The Unveiling

On Sunday afternoon the bust of world-renowned author Kate Chopin was unveiled on what has become known as "Writer's Corner" at Euclid and McPherson. Chopin's statue sits on the northwest corner of the intersection next to The Eye Bar.  Kate Chopin (nee O'Flaherty) was born in St. Louis in 1840 and spent all but 14 years of her life here. In her later years she lived at 3314 Morgan (now Delmar) and then at 4232 McPherson in the Central West End . Chopin's statue joins the busts of T. S. Eliot and Tennesee Williams—two authors who also lived in the neighborhood but were much less enamored of our fair city than Kate Chopin, who spoke of St. Louis in glowing terms.

The Central West End Association's efforts to raise funds for "The Writer's Corner Project" began in 2007. The organization's goal, to install four busts of internationally-known authors who spent part of their lives within a few blocks of installation site, is now 3/4's of the way complete. Funding for the project has come from private and public sources, including anonymous donors and the Regional Arts Commission. Funds are in the process of being raised for the 4th bust, that of William Burroughs, who lived on Pershing Place. I understand there is consideration of adding a fifth sculpture, which Mary Bartley, a former president of the CWEA, hopes will be that of author Sara Teasdale, a relative of current CWEA President Doug Teasdale.

 

Sunday's gathering was a celebration and a reunion for members of Kate Chopin's family. The large crowd included at least 20 Chopins, as well as members of the Kate Chopin Society, neighbors, and assorted friends of the family, many of whom attended City House or Barat Hall, Sacred Heart schools located at Taylor and Maryland until the mid-sixties. Kate Chopin was educated at the original City House, which was located on South Broadway at Convent Street.

In the photo above you may be able to pick out a few raised hands signifying those who are "related to Kate Chopin."

Virginia Publishing's Jeff Fister (above) a past president of the CWEA, current President Doug Teasdale, former President John Berglund, and CWEA staff member Mary Lee Pankoff (not pictured) organized the late afternoon event. Jeff introduced sculptor Jaye Gregory, (at podium right), who teaches figurative sculpture at St. Louis Community College at Meramec and Fontbonne University. The sculptor noted that she was deeply honored to receive the commission for the sculpture, an author she greatly admires. Creating the image was extremely difficult however, as there few photos of Kate Chopin.

Kate Chopin's granddaughter Betty, a college friend of mine, was at the event (holding red coat). Some of you may remember another charming granddaughter, Julie Chopin (who was not able to attend), who worked for a time at the late Ed Block's art gallery on Euclid near Writer's Corner.

After the unveiling, Chopin relatives, including the youngest Chopin at the event–great-granddaughter Olivia Walker (in white blouse) above—gathered around the statue, above and below.

Following the public dedication, a reception was held at Herbie's where Executive Chef Aaron Teitelbaum greeted the group with a delicious array of appetizers and drinks. Acting as the family's official representative, Kate Chopin's great-granddaughter Olivia thanked the guests, the CWEA, and other donors and attendees for their generosity.

Any bit of historical information I have added to this post was gleaned from remarks made by both freelance writer and CWE resident Pat Rice, and Kathleen Nigro, Assistant Professor of English and Gender Studies at UMSL—and head of the Kate Chopin Society.  Pat's clever talk pointed out the location of Chopin's birthplace in 1840 or '41 (where the big top for Cavalia is located, just west of Busch Stadium), the original City House, and her homes in the CWE. Chopin's father died tragically when she was quite young, in the Gasconnade River train accident, along with the great-grandfather of CWEA President Doug Teasdale (see Doug's "q & a" in the weekend's Post-Dispatch).  Kate married and moved to New Orleans only to return to St. Louis as a young widow at age 34. She and her six children moved in with her mother and grandmother.

Kate Chopin wrote 100 short stories and 3 novels in 10 years in order to earn whatever meager income she could. Her short stories were published in Vogue and The Atlantic Monthly. The 1899 publication of her novella, The Awakening, provoked a firestorm of negative publicity and was widely condemned. Professor Nigro considers The Awakening to be one of the five best books ever written by an American author. 

Kate Chopin, who lived during the Civil War and in a St. Louis that saw the population grow from 100,000 at the time of her birth in 1840 to 500,000 by 1900 (it was the fourth largest city in the U.S. at the time), was called "a true daughter of the Louisiana Purchase" by Kathleen Nigro. She loved walking the streets of the neighborhood and had a daily pass to the 1904 World's Fair in Forest Park, where she was a regular visitor. It was after one of those walks to the Fair that she suffered a stroke and died on August 22, 1904.

As we left the reception, we were handed copies of The Awakening and Selected Stories. I have read The Awakening in the past and loved it, and now will have a reminder of Kate Chopin, above, every time I walk down Euclid.