Louise Pound (1872–1958)
by Elizabeth A. Turner
Legacy, Vol. 9, No. 1, Willa Cather Special Issue (1992), pp. 59-64
LEGACY PROFILE
Louise Pound (1872-1958) Elizabeth A. Turner
University of Nebraska at Lincoln Willa Cather's readers know of Louise Pound- if they know of her at all- as Willa Cather's university friend, as an "infatuation" that was part of a "tempestuous psychological expe rience" (Woodress 85), or as an "affair" that led to her arriving at a lesbian identity (O'Brien 136-7).
Yet quite apart from that brief episode, Pound was a remarkable woman in her own right, admired for her versatility: the first woman president of the Modern Language Association; pioneer philologist and folklorist; founder of American Speech; legendary tennis, golfing, cycling and skating champion; and renowned teacher.
An early woman in academia, Louise Pound is a model for today's scholars. At a time when few women reached professional status at the university level, Pound was an innovator, arguing for the study of American speech when British English was considered the ap propriate language for linguists to ex plore, studying regional folklore and legends when scholars often looked past the traditions in their own locali ties, and insisting on the abilities of Louise Pound. Photo courtesy of Nebraska Historical Society female graduate students to overcome the limitations of their professional op portunities. By bringing discipline and careful scholarship to her unconven tional studies in linguistics and folklore, Pound earned international acclaim as a scholar and a teacher.
In 1955, at the age of eighty-two, Pound was elected the first woman president of the Modern Language Association, calling attention to her more than forty-five years of work as a scholar and professor. One month after the election, Pound became the first woman elected to the Nebraska Sports Hall of Fame for her accomplishments as a golfer, cyclist, and tennis champion (she won the men's tennis singles and doubles championship in 1891 )l and for her work as a coach of the women's basketball team at the university. "First woman again- Life has its humors," she remarked on her election (Botkin, "Pound Sterling" 29), her irony illumi nating an awareness of gender conven tions and suggesting her determination to disprove sex role stereotypes. In a 1920 address entitled "The Col lege Woman and Research," Pound re vealed her feminist perspective: "When a woman does well (so strong is the tradition), it is still thought to need explanation; and it is taken for granted that she is not typical but the product of special circumstances" (310).
While many of Pound's contemporaries viewed her as "a product of special circumstances," an accomplished "lady professor" who was "endowed with a brilliance rarely reflected in women,"[2] and tried thus to explain her accom plishments, Pound went ahead pursuing her diverse interests in athletics, teaching, philology, and folklore. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1872, Louise Pound lived her entire life in the state, and from the age of ten in the same house. Her parents were one of Lincoln's pioneering forces; Stephen Bosworth Pound, a lawyer and a judge, and Laura Biddlecome came to Lincoln when it was just a prairie town. As her friend from Lincoln, the novelist Doro thy Canfield Fisher, wrote, the Pounds represented "everything of value that American pioneers had brought from the Old World" (7 July 1958). Canfield Fisher pointed to the Pound family's enduring contributions to education, writing that "they set burning a flame of learning," a flame handed on to Lou ise and her siblings, Roscoe and Olivia. Roscoe, two years older, was a lawyer and dean at Harvard School of Law, and Olivia, two years younger, was a high school teacher and principal and a girls' vocational director in Lincoln.
Louise's formal education began at fourteen, when she entered the Univer sity of Nebraska, where she excelled as a student, athlete, class orator and poet. Not surprisingly, the accomplished Pound attracted the attention of Willa Cather. Because the university's stu dent body was small (about three or four hundred in 1890), Cather would have known Pound by reputation; working together as associate editors of a campus literary magazine, Lasso, pro vided the opportunity for friendship. As Bernice Slote has written, during her university years Cather was defining "her own principles of greatness and the individual talent" by devoting her self to an "artistocracy of genius" and she was "ready to give passionate de votion to all. . . who touched that peak of greatness" (115). Slote was describ ing Cather's dedication to artists, but she could be describing her dedication to "the great ones" generally (115) and to Louise Pound particularly. For meeting Pound was Cather's first en counter with those qualities in someone of her age and gender. Cather and Pound shared a strong friendship for about two years, but it ended abruptly when Cather wrote a satirical portrait of Louise's brother Roscoe for a university literary magazine. In "Pastels in Prose," Cather de scribes a pompous alumnus who exhib its the campus "buildings and faculty with an air of proprietorship and pleased condescension" and who calls "everything by its longest and most Latin name" (4-5). For contemporary readers, it was clear that Cather was describing Roscoe. The Pound family, who had welcomed Cather into their home, forbade her from entering the house again. The episode meant the end of university friendship between Cather and Pound. Years later, a distant corre spondence was resumed. While Cather left Nebraska for Pitts burgh and New York, Pound remained. She completed her A.M. in 1895 and taught as an instructor at the University for