Margaret C. Anderson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Margaret Caroline Anderson
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Anderson in 1951
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| Born | November 24, 1886 Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |
| Died | October 19, 1973 (aged 86) Le Cannet, France |
| Occupation | editor, author |
| Nationality | American |
| Period | 1908-1973 |
| Genre | memoir |
| Subject | Esotericism, Fourth Way |
| Literary movement | New thought |
| Notable works | The Unknowable Gurdjieff (1962) |
Margaret Caroline Anderson (born November 24, 1886 – died October 19, 1973) was an American writer and editor. She is best known for starting and running The Little Review. This was an important magazine that published modern American, English, and Irish writers from 1914 to 1929.
The Little Review helped introduce many famous writers of the 20th century. These included Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot. It also published the first chapters of James Joyce's famous novel Ulysses before it was fully released. A large collection of her writings about Gurdjieff's teachings is kept at Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.
Contents
Early Life and Career
Margaret Anderson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in November 1886. She was the oldest of three daughters. After finishing high school in 1903, she attended Western College for Women for two years.
In 1906, she left college to become a pianist. By 1908, she moved to Chicago. There, she started reviewing books for a religious newspaper called The Continent. She later worked for The Dial and became a book critic for the Chicago Evening Post by 1913.
Starting The Little Review
In March 1914, Margaret Anderson launched her own magazine, The Little Review. This happened during a time when Chicago was a hub for new writers and artists. She wanted the magazine to be "an organ of two interests, art and good talk about art."
The first issue featured articles on new ideas like Nietzsche's philosophy, feminism, and psychoanalysis. Getting money to run the magazine was often difficult. At one point in 1914, she even had to camp on a Lake Michigan beach with friends and staff.
In 1916, Anderson met Jane Heap, a talented artist and thinker. Heap was involved in Chicago's Arts and Crafts Movement. Anderson convinced Heap to become the co-editor of The Little Review. Heap's ideas and bold choices greatly helped the magazine succeed. For a while, they even published the magazine from a ranch in Muir Woods, near San Francisco Bay Area.
Moving to New York and Publishing Ulysses
In 1917, Anderson and Heap moved to Greenwich Village in New York City. With help from the poet Ezra Pound, who was their editor in London, The Little Review published many important new writers. These included Hart Crane, T. S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, and William Butler Yeats.
The magazine also featured the New York dadaist Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven. Other famous writers like Gertrude Stein and William Carlos Williams also contributed. Sometimes, Anderson would even publish an issue with blank pages to show there weren't enough exciting new works.
A major event for the magazine was in 1918. Starting with the March issue, The Little Review began publishing parts of James Joyce's novel Ulysses as a series.
Life in France
In early 1924, Anderson became interested in the spiritual teacher George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff. She saw his "sacred dances" performed in New York. After Gurdjieff had a car accident, Anderson, along with her close friends, moved to France. They went to visit him at his institute in Avon.
Anderson and Heap took care of Anderson's sister Lois's two sons, Tom and Arthur "Fritz" Peters. They brought the boys to France in 1924. When they returned to New York in 1925, the boys were cared for by Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein.
In 1929, Anderson and Heap decided to go their separate ways. That year, Heap published the final issue of The Little Review from Paris. Afterward, Heap moved to England.
Margaret Anderson later became close friends with Elizabeth Jenks Clark and Solita Solano. She also formed a deep bond with Dorothy Caruso, the widow of the famous singer Enrico Caruso. Anderson eventually moved to Le Cannet on the French Riviera. She lived there for many years in a lighthouse with her friend Georgette Leblanc, her sister Lois, and Lois's daughter Linda Card.
Interest in Gurdjieff's Teachings
The teachings of George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff became very important in Margaret Anderson's life. She met Gurdjieff in Paris and began studying with him. His teachings focused on a path of self-improvement called The Fourth Way.
From 1935 to 1939, Anderson and Leblanc studied with Gurdjieff as part of a group of women called "The Rope." This group included eight members. Anderson continued to study with Gurdjieff in France until he passed away in 1949. She wrote about him and his teachings in many of her books, especially in her memoir, The Unknowable Gurdjieff.
Later Years
In 1942, during World War II, Anderson left France and sailed to the United States. Her passage was paid for by Ernest Hemingway. On the voyage, she met Dorothy Caruso, the widow of the famous singer Enrico Caruso. They became close companions and lived together in New York until Dorothy's death in 1955.
In 1955, Anderson returned to Le Cannet, France. She passed away there on October 19, 1973, from emphysema. She is buried next to Georgette Leblanc in the Notre Dame des Anges Cemetery.
Remembering Margaret Anderson
Margaret Anderson's life and work have been honored in several ways.
- In 1991, a documentary about her called Beyond Imagining: Margaret Anderson and the "Little Review" was nominated for an Academy Award.
- An exhibition called "Making No Compromise: Margaret Anderson and the Little Review" was held at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University in 2006. It celebrated her life and the magazine's big influence.
- In 2006, Anderson and Jane Heap were recognized and inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.
- In 2014, Margaret Anderson was inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.
Selected Works
Margaret Anderson wrote a three-part autobiography. It included My Thirty Years' War (1930), The Fiery Fountains, and The Strange Necessity. She wrote these later in her life while living in Le Cannet. She also wrote her final book there, a mix of memoir and novel called Forbidden Fires.
- 1951: The Fiery Fountains: The Autobiography: Continuation and Crisis to 1950, ISBN: 0-8180-0211-5.
- 1953: The Little Review Anthology, Hermitage House, 1953.
- 1959: Margaret C. Anderson Correspondence with Ben and Rose Caylor Hecht.
- 1962: The Strange Necessity: The Autobiography, ISBN: 0-8180-0212-3.
- 1962: The Unknowable Gurdjieff, a memoir dedicated to Jane Heap. 1962, Arkana. ISBN: 0-14-019139-9.
- 1996: Forbidden Fires, part memoir, part novel, Ed. by Mathilda M. Hills. ISBN: 1-56280-123-6.
See also
In Spanish: Margaret Caroline Anderson para niños
