1942: Pulitzer Prizes

The Pulitzer Prize winners were announced by the trustees of Columbia University on May 4, 1942. These prizes were established in 1915 by the will of the late Joseph Pulitzer, owner and editor of the New York World, for outstanding work in the fields of literature and journalism.

In Literature the prize of $500 for the best work of fiction dealing preferably with some phase of American life went to Ellen Glasgow for her novel 'In This Our Life,' depicting social life in a small Southern town, the prize of $500 for the best biography was awarded to Forrest Wilson for 'Crusader in Crinoline,' a sympathetic study of the life of Harriet Beecher Stowe. For the best poetry the $500 prize was given to William Rose Benet for his narrative poem 'The Dust Which Is God,' quite clearly autobiographical; and in the field of history Margaret Leech's 'Revillé in Washington,' an account of that city during the Civil War, received the $500 award. No award was made in the field of drama.

In Journalism the awards are $500 each, except in the case of a newspaper, in which the prize is a gold medal valued at $500. For reporting national events, Louis Stark of The New York Times was adjudged the winner; Larry Allen, of the Associated Press, carried off honors for reporting international affairs; for reporting of local affairs, the prize went to Stanton Delaplane of the San Francisco Chronicle; and for interpretive correspondence, Carlos P. Romulo, a native of the Philippines, received the award.

Geoffrey Parsons, editor of the New York Herald-Tribune, was recognized as having made the greatest contribution in the way of editorial writing; Herbert L. Block, on the staff of NEA Service, for the best cartoon; and Milton Brooks, staff photographer of the Detroit News, for outstanding news photography. For the most meritorious public service during the year The Los Angeles Times was presented with the Gold Medal.

1940: Pulitzer Prizes

The Pulitzer Prizes in Letters and Journalism for 1939 were awarded May 6, 1940. The prizes, established in 1915 by the will of the late Joseph Pulitzer, are presented annually by the trustees of Columbia University acting upon recommendations by the Advisory Board of the Graduate School of Journalism.

The awards were made as follows: In drama, William Saroyan's unique and picturesque character comedy, 'The Time of Your Life,' won the Pulitzer Prize of $1,000 for 'an original American play, preferably dealing with American life.' Mr. Saroyan caused a minor sensation by declining the award on the ground that he did not believe in prizes in the realm of the arts and was particularly opposed to patronage of the arts by government, industry or commercial enterprises. This gesture was reminiscent of a similar refusal of the Pulitzer novel award in 1926 by Sinclair Lewis, when the prize was offered to him for his novel 'Arrowsmith.' The prize money in both cases was returned to the Pulitzer fund. In literature, the Pulitzer Prize of $1,000 for 'a distinguished novel published during the year by an American author, preferably dealing with American life,' was awarded to 'The Grapes of Wrath' by John Steinbeck. This widely acclaimed book dealt in powerful and moving fashion with the plight of the Dust Bowl refugees. In biography, 'Woodrow Wilson: Life and Letters,' the final volumes, VII and VIII, Ray Stannard Baker's monumental and definitive study of the World War statesman and president, received the $1,000 Pulitzer prize for 'a distinguished American biography teaching patriotic and unselfish services to the people, illustrated by an eminent example, excluding as too obvious the names of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.' For 'a distinguished volume of verse published during the year by an American author,' Mark Van Doren's volume of 'Selected Poems' was awarded the $1,000 prize. In the field of history, the $1,000 prize went to 'Abraham Lincoln: The War Years' by Carl Sandburg, for 'a distinguished book of the year on the history of the United States.'

In journalism, S. Burton Heath of the New York World-Telegram received the $1,000 prize for the best reporting of the year. The award was based specifically on his series of articles on Federal Judge Martin T. Manton that led to the latter's resignation, indictment, and conviction for accepting financial favors from companies whose affairs were before him for judicial decision. Otto D. Tolischus, special Berlin correspondent of the New York Times, won the $500 prize for 'distinguished service as a foreign or Washington correspondent.' The $500 award for excellence in editorial writing was given to Bart Howard of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Gold Medal annually awarded for 'the most disinterested and meritorious public service rendered by an American newspaper during the year,' was presented to the Waterbury (Conn.) Republican and American, with special mention of a series of articles and cartoons published in this paper concerning corrupt practices in the city's administration, which resulted in the indictment, trial and conviction of a number of city officials.

Edmund Duffy of the Baltimore Sun won the $500 prize for 'a distinguished example of a cartoonist's work' with his cartoon 'The Outstretched Hand.' This cartoon depicts Hitler standing over ruined cities and crushed peoples offering his hand, outstretched and dripping with blood, in a gesture of peace. The Pulitzer cartoon award was presented to Mr. Duffy for the third time, the first award being given to him in 1931 and the second in 1934.

1939: Pulitzer Prizes

The Pulitzer Prizes in Letters and Journalism for 1938 were awarded May 1, 1939. The prizes, established in 1915 by the will of the late Joseph Pulitzer, are presented annually by the trustees of Columbia University acting upon recommendations by the Advisory Board of the Graduate School of Journalism.

