THE CAPE GIRARDEAU WRITERS' GUILD 1943-1976 Inclusive

Compiled and Written by

Aileen Lorberg

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Cape Girardeau was blessed with some notable writers of regional history long before the Writers' Guild was organized. The names of Louis B. Houck, Allan Hinchey, and R. S. Douglass, although not within the pale of this account, loom large among them, and it seems only fair to make mention of the three local writers without whom the history of our area would be much less complete.

 

The Cape Guild was organized on October 30, 1954, in the home of Dr. Earl Collins of the SEMO State history faculty. In addition to host Collins, five other area writers were present. Dr. Felix Snider, Dr. Vest C. Myers, Mr. Forrest Wolverton, Miss Elizabeth Walther, all of Cape, and Mr. John Putz of Jackson, completed the list. of the six charter members.

Mr. Wolverton served as President of the Guild for the first three years. Dr. Snider succeeded Mr. Wolverton, and Dr. Collins followed Dr, Snider. No other officers were considered necessary for the first five years, but Miss Walther kept brief notes. It is because of her enter­prise and forethought that records of early meetings do exist.

Early records, however, took no account of the identity of members, nor of their publications prior to the date of organization. Miss Walther herself, for many years Secretary to the Public School Board of Cape Girardeau, was author of a book of poetry published before the Guild was formed. The title of this book, published by Fortunay's, was A Thought for Today,

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Dr. Vest Myers, Dean of the local College long before 'it became a -University, had also published a book of poetry before the Guild came late being. His little volume of Verses from an Old Vase was made available. to readers through the Moore Brothers of Fulton Kentucky, in 1927. In 1934, it was the subject of a critique by Miss Aileen Lorberg, a psychology student of Dean Myers'. As the author of this account, Miss Lorberg considers it only fair to state that her failure to win first place in the Cliver Prize Essay Contest was no reflection on the quality of the Deans Poetry.

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Download the full text at semowritersguild.com/dl/History of SEMO Writers Guild.pdf