Virginia Faulkner — Willa Cather Champion, with Brad Bigelow

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Virginia Faulkner had no family ties to that other famous Faulkner, but she is connected to another icon of classic American literature. A young flapper who made an authorial splash with the New York literati (earning comparisons to a young Dorothy Parker), Faulkner later switched gears, devoting the second half of her life to shaping The University of Nebraska Press into a powerhouse publishing institution. Her dedication to scholarship on Willa Cather helped solidify Cather in the pantheon of great American writers. We’re joined for this discussion by neglected books champion Brad Bigelow, whose biography Virginia Faulkner: A Life in Two Acts was recently published by Bison Press.
Mentioned in this episode:
Virginia Faulkner: A Life in Two Acts (nebraskapress.unl.edu/bison-books/978149623062…) by Brad Bigelow
2026 Pilgrimage Reading Group (readingpilgrimage.com/the-2026-pilgrimage-read…)
Purchase the Pilgrimage Series (asterismbooks.com/product/pilgrimage) by Dorothy Richardson
Neglected Books (neglectedbooks.com) website
Friends and Romans (neglectedbooks.com/?p=6505) by Virginia Faulkner
Willa Cather (willacather.org)
A House is Not a Home (thriftbooks.com/w/a-house-is-not-a-home/195846…) by Polly Adler
University of Nebraska Press (nebraskapress.unl.edu)
My Hey Day (neglectedbooks.com/?p=6567';) (The “Princess Tulip” Stories) by Virginia Faulkner
Ex-Wife (bookshop.org/p/books/ex-wife-ursula-parrott/5d…) by Ursula Parrott
Eugene Meyer (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Meyer_(financier))
Bernice Slote (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernice_Slote)
Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 59 (lostladiesoflit.com/podcast/59-ge-trevelyan-ap…) on Gertrude Trevelyon
Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 116 (lostladiesoflit.com/podcast/116-dorothy-richar…) on Dorothy Richardson
Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 41 (lostladiesoflit.com/transcripts/41-edith-lewis…) on Edith Lewis
Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 232 (lostladiesoflit.com/podcast/232-katharine-s-wh…) on Katharine S. White
Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 138 (lostladiesoflit.com/transcripts/138-ursula-par…) on Ursula Parrott
Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 266 (lostladiesoflit.com/podcast/266-radclyffe-hall…) on Radclyffe Hall
Lost Ladies of Lit Episode N (lostladiesoflit.com/podcast/231-dorothy-parker…)
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