Theodore Pratt: A Florida Writer’s Life

Theodore Pratt (1901-1969) was the author of fifteen books that depict the Sunshine State, earning him the informal title of ＂Literary Laureate of Florida＂ in the mid-twentieth century. He portrayed the culture of south Florida, especially in his ＂Florida Trilogy＂--which includes his most famous book, The Barefoot Mailman (1943), and continues with The Flame Tree (1948) and The Big Bubble (1949). He also wrote vividly about the Florida Keys in Mercy Island (1941), the Everglades in Escape to Eden (1953), and Chief Osceola in a novel and a play both called Seminole (1953/1954). Pratt did research for his books that created an archive that is valuable for researchers today and a collection of stories and essays, Florida Roundabout (1959), that offers a deep insight into the lives of poor whites in the state.This biography tells the story of Pratt’s life and work to Florida fans, teachers, young writers, and literary scholars who are interested in southern literature, Florida literature, and mid-century American film and literature.

Taylor Hagood is Professor of American Literature at Florida Atlantic University, the institution which houses the Theodore Pratt Collection. He is the author or editor of eight books and over seventy short publications. His scholarly monographs include Faulkner’s Imperialism: Space, Place, and the Materiality of Myth (LSU Press, 2008); Secrecy, Magic, and the One-Act Plays of Harlem Renaissance Women Playwrights (Ohio State University Press, 2010); and Faulkner, Writer of Disability (LSU Press, 2014), which won the C. Hugh Holman Award for Best Book in Southern Studies. His co-edited book, Undead Souths: The Gothic and Beyond in Southern Literature and Culture (LSU Press, 2105), was reviewed in a range of venues, was well-received in the field, and spawned a subseries which has included his coedited 2020 volume, Swamps Souths: Literary and Cultural Ecologies. His biography/true crime, Stringbean: The Life and Murder of a Country Music Legend, is forthcoming as part of the University of Illinois Press’s ＂Music in American Life＂ series as one of the last endorsements of Loretta Lynn. He has lectured in the United States, Canada, South American, and Europe to both academic and general audiences. He regularly lectures in south Florida at The Society of the Four Arts, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Palm Beach Historical Society, and private clubs such as Boca West Country Club, Ballen Isles Country Club, and Heron Bay.