Interview with Leon V. Driskell, May 29, 1985

Interview Summary

Driskell was influenced by a negative experience growing up as a white man in the segregated south. He and his family were opposed to racism and felt guilt and shame. He was surprised that when he moved to the north, there was still racism, but it was not openly addressed. His family valued education. Driskell spent some time at the writers' colony Yaddo, where he produced a novel he will not publish. He met several authors during the time he spent at Yaddo. After that he founded and edited the Adena Journal, and published a collection of longer short stories called Passing Through, which are stories about families and relationships. Driskell is familiar with many authors who form the Kentucky literary scene. He discusses creative writing as it is fostered at the University of Louisville. A recurring theme in the interview is regionalism in fiction.

Interview Keyword

Leon Driskell University of Louisville Ella Fitzgerald Campbellites Discrimination Yaddo Writers' retreats Adena Journal Passing Through Creative writing

Interview LC Subject

Authors, American--Kentucky Intellectual life Literature Civil rights movements Race relations Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 Assassination--United States Welty, Eudora, 1909-2001 O'Connor, Flannery Latin language Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre Driskell, Leon V., 1932-

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.