several years. Although she wanted to stay in Nebraska, Pound realized that she needed a Ph.D. if she was to advance professionally. "A degree from a German university was considered the ultimate in higher education" (Johnson 156), so Pound decided to reach for the most respected credentials. "Ambitious students were supposed to study lin guistics in Germany," she said, even though this was especially hard for a woman (Babcock 2). At Leipzig, her application was refused; at Heidelberg, she was warned about proper attire lest she distract the male students (Babcock 2). She earned her degree in two semes ters instead of the usual seven, graduat ing magna cum laude. When she com pleted her degree, Pound returned to the University of Nebraska as an ad junct professor, advancing to full pro fessor in 1912.3 Pound taught without a leave of ab sence until her retirement in 1945. "With her, teaching was a way of life that became a part of the lives of her graduate students, who treasure her memory as a guide, philosopher, and friend," wrote B. A. Botkin, her for mer student ("Louise Pound" 202). Her relationship with Botkin is representa tive of her ongoing friendships with students; Pound not only encouraged them while she was working as their professor and advisor, but she often maintained lifelong communications, moving into a role of colleague as well as supporter. A part of her credo was "to encourage others" (Botkin, "Pound Sterling" 21). As she devoted herself to her stu dents, she also gave herself to her re search. In her early work, Pound stud ied Anglo-Saxon and Middle English, but she eventually began to study American English in the United States at a time when British English was syn onymous with respectability (Kennedy xi). Her topics of study included word coinage and trade-names, spelling ma nipulations in present-day advertising, and dialect speech in Nebraska. She used a "methodology shaped by the important work of Charles Edwin Bes sey in botany,"4 which was based on the belief that fixity was an illusion and that the focus of scientific inquiry must be on process (Haller, "Folklore" 44). Pound asserted that the student as well as the teacher "needs a scientific atti tude toward language" ("The Value of English Linguistics to the Teacher" 276); language should be studied like biology, since both are fields which are continually developing and evolving, and what we know about them never 61
Legacy remains static. While others initially re sisted her arguments and methodology, Pound's persistence and professional scholarship helped convince them of the credibility of her work: H. L. Mencken wrote that Pound's "early work put the study of current American English on its legs" (vi). In addition to her pioneering work in philology, Pound was a leading force in the study of American folklore, a field she became interested in as a result of her studies of colloquial language. In particular, she is noted for her contri butions toward broadening the defini tion of American folksong to include more varieties of folksong types and alternative means of dispersal (Brun vand 227). Pound is recognized also for overturning the theory of the coopera tive notion of ballads, arguing instead for the reasonableness of individual composition and the relative modernity of the genre (Haller, "Louise Pound" 558). Working from established catego ries of folklore, Pound concentrated on the lore of her native state, composing pieces about Nebraska cave lore, snake lore, rain lore, strong men, lovers' leaps and folk customs. Many of her essays were published posthumously in two texts: Nebraska Folklore and Selected Writings. Her es says on folklore demonstrate her atten tion to variations and details as well as her desire to sort and categorize the information which she gathered, and her narrative voice is objective and sci entific. In a review of Selected Writings B. A. Botkin wrote, "The ability to examine and reappraise past and present in each other's light and to see language and literature, folklore and education, in relation to cultural history and as part of the 'whole activity' of the group is what makes Louise Pound a folklorist in the truest sense" (65). Botkin's as sessment of Pound's interests reflects the interdisciplinary nature of her ap proach and the variety of interests which she maintained throughout her lifetime. "They ought to put up a momument to you (probably will)," wrote lifelong friend Dorothy Canfield Fisher in 1938. "What I have been thinking so deeply about?and with such deep sat isfaction?is not that you're a first rater, . . . but that you've stayed in Lincoln to be a first rater." Pound pre ferred to live in Lincoln, committed to the prairie town her parents helped found and to her sister Olivia. Neither sister married, and both stayed in their parents' house. Louise and Olivia cared for each other during illnesses, vaca tioned together, and provided for each other financially. After Louise died in 1958, Dorothy Canfield Fisher wrote to Olivia, "And how will you live now, I wonder, without Louise, with whom you lived for so long" (7 July 1958). Shortly after her sister's death, Olivia sold the family home and moved into an apartment, where she lived until her death in 1961. The sisters share a plain grave marker next to their parents' stone. Throughout their lives, Louise and Olivia knew the same community of friends, which included other indepen dent women: Mamie Meredith, an En glish professor at the University and colleague of Louise; Elsie Cather, Wil la's sister, who was a teacher at Lincoln High School where Olivia worked; and Emily Schossberger, director of the University Press. The women belonged 62
