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The Long Walk at San Francisco State
- GenresEssays
150 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1970
About the author
Kay Boyle
98 books44 followersKay Boyle was a writer of the Lost Generation.
Early years
The granddaughter of a publisher, Kay Boyle was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and grew up in several cities but principally in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father, Howard Peterson Boyle, was a lawyer, but her greatest influence came from her mother, Katherine Evans, a literary and social activist who believed that the wealthy had an obligation to help the less well off. In later years Kay Boyle championed integration and civil rights. She also advocated banning nuclear weapons, and American withdrawal from the Vietnam War.
Boyle was educated at the exclusive Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, then studied architecture at the Ohio Mechanics Institute in Cincinnati. Interested in the arts, she studied violin at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music before settling in New York City in 1922 where she found work as a writer/editor with a small magazine.
Marriages and family life
That same year, she met and married a French exchange student, Richard Brault, and they moved to France in 1923. This resulted in her staying in Europe for the better part of the next twenty years. Separated from her husband, she formed a relationship with magazine editor Ernest Walsh, with whom she had a daughter (born after Walsh had died of tuberculosis).
In 1928 she met Laurence Vail, who was then married to Peggy Guggenheim. Boyle and Vail lived together between 1929 until 1932 when, following their divorces, they married. With Vail, she had three more children.
During her years in France, Boyle was associated with several innovative literary magazines and made friends with many of the writers and artists living in Paris around Montparnasse. Among her friends were Harry and Caresse Crosby who owned the Black Sun Press and published her first work of fiction, a collection titled Short Stories. They became such good friends that in 1928 Harry Crosby cashed in some stock dividends to help Boyle pay for an abortion. Other friends included Eugene and Maria Jolas. Kay Boyle also wrote for transition, one of the preeminent literary publications of the day. A poet as well as a novelist, her early writings often reflected her lifelong search for true love as well as her interest in the power relationships between men and women. Kay Boyle's short stories won two O. Henry Awards.
In 1936, she wrote a novel titled Death of a Man, an attack on the growing threat of Nazism, but at that time, no one in America was listening. In 1943, following her divorce from Laurence Vail, she married Baron Joseph von Franckenstein with whom she had two children. After having lived in France, Austria, England, and in Germany after World War II, Boyle returned to the United States.
McCarthyism, later life
In the States, Boyle and her husband were victims of early 1950s McCarthyism. Her husband was dismissed by Roy Cohn from his post in the Public Affairs Division of the U.S. State Department, and Boyle lost her position as foreign correspondent for The New Yorker, a post she had held for six years. She was blacklisted by most of the major magazines. During this period, her life and writing became increasingly political.
In the early 1960s, Boyle and her husband lived in Rowayton, Connecticut, where he taught at a private girls' school. He was then rehired by the State Department and posted to Iran, but died shortly thereafter in 1963.
Boyle was a writer in residence at the New York City Writer's Conference at Wagner College in 1962. In 1963, she accepted a creative writing position on the faculty of San Francisco State College, where she remained until 1979. During this period she became heavily involved in political activism. She traveled to Cambodia in 1966 as part of the "Americans Want to Know" fact-seeking mission. She participated in numerous protests, and in 1967 was arrested twice and imprisoned. In 1968, she signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge,
Early years
The granddaughter of a publisher, Kay Boyle was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and grew up in several cities but principally in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father, Howard Peterson Boyle, was a lawyer, but her greatest influence came from her mother, Katherine Evans, a literary and social activist who believed that the wealthy had an obligation to help the less well off. In later years Kay Boyle championed integration and civil rights. She also advocated banning nuclear weapons, and American withdrawal from the Vietnam War.
Boyle was educated at the exclusive Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, then studied architecture at the Ohio Mechanics Institute in Cincinnati. Interested in the arts, she studied violin at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music before settling in New York City in 1922 where she found work as a writer/editor with a small magazine.
Marriages and family life
That same year, she met and married a French exchange student, Richard Brault, and they moved to France in 1923. This resulted in her staying in Europe for the better part of the next twenty years. Separated from her husband, she formed a relationship with magazine editor Ernest Walsh, with whom she had a daughter (born after Walsh had died of tuberculosis).
In 1928 she met Laurence Vail, who was then married to Peggy Guggenheim. Boyle and Vail lived together between 1929 until 1932 when, following their divorces, they married. With Vail, she had three more children.
During her years in France, Boyle was associated with several innovative literary magazines and made friends with many of the writers and artists living in Paris around Montparnasse. Among her friends were Harry and Caresse Crosby who owned the Black Sun Press and published her first work of fiction, a collection titled Short Stories. They became such good friends that in 1928 Harry Crosby cashed in some stock dividends to help Boyle pay for an abortion. Other friends included Eugene and Maria Jolas. Kay Boyle also wrote for transition, one of the preeminent literary publications of the day. A poet as well as a novelist, her early writings often reflected her lifelong search for true love as well as her interest in the power relationships between men and women. Kay Boyle's short stories won two O. Henry Awards.
