William Maxwell

Maxwell at the typewriter

William Keepers Maxwell, Jr., was born on August 16, 1908 in Lincoln, Illinois. He was very close to his mother before her unexpected death. His father worked as a fire insurance salesman, and his job required him to travel all over Illinois. After his father remarried, the Maxwell family moved to Chicago. In high school, Maxwell developed an interest in art and literature. He received a B.A. from the University of Illinois in 1930, and earned his M.A. at Harvard the following year. Maxwell then spent two years on the English faculty of the University of Illinois. He left this position in 1933 and was without a full-time job until he joined The New Yorker staff in 1936. For nearly 40 years he served as a fiction editor, until his retirement in 1977. He died on July 31, 2000.


Recent books related to William Maxwell:

The Element of Lavishness
The Element of Lavishness

So Long, See You Tomorrow

So Long, See You Tomorrow

This is the cover of the paperback version of So Long, See You Tomorrow from a few years ago. I like it because it fits in with the novel's themes so well. Also, it references Giacometti's Palace at 3 A.M., which inspired Maxwell. William Maxwell's daughter is credited for this cover art.

The Outermost Dream
His 1989 book of essay reviews from the New Yorker has now been reissued by Graywolf.

Billie Dyer and Other Stories. Boston: Nonpareil Books, 1992.

The Folded Leaf. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1945.

Over By the River and Other Stories. Boston: Nonpareil Books, 1977.

So Long, See You Tomorrow. 1980 rptd Boston: Nonpareil Books, 1993.

They Came Like Swallows. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1937.

Time Will Darken It. Boston: Nonpareil Books, 1948.


William Maxwell Correspondence database


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So Long, See You Tomorrow : Reading & Interview (audio cassette)


William Maxwell in New York
William Maxwell in New York

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Updated July 2, 2001   

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