T. S. Stribling facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Thomas Stribling
T. S. Stribling, photo taken prior to 1907
Born	March 4, 1881 (1881-03-04) Clifton, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	July 8, 1965 (1965-07-09) (aged 84) Florence, Alabama, U. S.
Education	Southern Normal University University of North Alabama (BA)
Occupation	Novelist
Spouse(s)	Lou Kloss

Thomas Sigismund Stribling (born March 4, 1881 – died July 8, 1965) was an American writer. He first studied law and worked as a lawyer for a few years. However, he soon decided to focus on writing instead.

He became known for his exciting adventure stories published in magazines. Later, he wrote novels that looked at society and its problems, especially in the Southern United States. His most famous works are the Vaiden trilogy, which takes place in Florence, Alabama. He won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1933 for the second book in this series, The Store.

Stribling's stories were so popular in the 1920s and 1930s that some were made into movies and plays. For example, his novel Birthright was made into a movie twice. Two of his other novels, Teeftallow and Fobombo, were turned into plays and performed on Broadway in New York City.

Early Life and Education

Thomas Sigismund Stribling was born on March 4, 1881, in Clifton, Tennessee. This was a small town near the Tennessee River. He was the first child of Christopher Columbus Stribling, a lawyer, and Amelia Ann (Waits) Stribling.

His father fought for the Union Army, and his mother's family fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Stribling later said that these different family backgrounds made him a "doubter and a questioner." He spent his summers on his grandparents' farm in Lauderdale County, Alabama. This area later inspired some of his novels set in Florence. He used his family's stories to create realistic novels about the time after the Civil War.

Stribling finished high school in 1899 at Huntingdon Southern Normal University in Huntingdon, Tennessee. He knew he wanted to be a writer, having sold his first story at age 12 for five dollars. He became the editor of a small newspaper, the Clifton News. He hoped this would start his writing career.

After about a year, his parents convinced him to go back to school. In 1902, Stribling graduated from the Florence Normal School in Florence, Alabama. This school later became the University of North Alabama. He earned his teaching certificate in just one year.

Starting His Career

In 1903, Stribling moved to Tuscaloosa to teach at Tuscaloosa High School. He taught math and physical education. He taught for one year but found it hard to manage the classroom. He preferred to continue his own studies.

In 1905, Stribling earned a law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law. He passed the exam to become a lawyer but only worked in law for a short time. For less than two years, he worked in different law offices in Florence. Instead of working on cases, he used the office supplies and time to practice his writing. In 1907, his fellow lawyers advised him to stop practicing law and focus on writing.

Becoming a Writer

The cover of March 1927 Amazing Stories featured a reprint of Stribling's "The Green Splotches"

In 1907, Stribling moved to Nashville, Tennessee. He got a job at Taylor-Trotwood Magazine as a writer and salesman. While there, he published two fiction stories. These stories showed the social themes he would later be famous for.

In 1908, Stribling left the magazine and moved to New Orleans. He wrote many short stories for Sunday schools. He also became well known for his adventure stories for boys. These stories appeared in popular magazines like The American Boy and Adventure. Writing these stories allowed him to earn a living from his creative work for the first time.

For Adventure magazine, Stribling wrote detective stories about a smart psychologist detective named Doctor Poggioli. He also wrote some science fiction stories that made fun of society. One story, "The Green Splotches" (1920), was about aliens in South America. Another, "Mogglesby" (1930), featured intelligent apes.

His Novels

Stribling's first novel, The Cruise of the Dry Dock, was published in 1917. It was an adventure story for boys, set during World War I. It was not considered a very original or impressive book.

His second novel, Birthright, was first published in parts in Century Magazine in 1921. It was then released as a book in 1922. This book was Stribling's first serious novel. It tried to show the truth about racial issues in America. Critics had mixed feelings about it, but many praised it.

Birthright tells the story of Peter Siner, a young African-American man who graduated from Harvard. He returns to his hometown in Tennessee, hoping to teach and start a training school for black students. He wants to help his community and improve race relations. However, he faces many challenges and prejudices from both white and black people in the small town.

This novel was a big change for Stribling. It looked closely at the unfair rules and laws in the South, like Jim Crow laws. These laws forced black people to be separate from white people. For example, black people had to move to separate train cars when entering Tennessee.

Birthright also showed the "Great Migration" of black people. From 1910 to 1930, millions of African Americans moved from the rural South to cities in the North and Midwest. They sought better jobs in factories and wanted to escape unfair laws and violence in the South.

While writing his adventure stories, Stribling traveled a lot. He visited Europe, Cuba, and Venezuela. His travels in Venezuela inspired three novels: Fombombo (1923), Red Sand (1924), and Strange Moon (1929). These books are set in Venezuela and explore its different social groups. They also include romance and adventure. These three novels are considered lighter, more fun reads.

With Teeftallow (1926) and Brightmetal (1928), Stribling returned to writing novels set in Middle Tennessee. These books used social satire to explore problems in the South through the eyes of local white people. While not highly praised by critics, both books were popular with readers.

The Vaiden Trilogy

The year 1930 was very important for Stribling. He published his eleventh novel, The Forge (1931). This was the first book in a trilogy that used social satire to follow three generations of the Vaiden family. That same year, he married Lou Ella Kloss, a music teacher and friend from his hometown. They settled in Clifton, Tennessee.

This trilogy is set in Florence, Alabama. It follows the Vaiden family from the Civil War era, through the time when enslaved people became free, and into the 1920s. Stribling was a very popular writer of his time. These novels are important in Southern literature because they explored social, political, and economic issues faced by different groups in the South.

