James Southall Wilson

Background

James S. Wilson was born on November 12, 1880, at "Ellerslie, " Bacon's Castle, Virginia, the son of John Wilson and Mary Eliza Jordan. Both his parents' families owned extensive farms in Tidewater.

Education

Two serious eye injuries made it necessary at times for him to be tutored at home, but he graduated from Smithfield High School without undue delay. After a period of working in Norfolk, Wilson entered the College of William and Mary in 1901 and received the Bachelor's degree in 1904.

An Master's degree in English and history from the University of Virginia followed in 1905, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Princeton University in 1906.

Career

Wilson was appointed assistant professor of English and history at William and Mary in 1906 and was promoted to professor only two years later. He served as director of the summer session at William and Mary from 1915 to 1918 and, it was unusual for one so young.

In September 1919, Wilson became Edgar Allan Poe professor of English at the University of Virginia, a chair he held until his retirement in 1951.

In 1925, Wilson founded the Virginia Quarterly Review, of which he was editor until 1930. With the encouragement of the university's president, Edwin Anderson Alderman, he made the Quarterly into a national journal of literature and discussion. In 1931, acting on an idea that had occurred to him during his editorship, he convened the Convention of Southern Writers, presided over by Ellen Glasgow; the young William Faulkner was one of the participants.

In 1937 he was appointed dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences as well as chairman of the Department of English; he held both positions until his retirement. During these years he was also a member of the faculty of the Bread Loaf School of English (1928 - 1945), where he taught courses on Poe and the novel. Wilson was a member of the Conference of Deans of Southern Graduate Schools (president, 1940), and often represented the University of Virginia in the Association of American Universities.

After his retirement he was a visiting professor at Louisiana State University, the University of Mississippi, Davidson College, and Hollins College. Soon after his arrival at the University of Virginia, Wilson was instrumental in securing for it the John H. Ingram collection of Poe memorabilia. Some years later he suggested to an alumnus the advantage of collecting a comprehensive library of American literature; the result was the Clifton Waller Barrett Library at the university, considered the outstanding one of its kind in the world.

James S. Wilson died on June 26, 1963, at Charlottesville, Virginia.

Achievements

• The author and editor, James S. Wilson was an outstanding and influential teacher with a particular interest in Poe, Shakespeare, and the novel. He was instrumental in building the Poe collection in the Alderman Library which became America's richest Poe collection in 1952 by a gift from Clifton Waller Barrett of his priceless collection in honor of Wilson.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Pausanias, a dramatic poem

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • The Enchanted Years: A Book of Contemporary Verse, Dedicated by Poets of Great Britain and America to the University of Virginia On the Occasion of Its One-Hundredth Anniversary

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Alexander Wilson, poet-naturalist: a study of his life with selected poems

    (This book was digitized and reprinted from the collection...)

  • THE VIRGINIA QUARTERLY REVIEW; Vol.5, No.3

Membership

James S. Wilson was a member of the Virginia Board of Education from 1915 to 1919.

Personality

James S. Wilson was dignified, but had a puckish sense of humor and a gentle, compassionate nature. Always immaculately dressed, he would enter the classroom radiating vigor, no matter how tiring his day had been.

Connections

On April 17, 1911, James S. Wilson married Julia Cardiner Tyler, the daughter of Lyon Gardiner Tyler, long-time president of the College of William and Mary, and the granddaughter of United States President John Tyler. They had two daughters.

Father:

John Wilson

Mother:

Mary Eliza Jordan

Wife:

Julia Gardiner Wilson (Tyler)

Daughter:

Alida Davison (Wilson)

Daughter:

Nancy Tucker Mann (Wilson)

References

• English Studies in Honor of James Southall Wilson: University of Virginia Studies, V4