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64 °F 5 Day Forecast Monday, October 20, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend October 3, 2003 Virginia Caldwell Hibbs, Erskine Caldwell�s widow, now lives at the Rogue Valley Manor. She is displaying the rarely seen folio to raise money for art education and outreach. Rare book on display Author’s widow shows the Calder-illustrated edition as part of a museum fund-raiser By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune The widow of author Erskine Caldwell will display a rarely seen folio edition of his novel, "The Sacrilege of Alan Kent," as part of a fund-raiser for education and outreach programs at the Schneider Museum of Art in Ashland. The gala event, called "The Art Affair," will be Oct. 18 at the Rogue Valley Manor in Medford. The folio is an unbound, large-format edition of Caldwell’s 1936 work, republished in 1976 to include brightly colored aquatints by noted modern artist Alexander Calder. Caldwell’s widow, Virginia Caldwell Hibbs, 84, is a resident of the manor. She loaned her copy — one of only 100 in English — for the $75 dinner, which will include a dramatic reading from the book by Oregon Shakespeare Festival actor and dramaturg Barry Kraft. Advertisement "It’s always been one of my favorite books by him," said Hibbs, who met Caldwell in 1949 and was with him until his death in 1987. "The voice (of the protagonist, a young, largely autobiographical character) is the voice of someone who wants to be understood. The book is extremely moving and had a big impact on me. It’s very sad and Calder’s drawings are exactly the opposite � wildly happy." Caldwell won fame as author of "Tobacco Road," "God’s Little Acre" and more than 50 other books, including two travel books illustrated in ink by Hibbs. His portrayals of racism, sexuality and the tough, Depression-era lives of common people stirred much controversy and got his works banned in many cities. "In the South, they didn’t like him at all," said Hibbs. "There was tremendous resentment, especially in Georgia, where ‘God’s Little Acre’ took place." Though racy in his novels, Caldwell was a shy man who never swore, she said. He had "1,000 percent tunnel vision" about his trade and put in consistent eight-hour days at the typewriter. Hibbs was reading "The Sacrilege of Alan Kent" for the first time with her feet in Caldwell’s swimming pool one day. "I heard a plop-plop sound and realized it was my tears falling," she said. "The story was unique among his writings and I told his French publishers it needed more attention. They approached Calder and when we all met, Calder walked over to Erskine and gave him a big bear hug and the collaboration was on." Calder achieved fame in the ’60s and ’70s with mobiles and large, stationary mobiles, as well as his cartoonish, childlike art � including his wild re-do of Braniff airliners — emphasizing simple lines and bright, primary colors. At the time, Calder, known as "the father of kinetic art," was terminally ill and executed the Caldwell project by having the text read to him, Hibbs said. He would ring a bell to stop the reading so he could paint a picture of that section, then continue on, she said. He died soon after. The pictures will hang in the Rogue Valley Manor for "The Art Affair" showing and remain there till mid-December. John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. If you go What: "The Art Affair," celebrating the 100th birthday of the late Erskine Caldwell. The event will feature dinner, silent auction, music by the Dark Rose Trio and a rare showing of Alexander Calder’s aquatints illustrating a limited edition of Erskine Caldwell’s 1936 novel, "The Sacrilege of Alan Kent." When: 6 p.m. Oct. 18. Where: The Rogue Valley Manor. Tickets: $75. Seating is limited. Reservations must be made by Oct. 9. Call Lisa Sherrill at 552-8248. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times