The awards were made as follows: In Drama, Robert Emmet Sherwood's stirring and revealing Abe Lincoln in Illinois won the Pulitzer prize of $1,000 for 'an original American play, preferably dealing with American life.' This was the second Pulitzer award to Mr. Sherwood, who received the Drama prize in 1936 for Idiot's Delight. In Literature, the Pulitzer prize of $1,000 for 'a distinguished novel published during the year by an American author, preferably dealing with American life,' was awarded to 'The Yearling,' by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. This widely read book dealt in simple and moving fashion with a significant year in the life of a twelve-year-old boy. In Biography, 'Benjamin Franklin,' Carl Van Doren's penetrating study of the statesman and inventor, received the $1,000 Pulitzer prize for 'a distinguished American biography teaching patriotic and unselfish services to the people, illustrated by an eminent example, excluding as too obvious the names of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.' For 'a distinguished volume of Verse published during the year by an American author,' John Gould Fletcher's volume of 'Selected Poems' was awarded the $1,000 prize. In the field of History, the $1,000 prize went to 'A History of American Magazines,' by Frank Luther Mott, for 'a distinguished book of the year on the history of the United States.'

In Journalism, Thomas Lunsford Stokes of the Scripps-Howard Newspaper Alliance received the $1,000 prize for the best reporting of the year. The award was based specifically on his investigations of political intrigue in the Kentucky Works Progress Administration. Louis Paul Lochner, Berlin correspondent of the Associated Press, won the $500 prize for 'distinguished service as a foreign or Washington correspondent.' The $500 award for excellence in editorial writing was given to Ronald G. Callvert of The Portland Oregonian and with special mention of his editorial 'My Country Tis of Thee,' published Oct. 2, 1938. The Gold Medal annually awarded for 'the most disinterested and meritorious public service rendered by an American newspaper during the year,' was presented to The Miami (Fla.) Daily News. The award was given for a series of editorials, cartoons and news stories, concerning corrupt practices in the municipal government, which resulted in a grand jury indictment of three of the city's commissioners.

Charles George Werner of The Daily Oklahoman, of Oklahoma City, won the $500 prize for 'a distinguished example of a Cartoonist's work' with his cartoon, 'Nomination for 1938,' which depicted a grave with a headstone marked 'Czechoslovakia 1919-1938.' Across the grave was laid a document representing the Nobel Peace Prize.

1938: Pulitzer Prizes

The Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism and Letters for 1937 were awarded May 13, 1938, at Columbia University. These prizes, established in 1915 by a bequest to Columbia University of the late Joseph Pulitzer, have become the leading annual American literary awards. The judges are the trustees of Columbia University acting upon recommendations made by the Advisory Board of the Graduate School of Journalism.

The awards made were as follows: In DRAMA, the Pulitzer prize of $1,000 for an 'original American play performed in New York which shall represent the educational value and power of the stage, preferably dealing with American life,' was won by Thornton Wilder for his play 'Our Town,' dealing with events of small town life. The play was distinguished not only for the handling of its theme but also for its staging which was effectively done without scenery. In LITERATURE, the Pulitzer prize of $1,000 for 'a distinguished novel published during the year by an American author, preferably dealing with American life,' was awarded to John Phillips Marquand for his novel 'The Late George Apley,' dealing with the character, beliefs, and creed of a Boston conservative, as expressed in his correspondence with his liberal son. In the field of HISTORY, the prize of $1,000 for 'a distinguished book of the year on the history of the United States,' was won by Professor Paul Herman Buck of Harvard University for his carefully documented history of the reconciliation of the North and South after the Civil War, entitled 'The Road to Reunion, 1865-1900.' In BIOGRAPHY, the award was divided between two books: Odell Shepard's 'Pedlar's Progress,' dealing with the life of Bronson Alcott, and 'Portrait of a President,' the second volume by Marquis James on the life of Andrew Jackson, which with Volume I entitled 'The Border Captain,' published two years earlier, is generally considered the definitive biography of Jackson. The terms of this award provide that it shall go to 'a distinguished American biography teaching patriotic and unselfish services to the people, illustrated by an eminent example, excluding as too obvious the names of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.' In POETRY, the prize of $1,000 'for a distinguished volume of verse published during the year by an American author,' was awarded to Marya Zaturenska for her book entitled Cold Morning Sky.

In the field of JOURNALISM AND REPORTING, Raymond Sprigle of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette received the $1,000 prize for the best reporting of the year, for his series of articles supported by photostats of the essential documents uncovering the one-time membership of Justice Hugo L. Black in the Ku Klux Klan. Arthur Krock, Washington correspondent of the New York Times received the $500 prize for 'distinguished service as a foreign or Washington correspondent during the year.' This award was based on Krock's exclusive, authorized interview on Feb. 27, 1938, with the President of the United States on the subject of the President's political philosophy and social views. The award of $500 for distinguished editorial writing was won by W. W. Waymack, Associate Editor of the Des Moines (Iowa) Register and Tribune. This award was made on the basis of the general high level of editorial writing produced by Mr. Waymack, and no particular editorial was singled out by the judges. The award of a Gold Medal costing $500 for 'the most disinterested and meritorious public service rendered by an American newspaper during the year' was won by the Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, given for a series of news reports and editorials entitled, 'Self Help in the Dust Bowl.'

Vaughn Shoemaker of the Chicago Daily News received the $500 prize for distinguished service as a CARTOONIST, as exemplified by his cartoon entitled 'The Road Back,' published Nov. 11, 1937. This prize-winning cartoon depicted a soldier trudging the milestones leading back to 1914.

A special PUBLIC SERVICE award was voted for the first time to a newspaper outside of the United States. The Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) Journal was awarded a bronze plaque for its leadership 'in defense of the freedom of the Press' during a controversy with the Social Credit Provincial Government. With this award, engraved certificates were given to each of the six daily and ninety weekly newspapers in the Canadian province which joined in this controversy.