Maxwell Anderson

Home > ... > Literature and the Arts > Literature in English > American Literature: Biographies > ...

Maxwell Anderson

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Maxwell Anderson 1888-1959, American dramatist, b. Atlantic, Pa., grad. Univ. of North Dakota, 1911. His plays, many of which are written in verse, usually concern social and moral problems. Anderson was a journalist until the successful production in 1924 of What Price Glory?, a war drama written with Laurence Stallings. Winterset (1935), based on the Sacco-Vanzetti case, is probably Anderson's most successful verse tragedy. He wrote many historical dramas including Elizabeth the Queen (1930), Mary of Scotland (1933), Valley Forge (1934), Joan of Lorraine (1947), Anne of the Thousand Days (1948), and Barefoot in Athens (1951). Among his other plays are Both Your Houses (1933), High Tor (1937), The Star Wagon (1937), Key Largo (1939), and The Eve of St. Mark (1942). He also wrote the librettos for Kurt Weill's Knickerbocker Holiday (1938) and Lost in the Stars (1940). A collection of his poetry, Notes on a Dream, was published in 1972.

His eldest son, Quentin Anderson, 1914-2003, b. Minnewauken, N.Dak., was a literary critic, cultural historian, and Columbia Univ. professor (1939-81). Educated at Columbia (B.A., 1937; Ph. D., 1953) and Harvard (M.A., 1945), he was an expert on 19th-century American literature and wrote such books as The American Henry James (1957), The Imperial Self (1971), and Making Americans (1992).

Bibliography: See biography by A. S. Shivers (1982); bibliography by M. Cox (1958, repr. 1974).

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-AndrsonMax" title="Facts and information about Maxwell Anderson">Maxwell Anderson</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Maxwell Anderson." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 28 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Maxwell Anderson." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (November 28, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-AndrsonMax.html

"Maxwell Anderson." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-AndrsonMax.html

Learn more about citation styles

Anderson, (James) Maxwell

The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre | 1996 | | © The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre 1996, originally published by Oxford University Press 1996. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Anderson, (James) Maxwell (1888–1959), major and prolific American dramatist who wrote many of his plays in blank verse. His What Price Glory? (1924), written in collaboration, was a great popular hit, portraying realistically and sympathetically the American soldier in action during the First World War. Another outstanding popular success was Saturday's Children (1927), about the marriage problems of a young couple. A realistic play of modern city life, Gypsy (1929), preceded a series of idealistically conceived historical and pseudo-historical plays. The best of these were Elizabeth the Queen (1930), the first of his blank-verse plays, Night over Taos (1932), Mary of Scotland (1933), Valley Forge (1934), and The Wingless Victory (1936; London, 1943), about a mixed marriage. But Anderson was never content to follow any one dramatic or artistic formula. His realistic satires on political subjects are among his most effective works, among them Both Your Houses (1933), a savage attack on political corruption which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. In the fantasy High Tor (1937) he combined poetic drama with formal verse, philosophy, and political commentary; and in Winterset (1935), based on the Sacco-Vanzetti case, and Key Largo (1939), whose action begins in the Spanish Civil War, he sought to make tragic poetry out of the stuff of his own times. Among his later plays were another wartime play, The Eve of St Mark (1942; London, 1943), Joan of Lorraine (1946), on Joan of Arc, Anne of the Thousand Days (1948), on Anne Boleyn, and The Bad Seed (1954; London, 1955), a study of inherited homicidal tendencies, based on a novel. He also wrote the book and lyrics for the musicals Knickerbocker Holiday (1938) and Lost in the Stars (1949).