Elizabeth A. Turner to many social and professional clubs, such as the American Association of University Women (which was the organization closest to Louise's heart), Nebraska Alumni, Wooden Spoon, and Copper Kettle; they held luncheons for each other, putting on informal pro grams, skits, lampoons, and tributes. These social and professional clubs were just part of the Pound sisters' per sonal commitment to support the scholarly efforts of other women. Ma mie Meredith recalled that on Sunday afternoons Louise and Olivia welcomed groups of aspiring young writers, among them Mari Sandoz and Dorothy Thomas, into their home to read aloud their poems, stories, plays and novels, and they served up hot chocolate and encouragement. They also invited young women whose families were un able or unwilling to help them to live in their home. "To me 1632 L St. was a haven of understanding, ... a challenge to do my very best, and a spot where I was appreciated," remembered one of the young women (Meredith 2). Louise Pound's life work was not only in her pioneering scholarly contributions, but also in her support of other women who aspired to learn. Notes 1. Sports Editor of The Lincoln Journal, Richard Becker wrote, "Dr. Pound was men's? that's correct?men's tennis champion of the University in 1891. She competed by invitation in many men's tournaments and was winner of second place in the men's intercollegiate tennis tournament in 1894, the same year she won the intercollegiate doubles with Charles Foster Kent of Wayne County, New York." 2. This comment comes from a speech enti tled, "Dr. Pound?An Appreciation" which was given when she was presented with the Kiwanis award in 1947. A copy of the speech can be found in the Louise Pound manuscript collec tion at the Nebraska State Historical Society. 3. Pound taught at the University of Ne braska for half a century without sabbaticals, grants-in-aid, subsidies, or leaves of absence (Babcock 2, Wimberly xvi). 4. Bessey was Pound's undergraduate biology teacher. Works Cited Babcock, C. Merton. "Profiles of Noted Linguists: Louise Pound." Word Study 37.2 (1962): 1-3. Becker, Richard. "No Sissy, She." Ne braska Alumnus 46.3 (1955): 24. Botkin, B. A. "Book Review. Selected Writings of Louise Pound" Midwest Folk lore 1.1 (1951): 63-5. -. "Louise Pound (1872-1958)." Western Folklore 18.3 (1959): 63-5. -. "Pound Sterling: Letters from a 'Lady Professor'." Prairie Schooner 33.1 (1959): 20-31. Brunvand, Jan Harold. The Study of Amer ican Folklore: An Introduction. 3rd Ed. New York: Norton, 1986. Cather, Willa. "Pastels in Prose." Hespe rian 23.23 (1894): 4-5. Fisher, Dorothy Canfield. Letter to Louise Pound. 16 February 1938. Louise Pound Collection. Nebraska State Historical So ciety, Lincoln, n.p. -. Letter to Olivia Pound. 7 July 1958. Olivia Pound Collection. Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, n.p. Haller, Evelyn. "Louise Pound." Notable American Women, The Modern Period, A Biographical Dictionary. Eds. Barbara Sicherman and Carol Hurd Green. Cam bridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard, 1980. 557-59. -. "Louise Pound's Work in Nebraska Folklore." Nebraska Humanist 7A (1984): 44-7. Johnson, J. R. "Louise Pound, Scholar." Representative Nebraskans. Lincoln: Johnsen 1954. 154-58. Kennedy, Arthur G. Foreword. Selected 63
Legacy Writings of Louise Pound. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1949. ix-xii. Mencken, H. L. The American Language: An Inquiry into the Development of En glish in the United States, Supplement I New York: Knopf, 1945. Meredith, Mamie. "The accomplishments of Roscoe, Louise, and Olivia Pound, ..." Unpublished document, May 24, 1964. Louise Pound File. Love Library, University of Nebraska. Lin coln. O'Brien, Sharon. Willa Cather: The Emerging Voice. New York: Oxford, 1987. Pound, Louise. "The College Woman and Research." Selected Writings of Louise Pound. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1949. 309-13. -. "The Value of English Linguistics to the Teacher." Selected Writings of Lou ise Pound. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1949. 275-83. Slote, Bernice. The Kingdom of Art: Willa Cather's First Principles and Critical Statements, 1893-1896. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1966. Woodress, James. Willa Cather: A Literary Life. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1987. Selected Bibliography Archives The largest collection of Louise Pound's personal and professional papers as well as artifacts is at the Nebraska State Historical Society (15,000 items). Related materials can be found in the Historical Society's collections of Laura, Olivia, and Roscoe Pound. The Historical Society also holds the Pound Family photographic collection. The Love Library archives at the University of Nebraska has a smaller collection of Pound materials, primarily consisting of the contributions of Pound scholars. Selected Primary Works For a complete bibliography, including ar ticles, addresses, book reviews, and vitae, see Selected Writings, 349-65. American Ballads and Songs. New York: Scribner, 1922. Nebraska Folklore. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1959. Poetic Origins and the Ballad. New York: Macmillan, 1921. Selected Writings of Louise Pound. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1949. Selected Secondary Works See also Works Cited. Alexander, Hartley. "Louise Pound." Ne braska Alumnus Oct. 1933: 3-4. Cognard, Anne M. "Louise Pound: Renais sance Woman." Perspectives: Women in Nebraska History June 1984: 147-66. Malone, Kemp, Elsdon C. Smith, and Ma mie J. Meredith. "Louise Pound, 1872 1958." Names, Journal of the American Name Society Mar. 1959: 60-2. Pound, Roscoe. "My Sister Louise." Bos ton Sunday Globe 30 June 1957. Thomas, Susie. Willa Cather. London: Macmillan Education, 1990. 4-9.