Thad Stem, Jr.

Thaddeus Stem, Jr.
Born (1916-01-24)January 24, 1916
Oxford, North Carolina
Died June 1, 1980(1980-06-01) (aged 64)
Oxford, North Carolina
Occupation poet, columnist, author, and essayist
Nationality American
Notable awards North Carolina Award

Thaddeus Stem, Jr. (1916–1980) of Oxford, North Carolina was a poet, author and newspaper columnist. His work frequently appeared in the Raleigh News & Observer and The Pilot (Southern Pines, N.C.). He also wrote or co-wrote 16 books. The major works including: The Animal Fair (1960), Entries from Oxford (1971), Senator Sam Ervin's Best Stories (1973), and Thad Stem's Ark (1979). He was honored with the North Carolina Award for Literature in 1974.[1] Many contemporary audiences know Stem as a character featured in Timothy B. Tyson's memoir Blood Done Sign My Name.

Biography

Stem lived all of his life in the house where he was born in Oxford, North Carolina. He went to school at Duke University, but left during his fourth year several credits away from earning his degree. Stem spent his early years working a variety of jobs until he served in the Army during World War II. He began writing poetry in about 1944, and in 1945, nine of his poems were published in Lyric, a literary magazine in Roanoke, Virginia. He continued to write sporadically for the next few years until his marriage in 1947.

Between 1949 and 1950, Stem published a lot of work, including: two collections of poetry, one collection of essays, and The Animal Fair, a series of poetic sketches about small town life. He also sold an estimated 8,000 short pieces to North Carolina newspapers, primarily the Raleigh News and Observer and The Pilot, in addition to writing a weekly column that eventually became a daily editorial. He published eleven more books over the next two decades.

Stem suffered from kidney failure during the last two years of his life, which required weekly dialysis. He continued to produce articles, short stories, and editorials up until his death. He also compiled Thad Stem's Ark, another collection of his work. A history of Johnston County, North Carolina was in progress at the time of his death.

Thad Stem Papers

The Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill houses a collection that contains Stem’s correspondence and literary materials. Included among his correspondence are letters with Jonathan Daniels, Paul Green, and Sam Ragan. The Writings in the collection include typescript drafts and proofs of much of Stem’s work. There are also drafts of an unpublished novel and an incomplete history of Johnston County.

Works

References

  1. ↑ "Thad Stem, Jr." (PDF). North Carolina Award. North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. 1974. p. 7. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
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