In 1936, she wrote a novel titled Death of a Man, an attack on the growing threat of Nazism, but at that time, no one in America was listening. In 1943, following her divorce from Laurence Vail, she married Baron Joseph von Franckenstein with whom she had two children. After having lived in France, Austria, England, and in Germany after World War II, Boyle returned to the United States.
McCarthyism, later life
In the States, Boyle and her husband were victims of early 1950s McCarthyism. Her husband was dismissed by Roy Cohn from his post in the Public Affairs Division of the U.S. State Department, and Boyle lost her position as foreign correspondent for The New Yorker, a post she had held for six years. She was blacklisted by most of the major magazines. During this period, her life and writing became increasingly political.
In the early 1960s, Boyle and her husband lived in Rowayton, Connecticut, where he taught at a private girls' school. He was then rehired by the State Department and posted to Iran, but died shortly thereafter in 1963.
Boyle was a writer in residence at the New York City Writer's Conference at Wagner College in 1962. In 1963, she accepted a creative writing position on the faculty of San Francisco State College, where she remained until 1979. During this period she became heavily involved in political activism. She traveled to Cambodia in 1966 as part of the "Americans Want to Know" fact-seeking mission. She participated in numerous protests, and in 1967 was arrested twice and imprisoned. In 1968, she signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge,
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 8, 2024
Shockingly prescient.
July 3, 2014
I've never read Kay Boyle before but I really did like her writing style.. I liked that she quoted some of my favorite writers. I don't know if the essays could be considered pure history however, or just memoir-like essays of specific historic events from her point of view, (some of the walkout essay includes diary entries.) They were written within their time-frame, so they were fresh words when Ms. Boyle wrote them.. and were indeed on-going.
The over-all tone was sad for me as I'm continually reminded of how ugly people are to other human beings, how because of our differences outside, they are treated inhumanly, unjustly.. and regarded in poor light or denied basic things such as a well-rounded education.. In the case of Huey Newton his civil rights, and fair trial.. The essay on Port Chicago & the napalm depot was also depressing.. Pretty much everything I read lately is depressing regarding the 60s though, (IMHO.)
Otoh, I was inspired by the brotherhood of faculty and students alike as they worked for better academics for students of all races and fair treatment and representation in classes for the faculty. The impression I got from this book was that the 60s were a better time for learning if you really wanted it, the enthusiasm was there.. the passion for taking on questionable subjects of the day was there..
I was left with many questions and unfortunately I have no one to ask at the moment.. and of course Ms Boyle has long passed. My overall impression from the FSM and from this book in particular, is that there was a serious schism that occurred between faculty and administration throughout the university systems.. and while I understand that, I do wonder if that includes a break-down in academic professionalism, which, I really wish I could understand better.. or how someone (anyone) with any humanity or supposed education could be so racist to other minorities.. how people can be seemingly blind in how they off-handedly treat other people... and I see things like this still on-going today. Perhaps not as much or as obvious.. but I digress..
I was actually looking for a book on Mario Savio when I came across this, so like many of my library adventures.. It was a fortunate, if not happy (reading) accident. If you can handle the frustration and sadness inherent in the subject material, it's worth a read.. Libraries are a great source for the random find.
The over-all tone was sad for me as I'm continually reminded of how ugly people are to other human beings, how because of our differences outside, they are treated inhumanly, unjustly.. and regarded in poor light or denied basic things such as a well-rounded education.. In the case of Huey Newton his civil rights, and fair trial.. The essay on Port Chicago & the napalm depot was also depressing.. Pretty much everything I read lately is depressing regarding the 60s though, (IMHO.)
Otoh, I was inspired by the brotherhood of faculty and students alike as they worked for better academics for students of all races and fair treatment and representation in classes for the faculty. The impression I got from this book was that the 60s were a better time for learning if you really wanted it, the enthusiasm was there.. the passion for taking on questionable subjects of the day was there..
I was left with many questions and unfortunately I have no one to ask at the moment.. and of course Ms Boyle has long passed. My overall impression from the FSM and from this book in particular, is that there was a serious schism that occurred between faculty and administration throughout the university systems.. and while I understand that, I do wonder if that includes a break-down in academic professionalism, which, I really wish I could understand better.. or how someone (anyone) with any humanity or supposed education could be so racist to other minorities.. how people can be seemingly blind in how they off-handedly treat other people... and I see things like this still on-going today. Perhaps not as much or as obvious.. but I digress..
I was actually looking for a book on Mario Savio when I came across this, so like many of my library adventures.. It was a fortunate, if not happy (reading) accident. If you can handle the frustration and sadness inherent in the subject material, it's worth a read.. Libraries are a great source for the random find.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews