Nancy Huddleston Packer Explained

Nancy Huddleston Packer (born 1925) is an American writer of short fiction and memoir, who is the Melvin and Bill Lane Professor in the Humanities, Emerita, at Stanford University.^[1]

Early life and education

Packer was born in 1925 in Washington, D.C., where her father, George Huddleston, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives,^[2] representing Alabama’s 9th congressional district. She was one of five children, and as a child lived in both Washington and Birmingham, Alabama.^[2] She graduated from Birmingham–Southern College in 1945,^[3] and gained a master's degree in theology from the University of Chicago in 1947.^{[2] [4]} She then studied creative writing with Hudson Strode at the University of Alabama.^[5]

Career

Packer's first published work appeared in Harper's in 1953,^{[2] [5] [6]} and other work appeared in Dude.^[2] In 1957, she married Herbert L. Packer, and moved to California with him when he was appointed to Stanford University as a professor of law.^[2] She was awarded a fellowship at Stanford University's creative writing center for 1959-60,^[7] and studied writing with Wallace Stegner,^[8] before joining the faculty in 1961 as a professor of English and creative writing.^[2] Her short stories appeared in the O. Henry Award Prize Stories in 1969^{[9] [10]} and 1981.^{[11] [12] [13]} From 1989-1993 she directed the Stanford University program in creative writing.^{[14] [15] [16]} Among her students were Michael Cunningham and Ethan Canin.^[17] She served as fiction jury chair for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize,^[18] and continued to teach creative writing through Stanford Continuing Studies.^[19]

Personal life

Packer's literary accomplishments include three short story collections and a memoir, published between 1976 and 1997. She retired from Stanford University in 1993, having served as the director of the Creative Writing Program and held the esteemed Melvin and Bill Lane Professorship in the Humanities.^[20] She resides in Palo Alto, California. Her children George Packer and Ann Packer also pursue writing careers. Her husband died in 1972.

Bibliography

• 1976 The Short Story: An Introduction (with Wilfred Stone and Robert Hoopes)
• 1976 Small Moments^{[21] [22] [23]}
• 1986 Writing Worth Reading: A Practical Guide (with John Timpane)^[24]
• 1988 In My Father's House: Tales of an Unconformable Man^[19]
• 1989 The Women Who Walk^{[25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30]}
• 1997 Jealous-Hearted Me^[31]
• 2012 Old Ladies^[2]

