The Willa Cather Project.

In January 2013, I introduced "The Willa Cather Project." Essentially, the goal of the project is to read the entire works of Willa Cather and blog about it. Prior to beginning the project, I had only read two of her novels, My Antonia and O Pioneers! Throughout the course of my project, I am hoping to not only read her novels, but her short stories, poetry, and the volumes of nonfiction she also published.

I chose Willa Cather for a couple of reasons. First, she is an author that I previously disliked (as a freshman in high school, so don't hold that against me. After reading two of her novels as an adult, I discovered that I really adored her writing and the sense of "America" and strength she brings. Second, I wanted to focus on a writer that didn't have a never-ending amount of work to read. Since she is the first writer that I am attempting to read the entire works of, I didn't want to be overwhelmed (like with Tolstoy or Twain, both who have a LOT of writing, but both are writers I would maybe tackle in the future). Third...girl power. I wanted to read a female writer. So there.

In any case, this is where I will be tracking my progress and updating links. For the most part, I will be attempting to read in order of publication, unless I cannot find something (and later do). The only exception to this is My Antonia, since I read a mere 2 days before announcing my project (I am reading O Pioneers! once more). I also reserve the right to skip of miss a work if I cannot find a copy anywhere.


The List:

• April Twilights (poetry) 1903: Finished on January 15, 2013-Post Here

• The Troll Garden (short stories) 1905: Finished on January 27, 2013-Post Here
• "Flavia and Her Artists"
• "The Sculptor's Funeral"
• "A Death in the Desert"
• "The Garden Lodge"
• "The Marriage of Phaedra"
• "A Wagner Matinee"
• "Paul's Case" 

• Alexander's Bridge (novel) 1912: Finished on February 2, 2013-Post Here

• O Pioneers! (novel) 1913: Finished on February 17, 2013

• The Song of the Lark (novel) 1915

• My Antonia (novel) 1918: Finished on January 6, 2013-Post Here

• Youth and the Bright Medusa (short stories) 1920
• ***contains 4 of the stories also in The Troll Garden. These are marked with an asterisk
• "Coming, Eden Bower"
• "The Diamond Mine"
• "A Gold Slipper"
• "Scandal"
• *"Paul's Case"
• *"A Wagner Matinee"
• *"The Sculptor's Funeral"
• *"A Death in the Desert" 

• One of Ours (novel) 1922

• A Lost Lady (novel) 1923

• The Professor's House (novel) 1925

• My Mortal Enemy (novel) 1926

• Death Comes for the Archbishop (novel) 1927

• Shadows on the Rock (novel) 1931

• Obscure Destinies (short stories) 1932
• "Neighbor Rosicky"
• "Old Mrs. Harris"
• "Two Friends" 

• Lucy Gayheart (novel) 1935

• Not Under Forty (essays) 1936

• Sapphira and the Slave Girl (novel) 1940

• The Old Beauty and Others (short stories) 1948
• "The Old Beauty"
• "The Best Years"
• "Before Breakfast" 

• Willa Cather: On Writing (essays) 1949

• Five Stories (short stories) 1956
• ***Some stories were previously published. These are marked with an asterisk
• "The Enchanted Bluff"
• "Tom Outland's Story"
• *"Neighbor Rosicky"
• *"The Best Years"
• *"Paul's Case"

• Selected Letters from Willa Cather

•  I am also considering a few biographies, but haven't settled on one just yet. Anyone have some recommendations?

I'm not positive that I have all the short stories listed, but I will add as I find/discover other stories. I'm really excited about this project!