Jesse Stuart facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jesse Stuart
Born	Jesse Hilton Stuart (1906-08-08)August 8, 1906 Riverton, Kentucky, United States
Died	February 17, 1984(1984-02-17) (aged 77) Ironton, Ohio, US
Occupation	Author, educator
Alma mater	Lincoln Memorial University Vanderbilt University
Notable works	Taps for Private Tussie
Notable awards	Guggenheim Award, 1937 Thomas Jefferson Memorial Award, 1943 Poet Laureate of Kentucky, 1954
Spouse	Naomi Deane Norris
Relatives	Mitchell Stuart (father) Martha Stuart (mother)

Jesse Hilton Stuart (born August 8, 1906 – died February 17, 1984) was a famous American writer. He was also a school teacher and a school leader. Jesse Stuart is well-known for his short stories, poems, and novels. Many of his books are about his own life. They are often set in the beautiful Appalachia region.

Stuart grew up in Greenup County, Kentucky. He used the small towns and farms of northeastern Kentucky as the setting for many of his stories. In 1954, he was honored as the poet laureate of Kentucky. This means he was the official poet for the state.

Jesse Stuart's Early Life

Jesse Stuart was born in Riverton, Kentucky. His parents were Mitchell and Martha Stuart. He was born on August 8, 1906. Jesse Stuart served in the US Navy during World War II.

Jesse Stuart's Family Life

In 1939, Jesse Stuart married Naomi Deane Norris. She was also a school teacher. They made their home in a place called W Hollow. They had one daughter, Jessica Jane.

In his book, The Thread That Runs So True, Stuart shared how he met Naomi. He was in college, and she was still in high school. In fact, Jesse Stuart was Naomi's teacher during her last year of school.

Jesse Stuart's Education and Teaching Career

Jesse Stuart wanted to go to college. Three colleges did not accept him at first. But he was finally accepted at Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee. After he graduated, he went back home. He started teaching at Warnock High School in Greenup, Kentucky.

Later, he became the principal at McKell High School. He left after one year to go to graduate school. He studied at Vanderbilt University. One of his teachers there was Edwin Mims. After that, he was in charge of all the schools in Greenup County. He finished his career teaching English at Portsmouth High School in Ohio.

Jesse Stuart's Poetry

Jesse Stuart loved to write poetry. One day, he was plowing a field. He stopped and wrote the first line of a poem: "I am a farmer singing at the plow." This line became the start of 703 poems. He put them all together in a book called Man with a Bull-Tongue Plow (1934).

A famous Irish poet, George William Russell, praised this book. He said it was the greatest poetry from America since Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Jesse Stuart was named Kentucky's poet laureate in 1954. In 1961, he won an award from the American Academy of Poets.

Jesse Stuart's Novels

Stuart's first novel was Trees of Heaven (1940). This story is set in rural Kentucky. It is about a character named Anse Bushman. Anse loves working on the land and wants to own more of it. Stuart wrote in a simple and clear style.

His most popular novel is probably Taps for Private Tussie (1943). This book sold over a million copies in just two years! It also won the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Award. This award was for the best Southern book of that year.

In 1974, Jesse Stuart was named one of the top novelists. He was one of 44 writers from the first half of the 20th century. He was also the second youngest writer on that list.

Jesse Stuart's Short Stories

Jesse Stuart wrote about 460 short stories. He wrote his first short story, "Nest Egg," in 1923. He was a sophomore in high school then. The story was about a rooster on his farm. This rooster was so bossy that he attracted hens from other farms. This caused problems with the neighbors!

Twenty years later, Stuart sent the story to Atlantic Monthly magazine. They accepted it and published it in 1943. It was later included in his book Tales from Plum Grove Hills.

One of his most famous stories is "Split Cherry Tree." It was first published in Esquire magazine in 1939. In this story, a high school teacher makes a boy stay after school. The boy has to work to pay for damage he did to a cherry tree. The boy's father comes to school to argue. But he soon learns to appreciate the value of a good education.

The Thread that Runs So True

The topic of education often appears in Jesse Stuart's books. He wrote about his own teaching experiences in The Thread that Runs So True (1949). He changed the names of places and people in the book. He first taught school in rural Kentucky when he was just 16 years old. That school was called Cane Creek Elementary. In his book, it became Lonesome Valley.

The Thread that Runs So True has become a classic book about American education. A professor named Ruel Foster noted its success. He said that the book's sales went up every year. This is very rare for any book! It has been printed continuously for over 50 years.

Jesse Stuart's Death

Jesse Stuart passed away on February 17, 1984. He was 77 years old. He died at a nursing home in Ironton, Ohio, near where he grew up.

Jesse Stuart State Nature Preserve

The natural beauty of W Hollow was very important in Stuart's writings. Before he died, he gave 714 acres (about 2.89 square kilometers) of his woodlands in W Hollow to the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves.

The Jesse Stuart State Nature Preserve helps protect Stuart's legacy. It makes sure that a large part of W Hollow will stay natural forever. There are trails open to the public from morning until night all year long.

Books by Jesse Stuart

Poetry Books

• Man with a Bull-Tongue Plow, 1934
• Album of Destiny, 1944
• Kentucky is My Land, 1952
• Hold April, 1962

Autobiographical Books

• Beyond Dark Hills, 1938
• The Year of My Rebirth, 1956
• To Teach, To Love, 1970

Novels by Jesse Stuart

• Daughter of the Legend, 1965
• Taps for Private Tussie, 1943
• Hie to the Hunters, 1950
• Mr. Gallion's School, 1967
• The Land Beyond the River, 1973
• Cradle of the Copperheads, 1988

Books for Young Readers

• The thread that runs so true, 1950
• The Beatinest Boy, 1953
• A Penny's Worth of Character, 1954
• Red Mule, 1955
• A Ride with Huey, the Engineer, 1966
• Old Ben, 1970

Short Story Collections

• Head o' W-Hollow, 1936
• Tales from the Plum Grove Hills, 1946
• Plowshares in Heaven, 1958
• Save Every Lamb, 1964
• Dawn of the Remembered Spring, 1972
• Come Gentle Spring, 1969
• A Jesse Stuart Harvest, 1965
• My Land Has a Voice, 1966
• Come Back to the Farm, 1971
• 32 Votes Before Breakfast, 1974
• New Harvest: Forgotten Stories of Kentucky's Jesse Stuart, 2003

Books About Jesse Stuart

• Jesse Stuart: His Life and Works, by Everetta Love Blair (1967)
• Jesse Stuart, by Ruel E. Foster (1968)
• Jesse Stuart: An Extraordinary Life, by James M. Gifford and Erin R. Kazee (2010)
• Jesse: The Biography of an American Writer, Jesse Hilton Stuart, by H. Edward Richardson (1984)
• New Harvest: Forgotten Stories of Kentucky's Jesse Stuart, by David R. Palmore (2003)