And while Mark Twain's career as a riverboat pilot is familiar territory, perhaps less widely known is Theodore Dreiser's stint as drama critic for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Or the Shaw neighborhood apartment where "Joy of Cooking" author Irma Rombauer began to entertain. Or the courthouse steps where the bankrupted Evening Dispatch newspaper was auctioned for a mere $2,500 to a young, would-be publisher named Joseph Pulitzer.
These stories and more can be found in "Literary St. Louis," the most definitive guidebook yet published on St. Louis' surprisingly rich literary heritage. The lavishly illustrated volume, compiled by the International Writers Center (IWC) in Arts & Sciences, profiles more than 50 authors who have lived and worked in the region, ranging from the world-renowned to the famous-in-their-day to the fascinatingly obscure.
The book also provides a chronology of noteworthy literary happenings that stretches from the return of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1806 to the death of native son and Beat-era author William S. Burroughs just two years ago.
"Literary St. Louis" is edited by author and essayist William H. Gass, Ph.D., director of the IWC and the David May Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in the Humanities, and Lorin Cuoco, the IWC's associate director.
"We've been gathering material for this project since the Writers Center was founded in 1990," Cuoco said. "The criteria were simple: writers had to be deceased and had to have spent enough time in St. Louis to have the city give meaning to their work."
The book is organized by geographic region, containing chapters on "Downtown," "Midtown," "The Central West End," "University City and Clayton" and "The Outer Limits." Also included are maps and descriptions of both existing and lost sites of historic interest.
"Working on this book has been wonderful but also sad," Cuoco noted, explaining that more than one notable structure has been torn down in the last year alone. "It's amazing how quickly these places can become parking lots if people aren't paying attention."
The volume includes 17 original illustrations as well as more than 100 photographs culled from the archives of the University, the Missouri Historical Society and, in some cases, from the collections of surviving relatives.
"We tried to hunt down unique yet representative images," Cuoco explained, noting the example of Martha Gellhorn, a newspaper correspondent during the Spanish Civil War, who is shown in a 1926 John Burroughs School graduation portrait. (Gellhorn also was one of three St. Louis women to marry Ernest Hemingway.) Media theorist Marshall McLuhan is pictured descending the steps of St. Louis' New Cathedral in a 1939 wedding photo.
The production of "Literary St. Louis" was a cooperative venture among faculty, staff and alumni from across campus. Ken Botnick, associate professor of graphic design in the School of Art and director of the Nancy Spirtas Kranzberg Studio for the Illustrated Book, designed the volume. Illustrations are by School of Art alumna Emily Pyle (BFA '99). Michelle Komie (BA, BFA '97), program coordinator for the IWC, served as curator of photos.
In addition, several Washington University students and alumni made significant contributions to the text. These include Komie, Matt Bar (AB '00) and Derek Webster (MFA '98) as well as seniors Todd Borlik, Max Eisenstein and Chris Lawton and junior Meg Hoester.
The paperback volume retails for $19.95. It will be published in late September by the Missouri Historical Society Press and will be available at most local bookstores. For more information or to place advance orders, call the book's distributor, the University of Missouri Press, at 1-800-828-1894.