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Jessamyn West

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Author

The Resume

    (July 18, 1902-February 23, 1984)
    Born in Vernon, Indiana
    Birth name was Mary Jessamyn West
    Novelist and short story writer
    Best known for the anthology 'Friendly Persuasion' (1945)
    Second cousin of Richard Nixon

Why she might be annoying:

    When she ran into difficulties adopting two Irish girls, she contacted her cousin (who happened to be Vice President at the time) to cut through the red tape.
    She helped her sister Clara commit suicide after Clara developed cancer of the bowel.
    None of her later works was as successful as her first published book, 'Friendly Persuasion.'
    She said, 'I seem to fall between two stools. Those who like my stories about Quakers feel I should not write on other subjects and those who like my other stories tell me they are disinterested in stories about Quakers.'

Why she might not be annoying:

    She was left handed.
    She was married to Harry McPherson for over fifty years.
    She began writing while recuperating from tuberculosis that was so severe a sanitarium had discharged her so she could die at home.
    Much of her writing was inspired by her mother's childhood memories of growing up as a Quaker farm girl in southern Indiana.
    She said, 'Talent's helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely necessary.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 16 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 28 Votes: 32.14% Annoying