External links

• "Nancy Huddleston Packer: An Oral History," Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program, 2012.
• "Nancy Huddleston Packer: An Oral History," Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program, 2014.
• "Nancy Packer: An Oral History," Faculty Senate Oral History Project, Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program, 2018.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Stanford Profiles: Nancy Packer . Stanford University . 14 December 2019.
2. News: Blitzer . Carol . Old, but still kicking Nancy Packer's short stories offer crystal-clear characterizations . 14 December 2019 . Palo Alto Weekly . August 17, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303234848/https://www.paloaltoonline.com/print/story/2012/08/17/old-but-still-kicking . March 3, 2016 . Palo Alto.
3. News: Southern graduates busy. . 14 December 2019 . The Montgomery Advertiser . 21 November 1976 . Montgomery, Alabama . 71.
4. News: Miss Huddleston Graduated . 15 December 2019 . The Birmingham News . 18 June 1947 . Birmingham, Alabama . 9.
5. News: Birmingham Author Has Story Published . 14 December 2019 . Alabama Journal . 13 October 1953 . Montgomery, Alabama . 6B.
6. News: Miss Nancy Huddleston has article in Harper's . 14 December 2019 . The Birmingham News . 1 October 1953 . Birmingham, Alabama . 42.
7. News: Menlo Park Mother Given Fellowship . 14 December 2019 . The Times . 19 June 1959 . San Mateo, California . 1, S2.
8. News: Kirgo . Julie . An 'Unfashionable Square'. Review of Wallace Stegner, His Life and Work, by Jackson J. Benson . 14 December 2019 . The Los Angeles Times . 1 December 1996 . Los Angeles, California . 7 BR.
9. News: Evans . David Allan . O. Henry Award Winners Show Mastery of Craft . 14 December 2019 . Star Tribune . 25 May 1969 . Minneapolis, Minnesota . 6E.
10. News: Hall . Barbara Hodge . Malamud Takes Top Place In Annual O. Henry List . 14 December 2019 . The Anniston Star . 27 April 1969 . Anniston, Alabama . 30.
11. News: Hall . Barbara Hodge . Cynthia Ozick tops O. Henry series awards . 14 December 2019 . The Anniston Star . 24 May 1981 . Anniston, Alabama . 53.
12. News: Schapiro . Nancy . Best of the O. Henrys . 14 December 2019 . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . 21 June 1981 . St. Louis, Missouri . 4C.
13. News: Welch . Susan . A short story 'returned to us in a single breath ...' . 14 December 2019 . Star Tribune . 28 June 1981 . Minneapolis, Minnesota . 14G.
14. Web site: Cunningham . Michael . Why Being Brilliant Isn't Enough NANCY PACKER'S LESSON PLAN . Stanford University: Stanford Today . 14 December 2019 . July–August 1996.
15. Web site: 9607np.HTML.
16. Web site: Nancy Huddleston Packer . Stanford University: Stanford English . 14 December 2019.
17. News: Sutherland . Amy . Ethan Canin: fiction writer with a taste for non-fiction . 14 December 2019 . The Boston Globe . 21 February 2016 . Boston, Massachusetts . N11.
18. News: Keller . Julia . Mills . Marja . Where have all the good books gone? Good question . 14 December 2019 . Chicago Tribune . 10 April 2002 . 1, 8, S5.
19. News: Benson . Heidi . Thicker Than Water From two generations of the Packer family, four very different writers emerged . 14 December 2019 . SFGate . June 1, 2008 . San Francisco, California.
20. Web site: » Author . 2024-03-03 . apps.lib.ua.edu.
21. News: Schwartz . Howard . Book Reviews . 14 December 2019 . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . 7 September 1976 . St. Louis, Missouri . 3C.
22. Abrahams . William . Review: A Matter of Small Moment . The Sewanee Review . Winter 1977 . 85 . 1 . 111–115 . The Johns Hopkins University Press . 27543198.
23. Pritchard . William H. . Review: Merely Fiction . The Hudson Review . Spring 1977 . 30 . 1 . 154 . 10.2307/3850667 . 3850667.
24. Royster . Jacqueline Jones . Reviewed Work: Writing Worth Reading: A Practical Guide by Nancy Huddleston Packer, John Timpane . College Composition and Communication . February 1987 . 38 . 1 . 105 . 10.2307/357597 . National Council of Teachers of English . 357597.
25. News: Feliciano . Kristina . Short stories of everyday life . 14 December 2019 . The Philadelphia Inquirer . 6 October 1989 . Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . 2D.
26. News: Bernstein . Susanna . Short Story Writer Finds Beauty in Ordinary Lives . 14 December 2019 . Albuquerque Journal . 13 August 1989 . Albuquerque, New Mexico . G8.
27. News: Edelstein . Wendy . Women Who Draw on Reserves of Strength . 14 December 2019 . The San Francisco Examiner . 27 August 1989 . San Francisco, California . 192.
28. News: Whitehouse . Anne . In Brief. The Women Who Walk . 14 December 2019 . The Atlanta Constitution . 10 September 1989 . Atlanta, Georgia . L8.
29. Current-Garcia . Eugene . Reviews. The Women Who Walk . Studies in Short Fiction . Winter 1990 . 27 . 1 . 116–117 . 0039-3789.
30. Johnson . Greg . Review: Some Recent Herstories . The Georgia Review . Spring–Summer 1990 . 44 . 1–2, Women & the Arts . 278–288 . 41400037.
31. News: Diliberto . Gioia . Paperbacks . 14 December 2019 . Chicago Tribune . Chicago, Illinois . 8, S14.