
"critical, historical or biographical interest." The parts of the lists are
categorized by genre, then alphabetized by author's name. Each source is numbered, and
there are indexes in the back for author, title and short stories citing these numbers.
Rtn. to Contents
- INTERVIEWS:
- Because of the subject's penchant for re-using the same anecdotes and ideas during an
interview, - even repeating whole passages from his published materials - a collection of
the more well-known and frequently-cited interviews is more appropriate for an
introduction to the subject. In this way, the duplication of content is more easily
avoided.
-
- Fensch, Thomas Conversations
with James Thurber. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1989.
| PS3539.H94 Z464 |
Davis - Seventh Floor |
- A generous collection of the more well known interviews from all through the subject's
life. Apart from a photograph of the subject at the front of the volume, there are no
illustrations. A chronology of the subject's life comes after the introduction. There is
an index to subjects mentioned in the interviews.
-
- Brandon, Henry. "A Conversation with James Thurber: 'Everybody is Getting Very
Serious.'" The New Republic. (138, no. 21, 2271, May 26,
1958):11-16.
| AP2.N624 |
Davis - Second Floor Folios |
- This interview provides some examples of Thurber's observations on American society and
language. It includes a couple of the subject's drawings, one of which was sketched during
the interview.
Rtn. to Contents
- JOURNALS THAT FREQUENTLY CONTAIN ARTICLES BY OR ABOUT JAMES
THURBER:
- Thurber's writing and unusual drawings struck a chord with the popular culture, and so
he spent a large part of his life as a celebrity. Articles on him and his work appear in
both mainstream journals and the more scholarly publications. The following is a select
list of the journals in which the more frequently-referenced articles are found.
-
- Lost Generation Journal. Tulsa, Oklahoma: Literary Enterprises.
| NX504.L67 |
Davis - Sixth Floor |
- Published three times a year, this journal concentrates on articles, reviews and essays
on writers of the "Lost Generation" era. The Winter, 1975, issue is a Special
issue almost wholly devoted to articles on Thurber.
-
- Harper's Magazine. New York, Harper's Magazine Co.
| AP2 .H37 |
Davis - Second Floor |
- Later entitled Harper's, this monthly general interest magazine
frequently printed pieces by Thurber starting from the early 1930's until 1960.
-
- The New Republic. New York: The New Republic.
| AP2 .N624 |
Davis - Second Floor Folios |
- During the years when the majority of the articles about the subject appear in this
magazine, the publication was bi-weekly and covered a broad range of subjects of general
interest to American culture and politics.
-
- The New Yorker. New York: New Yorker.
| AP2.N6763 |
Davis - Second Floor Folios |
- As the publication where the majority of Thurber's short works were first printed when
he was a writer on staff, the New Yorker is a good source of articles by and about the
subject.
-
- Paris Review. Paris: Paris Review.
| AP4.P245 |
Davis - Second Floor |
- This journal is published quarterly and regularly contains interviews with well-known
literary figures. Several interviews with the subject and articles about his works may be
found in this source.
Rtn. to Contents
|
