Peter Hillsman Taylor’s legacy rests primarily on his remarkable short stories, which stand among the finest in American literature. Spanning from the 1930s to the 1990s, his award-winning tales have been celebrated as exemplary within a golden era of short fiction. Despite significant societal shifts, Taylor maintained a consistently impressive record of publication.

Southern Roots and Influences

Taylor’s stories, often set in the upper-middle-class Southern milieu, draw heavily from his Tennessee upbringing. He was born in rural Tennessee and experienced several relocations with his family—first to Nashville, then St. Louis, and finally to Memphis in 1932. After completing high school and traveling briefly overseas, Taylor enrolled at Southwestern at Memphis. Here, he met Allen Tate, his freshman English instructor, marking the beginning of significant literary relationships. Moving on to Vanderbilt University and subsequently Kenyon College, Taylor encountered influential critics and poets—Tate, John Crowe Ransom, Randall Jarrell, and Robert Lowell—who would shape his literary path profoundly. His Southern consciousness and formalist inclinations were further enhanced during his brief graduate studies at Louisiana State University, where he connected with Robert Penn Warren and Cleanth Brooks.

Academia and Writing Career

In the post-World War II era, Taylor exemplified a wave of American writers who thrived within academic circles, benefiting from the nurturing environment these institutions provided. In return, many, Taylor included, contributed to academia by teaching creative writing at various universities. Throughout his career, he held teaching positions at esteemed institutions such as the Women’s College of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the University of Chicago, Ohio State University, the University of Virginia, Harvard University, and Memphis State University. These roles not only provided Taylor with financial stability but also allowed him to engage with American youth during a time of cultural upheaval.

Personal Stability in Turbulent Times

Despite the radical shifts of the 1960s and 1970s, Taylor’s work remained largely unaffected by the era’s upheavals, mirroring the steadiness of his personal life. While his contemporaries like Tate, Lowell, and Jarrell faced personal crises, Taylor’s life followed a more conventional path. He remained devoted to his wife, Eleanor Lilly Ross, whom he married in 1943, and together they raised two children, restored historic homes, and pursued their literary careers. Eleanor Ross Taylor herself became an acclaimed poet. Even after retiring from his academic engagements, Taylor continued to write until his death from pneumonia in Charlottesville at the age of seventy-seven, shortly after publishing his final novel, In the Tennessee Country.

Family Dynamics and Craftsmanship

The intricacies of family life and its generational complexities often lie at the heart of Taylor’s narratives, providing a rich tapestry for exploring social, psychological, and historical themes. His stories are known for their meticulous craftsmanship, a testament to the influence of his early mentors and poet friends. Taylor sometimes transitioned from poetry to prose in crafting his tales, with several later works also presented in verse form. Throughout, his formalist roots are evident, as his stories unfold with precision and grace. In one of his early successes, “A Spinster’s Tale,” the protagonist’s isolation as the sole woman in her family is exacerbated by the presence of Mr. Speed, the town drunk, who symbolizes to her the unbridled and unreliable masculine world surrounding her. Her final confrontation with him not only reveals her capacity to take decisive action but also hints at a burgeoning, albeit daunting, sense of inner strength tainted by cruelty.

Exploring Domestic Interactions

A typical example of Taylor’s domestic explorations is “Guests,” which scrutinizes the visit of rural relatives, the Kincaids, to their urban counterparts, the Harpers. The narrative unfolds as a social...