The Forge introduces many characters who appear in the next two novels. One main character is Miltiades "Milt" Vaiden, who fought in the Civil War. He returns home and tries to build a new life. He marries Ponny BeShears, hoping her inheritance will help him become a successful merchant. The story shows how white Southerners tried to control society after slavery ended. Milt also joins groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

Stribling's most famous novel is The Store (1932), the second book in The Vaiden Trilogy. It won a Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1933. This book continues with Milt Vaiden in the 1880s. He has become a successful businessman in Florence. The South is changing, with new businesses and industries. Milt tries to build a reputation for being honest, but he also lies and steals when it helps him. His business successes and failures drive the story.

The final book in the trilogy is The Unfinished Cathedral (1934). It is set in Florence in the 1920s, a time of economic growth. The Vaiden family is still central to the story. This period saw the rise of the white middle class and changes for Southern women and black people. An older Milt Vaiden is now a banker and supports building a large church.

He also tries to profit from the economic boom. People like Vaiden tried to buy land, especially from poor black families. These families had fewer rights and less education. Local white people offered them low prices for their land, or sometimes used threats to make them sell.

In this novel, Stribling includes a fictionalized version of the Scottsboro boys trial. He uses it to show how such events could happen in the South. He explores how different social groups reacted to it and how groups from the North tried to help. The story also shows how the town pastor and Vaiden become too focused on money and building the church. Vaiden's world is shaken when his daughter becomes pregnant before marriage. The story ends with a bomb destroying the unfinished cathedral.

Other Works

Stribling's last two novels are set in New York City and Washington, D.C. The Sound Wagon (1935) is a political novel that looks at America's political system. It is a satire, like the Vaiden Trilogy. The main character is a young lawyer named Henry Caridius who goes to Washington hoping to make big changes, but he fails.

These Bars of Flesh (1938) was Stribling's last book. It is set in a university in New York City. The story follows Andrew Barnett from Georgia as he tries to get his degree. Stribling humorously looks at university politics and how little students sometimes know.

After this last novel, Stribling continued to write mystery short stories. These were later collected and published after his death as The Best of Dr. Poggioli, 1934-1940 (1975).

Stories Made into Films and Plays

Stribling's work was adapted for movies and plays:

• Birthright was made into a movie twice by director Oscar Micheaux. The 1924 version was a silent film. The 1939 version was co-written and directed by Micheaux. The 1924 film is now lost, and only part of the 1939 film survives.
• Rope was a play adapted from Stribling's novel Teeftallow. It was performed on Broadway in New York City in 1928.
• The Great Fombombo was a play adapted from his novel Fombombo. It was performed in New York City in 1932.

Later Life and Legacy

Stribling and his wife moved back to his hometown of Clifton, Tennessee, in 1959. During his last months, they stayed in Florence, where he died on July 8, 1965. He is buried in Clifton.

The Stribling family home was given to the city of Clifton in 1946. After Stribling's death, the city turned it into the T.S. Stribling Museum. This museum is dedicated to his life and work. The museum building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Laughing Stock: The Posthumous Autobiography of T.S. Stribling (1982) was a book put together from Stribling's writings after he died. It was compiled by Randy Cross and John T. McMillan.

Stribling's personal papers are kept at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Copies of his writings and research materials are also at the University of North Alabama, his old school.

Works

Novels

• The Cruise of the Dry Dock (1917)
• Birthright (1921)
• Fombombo (1922)
• Red Sand (1923)
• Teeftallow (1926)
• Bright Metal (1928)
• East is East (1922)
• Strange Moon (1929)
• Backwater (1930)

The following three form the Vaiden trilogy:

• The Forge (1931)
• The Store (1932), winner of the 1933 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel
• Unfinished Cathedral (1933)
• The Sound Wagon (1935)
• These Bars of Flesh (1938)

Short Story Collections

• Clues of the Caribbees: Being Certain Criminal Investigations of Henry Poggioli, Ph. D. (1929)

The following collections were published after his death:

• Best Dr. Poggioli Detective Stories (Dover, 1975)
• Dr. Poggioli: Criminologist (Crippen & Landru, 2004)
• Web of the Sun (2012) - also contains "The Green Splotches"

Short Fiction Stories

• 'The Father of Invention'. Trotwood Monthly, September 1906
• 'Old Four Toes'. Trotwood Monthly, October 1906
• 'Big Jack'. Great Bend Tribune, 8 May 1908
• 'The Pictures of Jacqueleau'. Illustrated Sunday Magazine, 18 April 1909
• 'The Loot of the Dog Star'. Illustrated Sunday Magazine, 4 July 1909
• 'The Peace Commissioner'. Illustrated Sunday Magazine, 25 July 1909
• 'Romance to Order'. Buffalo Enquirer, 8 December 1909
• 'Seeking the Stolen Service'. Leaonardsville News, 21 July 1910
• 'The Utility Man'. Shelby City Herald, 14 September 1910
• 'Old Block and Chips'. Junction City Republic, 17 December 1910
• 'Getting Action'. The American Boy, February 1915
• 'A Hammerhead Film'. The American Boy, April 1915

Poetry

• Design on Darkness
• The Dead Master. Gastonia Gazette, 11 October 1907
• To a Cherokee Rose. Florence Herald, 21 October 1921

Short Non-Fiction

• Apology to Florence, Wings Magazine, June 1934. This essay was about his novel The Unfinished Cathedral.

Non-Fiction Books

• Laughing Stock: The Posthumous Autobiography of T.S. Stribling (1982). This book was put together from his writings after his death.