Interview with A. B. Guthrie, Jr., June 16, 1979

Interview Summary

Guthrie started out as a reporter for the Lexington Leader, after getting a BA in Journalism in Montana. His landlady, Mary Elizabeth Keating, who was like a surrogate mother to Guthrie, encouraged him to stay in Lexington at the paper. As a reporter, Guthrie was very conversant in politics of the day and offers opinions on governors, senators, and candidates. His career as a reporter in Lexington spanned the time of Prohibition, the Great Depression, union strikes at the coal mines, and racial segregation. His experiences have led him to be strongly in favor of women's healthcare and women's rights. In 1950, Guthrie won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his historical novel "The Way West." During this time in his career as an author, Guthrie wrote historical fiction, children's fiction, short stories, and screenplays, including "Shane." At the end of the interview, Guthrie shares his views about what characterizes good fiction.

Interview Keyword

A. B. Guthrie, Jr. Lexington Herald-Leader Bipartisan Combine Jockey Club Great Depression Prohibition Day Law Nieman Harvard Fellowship Montana Territory Bread Loaf Writer's Conference

Interview LC Subject

Authors, American--Kentucky Intellectual life Literature Guthrie, A. B., Jr. (Alfred Bertram), 1901-1991 Lexington (Ky.) Beckham, John Crepps Wickliffe, 1869-1940 Cooper, John Sherman, 1901-1991 Great Depression Prohibition Clements, Earle C. (Earle Chester), 1896-1985 Equal rights amendments--United States Pulitzer Prizes Copyright--Royalties Warren, Robert Penn, 1905-1989 Bread Loaf Writers' Conference of Middlebury College

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.