House Concurrent Resolution 9

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING HUBERT CREEKMORE AND COMMENDING HIS LEGACY AS AN AMERICAN AUTHOR AND LITERARY CRITIC IN HONOR OF HUBERT CREEKMORE DAY IN WATER VALLEY, MISSISSIPPI.

WHEREAS, born on January 16, 1907, in Water Valley, Mississippi, Hiram Hubert Creekmore, known as Hubert Creekmore, was an American author, poet, translator, editor, and literary critic, renowned for his contributions to 20th-century literature, and although he spent much of his adult life in New York City, he maintained strong ties to Mississippi, often returning to stay with family; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Creekmore's literary repertoire is diverse, encompassing poetry, novels, translations, and editorial work, and his novels frequently drew upon his Southern roots, and often critiqued the South's history of racial discrimination, reflecting his commitment to addressing social issues through literature, and his translations and editorial projects made significant contributions to making global literary works accessible to English-speaking audiences; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Creekmore graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1927, went to work for the Mississippi Highway Department in Jackson, Mississippi, and then became an editor with the Federal Writers' Project, and in 1940 he earned a master's degree from Columbia University, where his thesis focused on the metrics in the works of Ezra Pound, and his startling documentary style frequently caused his work to be compared to Pound's; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Creekmore was a frequent contributor to literary magazines and published his first book of poems, Personal Sun, in 1940, and it included "To the Very Late Mourners of the Old South," which foreshadows the philosophy found in his later novels, and he used his poetic talent to describe social ills and the desperation of humanity and civilization; and

WHEREAS, in 1942, Mr. Creekmore joined the United States Navy, becoming a lieutenant and serving until 1945, and his experiences in World War II provided the material for his most famous book of poetry, The Long Reprieve and Other Poems from New Caledonia (1946); and

WHEREAS, after the war, Mr. Creekmore moved back and forth between homes in Jackson and New York City, and he worked as an editor for New Directions Press and as a critic for the New York Times, reviewing such luminaries as Carson McCullers and Langston Hughes; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Creekmore was also a part of Eudora Welty's social circle, as his sister married her brother, and he served as one of her early mentors, and his novels, unlike many of his poems, specifically addressed the South and his work received praise from many for its documentary aspects, but he also received heavy criticism in the South; and

WHEREAS, The Jackson Daily News described Mr. Creekmore's first novel, The Fingers of the Night (1946), which depicts the life of poor whites in Mississippi, as belonging in the garbage can with Sanctuary, Light in August, Tobacco Road, and "any other nasty drivel purporting to picture life in Mississippi."; and

WHEREAS, hostile reviews and limited job opportunities, as well as the pressure of being an openly gay man in Mississippi, may have pushed Mr. Creekmore to make New York his permanent home, and his other two novels, The Welcome (1948) and The Chain in the Heart (1953), also criticized southern society, as The Chain in the Heart attacked both the contemporary treatment of African Americans and the historical legacy of slavery, and The Welcome, his only explicitly gay work, derided the region's stifling system of forced heterosexuality and left open the question of queer desire in the South; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Creekmore spent the last years of his life living in New York and working as a translator and editor, and his final publication was a work of nonfiction, Daffodils Are Dangerous: Poisonous Plants in Your Garden, a serious guide that reflected his love of gardening, and though he earned his fame as a poet, Mr. Creekmore was a multifaceted individual, also known for his talents as a pianist, composer, and gardener; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Creekmore unfortunately passed away after suffering a massive heart attack on May 23, 1966, while in a taxi on his way to the airport to fly to Spain, leaving behind a rich literary legacy that continues to be studied and appreciated, and the University of Mississippi houses the Hubert Creekmore Collection, preserving his correspondence, manuscripts, and other personal documents for scholarly research; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the Legislature to honor extraordinary Mississippians, especially those such as Mr. Creekmore, whose outstanding literary legacy brings honor to the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize Hubert Creekmore and commend his legacy as an American author and literary critic in honor of Hubert Creekmore Day in Water Valley, Mississippi.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the family of Hubert Creekmore, and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.