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O79-AndersonJamesMaxwell" title="Facts and information about Maxwell Anderson">Maxwell Anderson</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Anderson, (James) Maxwell." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 28 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Anderson, (James) Maxwell." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (November 28, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-AndersonJamesMaxwell.html

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Anderson, (James) Maxwell." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved November 28, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-AndersonJamesMaxwell.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article Green acres: Maxwell Anderson interviewed by Stephanie Cash.(NATURE: CULTURE)(Interview)
Magazine article from: Art in America; 10/1/2009
Free Article Anderson to Indianapolis.(Maxwell Anderson is director of Indianapolis Museum of Art)(Brief article)
Magazine article from: Art in America; 5/1/2006
Free Article Anderson Shakes Up the Whitney.
Magazine article from: Art in America; 12/1/1998

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va., Maxwell Anderson column: Anderson's wild ride at WVU.
Newspaper article from: Dominion Post (Morgantown, WV); 12/28/2006; 700+ words ; Byline: Maxwell Anderson Dec. 28--JACKSONVILLE, Fla...away. Awe, however, is not in Maxwell Anderson's vocabulary. As far as he...wind told the cold truth. Call it Maxwell Anderson's wild ride if you must. He is...
Maxwell Anderson's Gift of Relevance; 30 Years After His Death, His Plays Still Ring True
Newspaper article from: The Washington Post; 4/23/1989; ; 700+ words ; ...observe the 100th-birthday year of playwright Maxwell Anderson. Maxwell Who? One can almost hear a chorus of queries...20s, hardly a year passed without a new play by Maxwell Anderson, some of them enormous hits, prize winners and...
Techie museum chief maps digital landscape; Maxwell Anderson: Director Whitney Museum of American Art.(profile)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Magazine article from: Crain's New York Business; 5/21/2001; ; 700+ words ; When Maxwell Anderson came to the Whitney Museum of American...in the dark ages of digital. To Mr. Anderson, his next move was obvious: The first...change that landscape,'' says Mr. Anderson, who came to the Whitney from the Art...
Green acres: Maxwell Anderson interviewed by Stephanie Cash.(NATURE: CULTURE)(Interview)
Magazine article from: Art in America; 10/1/2009; ; 700+ words ; Maxwell Anderson took the helm of the Indianapolis Museum...A. spoke with the Prius-driving Anderson--arguably the AI Gore of museum...museum's greening efforts begin? MAXWELL ANDERSON The museum completed a green roof for...
Anderson to Indianapolis.(Maxwell Anderson is director of Indianapolis Museum of Art)(Brief article)
Magazine article from: Art in America; 5/1/2006; 563 words ; Maxwell Anderson, director of New York's Whitney Museum...at the University of Chicago. During Anderson's tenure at the Whitney, membership...expansion. Since leaving the Whitney, Anderson has worked as a consultant with various...
Patrick Maxwell, Terry Anderson Join Customer Analytics as Senior Consultants.
PR Newswire; 2/23/1999; 700+ words ; ...today announced that Patrick Maxwell and Terry Anderson have joined the company as senior...effectiveness for our customers." Mr. Maxwell most recently served as a Senior...joining Customer Analytics, Mr. Anderson led various information technology...
Smart Leaders: Maxwell L. Anderson
Magazine article from: Smart Business Indianapolis; 5/1/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...possible, as often as possible. To Maxwell L. Anderson, however, communication is lot...As the leader of your company, Anderson says that you must be aware that...person. Smart Business spoke with Anderson about the art of communication...
Richard L. Anderson to Give Maxwell Institute Lecture March 20
News Wire article from: Targeted News Service; 3/9/2009; 493 words ; ...emeritus Richard L. Anderson will present the 2009 Neal A. Maxwell Institute Lecture...Book of Mormon, Anderson will present a lecture...the "Richard L. Anderson Research Award...Twelve Apostles, the Maxwell Institute includes...
Maxwell & Cory: The longtime pals and rivals meet again Thursday.
Newspaper article from: Dominion Post (Morgantown, WV); 9/13/2006; 700+ words ; ...Morgantown rivalry, Cory Jackson and Maxwell Anderson were once teammates. In fact...Middle School. It was a blast, Anderson said. We just rolled kids. We...than everybody else back then. Anderson was the fullback, Jackson the...
Maxwell accused of misconduct during investigation of abortion providersFormer Kline assistant citedEx-Kline assistant AG cited
Newspaper article from: The Topeka Capital-Journal; 9/22/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...complaint said. When Maxwell sought subpoenas...Court Judge Richard Anderson on March 28, 2006...complaint said. Maxwell argued to Anderson that Williams...complaint said. Anderson on Oct. 29, 2003, approved Maxwell's application...

Pictures from Google Image Search

Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture

For students and teachers!

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including: