LIFE

      Marijane Meaker was born in Auburn, NY, in 1927, and recalls being fascinated by a man in her hometown who was a writer.  Her father was an avid reader, and their house was filled with books.  She reports being a troublemaker at school – she was briefly suspended from Stuart Hall, the Virginia prep school she attended, and required the intervention of the Episcopal bishop to be reinstated.  She went on to the University of Missouri, intending to study journalism but switching to English literature, and graduated in 1949.  She worked in publishing and began collecting rejection slips.  In 1951, she sold her first story to the Ladies Home Journal for $850, launching her to success as a writer. 

      She says she never liked her given name and was fascinated with the use of pseudonyms since her childhood. As an adult writer, she has written under various pseudonyms, although the great majority of her work has appeared under the name “M.E. Kerr.”  Her first novel, a mystery, was published under the name “Vin Packer.” She continued writing mysteries, and nonfiction for adults (as Marijane Meeker) until she published her first YA title, Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack, in 1972 under her familiar pseudonym.  Dinky Hocker appeared on several lists of “best” or “notable” books for young people, as have many of her subsequent works. In 1993, she received the Margaret Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults.

Deliver Us from Evie (1994)

Homosexuality in books for young readers: From the late ‘60s through the present, there has been a gradual but steady increase in books that depict homosexual characters, paralleling a similar development throughout the 20^th century in books for adults.  Before 1970, there were only two books for young readers addressing in any way homosexual relationships (Clyde & Lobban, 19).  Most of these novels present gay men (Clyde & Lobban, 21), and regardless of the gender, homosexual relationships among young people are “almost universally shown to be hard” (Clyde & Lobban, 22).  Most such novels offer a “conservative” vision of homosexuality, in that the characters are usually relatively “straight” – not effeminate or flamboyant males, not masculine “dykes if female (Clyde & Lobban, 23).  Clyde & Lobban argue that it is important to include such works in library collections available to young people, both “to broaden straight students’ view of the world and of sexuality” and to “support gay, lesbian, and bisexual students as they begin to explore their sexual identity” (27).

Evie:
Evie is introduced as a name rather than a person – the other kids at the high school refer to her as Parr’s “brother” (1-2).  Descriptive terms for her are masculine – she resembles her father, and “You’d say Evie was handsome.  You’d say Mom was pretty.” (3) Evie is “uncomfortable” in women’s things.  When she gets dressed for the Duffs’ party, Parr thinks “she looked a little like Elvis Presley” (6).

      Everyone knows how Evie is, but no one says anything directly.  E.g., mother refers to her being “the way she was” (6). Bella Hanna asks Doug is Evie is “all right” and he attributes her mannerisms to being a farmer (13).  Parr has a “blurred vision” of the relationship between Evie and Patsy as being a “crush” (37); this is in the immediate context of reference to “Cousin Joe,” the gay cousin who is the object of his father’s humor.  Parr reflects “how Mom would always try to change her to be more feminine” (61). Even when things are pretty apparent to everyone, Cord says “Evie’s got her man’s ways” and attributes it to farming (100).

      But mother seems to understand more than she acknowledges – talks about how it will be hard for Evie because she can’t disguise her identity (65-66).  Why Evie is a “stereotype” (67).  Clyde & Lobban note that Evie “is almost alone [among gay characters in youth literature] in wearing ‘masculine’ clothes and adopting some ‘masculine’ behavior patterns,” (24) although even here that nonconformity is attributed to farm work.   Mom says “someone like Evie gets all the blame” (131) – is she as opposed to Evie’s gender preference as she first appeared?

     Hints about Patsy Duff – first, she isn’t attracted to Parr, though he is to her (9); then Evie trades sweatshirts with her (11); misunderstanding with Mom over who she was trying to “get something going” with Patsy (12); Patsy tapes her interview in Evie’s bedroom (18); postcard from Patsy to Evie says “wish you were her” – Parr knows to hide it from his parents (26, 28). Duff bawls out Mr. Burrmann “for letting Evie drive Patsy into St. Louis . . . ‘just as though Evie was a boy or something, trying to date his daughter’” (50).  Evie gives up cigarettes for Patsy (77).

What's love got to do with it?
The mother talks about how she ended up on a Missouri farm (8) – attraction has nothing to do with reason.  What is true of the mother is true of the other relationships as well – Evie can’t control her attractions, nor can her brother Doug, whose sorority-girl girlfriend will draw him away from the farm life.  This even applies to Cord Whittle, who is the one male who is attracted to Evie – his attraction is called a “crush” (10).  Evie explains her mutual attraction to Patsy by analogy to Parr and Angel (85). But Mom thinks it’s just that she “met the wrong person” (146).

      Note the parallel between Duff/Evie and Kidder/Parr – Mr. Kidder gives Parr explicit warnings about acceptable behavior (141) which Parr later violates – at Angel’s instigation, but then Angel blames Parr for it. Angel explains the attraction between Patsy and Evie as “Love is a force” (148).  But later, when they are broken up, she says nasty things about Evie (170). 

The precipitating incident
Parr blames Patsy for confirming his sister’s lesbian nature, and drawing her away from the farm (97). He envisions Patsy as killing Evie (98).  But he finally takes part in the sign-posting because he’s angry that she will leave him stuck on the farm (106). Once it has been made public, news travels fast – Angel hears about it within a few hours (109).

Surprising tolerance –The sheriff is fairly accepting (“what law is Evie breaking?” 129); the Kidders say “we were too hasty judging Evie” (138)

Other issues:

      Precarious farming. Note everyone's uneasy relationship with Mr. Duff, the banker (4).  The Atlees are giving up farming (20-22). Cord and Mr. Burrmann talk about the type of farming they should do (32).  Parr vows to be “anything but a farmer” (47).  The Kidders lost their farm to the earlier flood (47). Doug wants “more” (133).  The levee breaking floods their farm; “life is about trade-offs” (175).

SOURCES: Laurel A. Clyde and Marjorie Lobban, “A Door Half Open: Young People’s Access to Fiction Related to Homosexuality,” School Librarires Worldwide 7:2 (2001) 17-30; Tamora Francis, Patricia McHugh, and Kay E. Vandergrift, “Learning about M.E. Kerr” webpage.

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