Woodress, James Leslie

James Leslie Woodress received an M.A. from New York University and a Ph.D. from Duke University. He serves as a professor of English at the University of California at Davis. Woodress has published several volumes relating to Willa Cather, including Willa Cather: Her Life and Art, Willa Cather: A Literary Life, and a definitive edition of Willa Cather's The Troll Garden . He provided a historical essay and assisted with explanatory notes included in the scholarly edition of My Ántonia published by University of Nebraska Press in 1994. Along with his work on Cather, Woodress has published and edited works relating to Walt Whitman, Booth Tarkington, and American literature. Woodress received the Jay B. Hubbell Medal for his work in the study and teaching of American literature.

From the guide to the James Woodress, Papers, 1967-1997

James Leslie Woodress received an M.A. from New York University and a Ph. D. from Duke University. He serves as a professor of English at the University of California at Davis. Woodress has published several volumes relating to Willa Cather, including a definitive edition of Willa Cather's The Troll Garden, Willa Cather Her Life and Art, and Willa Cather: A Literary Life. He provided a historical essay and assisted with explanatory notes included in the scholarly edition of My Ántonia published by University of Nebraska Press in 1994.

From the description of Papers, 1967-1994. (University of Nebraska - Lincoln). WorldCat record id: 48067032

Professor of American literature at the University of California, Davis.

From the description of Papers, 1957-1976. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 20274303

Scholar and professor of American literature at the University of California, Davis.

From the description of Papers, 1950-1976. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 38745065

• 1916 July 7: Born Webster Groves, Missouri
• 1938: A.B., Amherst College
• 1938 - 1940 : Assistant News Editor for station KWK, St. Louis, Missouri
• 1940 - 1943 : Radio writer for United Press Association
• 1943: M.A., New York University
• 1943 - 1946 : Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army
• 1946: Enrolled at Duke University
• 1947 - 1949 : Assistant in Duke's English Department
• 1949 - 1950 : Instructor at Grinnell College, Grinell, Iowa
• 1950: Received Ph.D. from Duke University; doctoral thesis was on novelist William Dean Howells
• 1950 - 1958 : Appointed as Assistant, then Associate Professor at Butler University
• 1952: Howells and Italy published
• 1955: Booth Tarkington, Gentleman from Indiana published
• 1957: Publication of Dissertations in American literature, 1891-1955
• 1958: A Yankee’s Odyssey: The Life of Joel Barlow published
• 1958 - 1961 : Associate Professor, San Fernando Valley State University
• 1958 - 1963 : Chair of English Department, San Fernando Valley State University
• 1961: Became Full Professor, San Fernando Valley State University
• 1961 - 1965 : Served as Secretary of the American Literature Section of the Modern Language Association of America
• 1962 - 1963 : Fulbright Lecturer, France
• 1963: Appointed Dean of the School of Letters and Science at San Fernando Valley State University; founded American Literary Scholarship, annual review of the year in American literary studies, published by Duke Press
• 1965 - 1966 : Fulbright Lecturer, Italy
• 1966: Appointed Professor on the English Department faculty, University of California at Davis
• 1968: Publication of Dissertations in American Literature, 1891-1966
• 1970 - 1974 : Appointed Chair of English Department, UC Davis
• 1972: Eight American Authors published
• 1973: Publication of Essays Mostly on Periodical Publishing in America: A Collection in Honor of Clarence Gohdes

From the guide to the James Leslie Woodress Papers, 1941-1976, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)