Dorothy Straight

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Dorothy Straight
Born
Dorothy Elmhirst Straight

(1958-05-25) May 25, 1958 (age 63)
Washington, D.C.
NationalityAmerican
Known forYoungest author
Works
How the World Began"
Parent(s)Michael Whitney Straight
Belinda Booth Crompton
RelativesWillard D. Straight (grandfather)
Dorothy Payne Whitney (grandmother)

Dorothy Elmhirst Straight[1] (born May 25, 1958 in Washington, D.C.) is an American author who wrote in 1962 at the age of 4[2] for her grandmother, Dorothy Payne Whitney,[3] making her among the youngest published authors ever.[4]

Early life[]

Dorothy Straight was born on May 25, 1958 in Washington, D.C. She is the daughter of Michael Whitney Straight (1916–2004) and Belinda Booth Crompton (1920–2015).[1] Her siblings include David Straight, Michael Straight Jr., Susan Straight, and Dinah Straight.[5]

Straight was named after her paternal grandmother, Dorothy Payne Whitney (1887–1968), the daughter of William Collins Whitney, the U.S. Secretary of the Navy during the Cleveland administration, and Flora Payne, the daughter of Senator Henry B. Payne of Ohio and sister of Col. Oliver Hazard Payne.[6] Straight's paternal grandfather was Willard Dickerman Straight (1880–1918), the son of Henry Harrison Straight (1846–1886). After her grandfather died of influenza during the 1918 pandemic, while serving with the United States Army in France during World War I,[7] her grandmother married Leonard Knight Elmhirst (1893–1974). Her fathers siblings included Whitney Willard Straight and Beatrice Whitney Straight, an Academy Award winning actress.[5] Her maternal grandmother, Lillian Crompton Tobey,[8] was the widow of U.S. Senator Charles Tobey (1880–1953).[1]

Career[]

In 1962, Straight, in response to her mother's question of "Who made the world?", wrote and drew her response all in one evening.[9] Her parents loved it so much that they sent it to Pantheon Books which published it in 1964, making her the youngest published author.[10][11] Kirkus Reviews praised her work as a child, writing:[9]

Her art work is in the mainstream of the Kindergarten approach to paint and paper -- totally refreshing use of color and a wild approximation of shape. Her concept of God's activities during the Creation are nothing if not complete -- after inventing the jungle and its wild animals, he went on to pins and thread, birds and bees. The importance children place on the familiar and the furniture of their surroundings comes through in Dorothy's words and pictures.[9]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Dr. Belinda Straight, Civil Rights Activist". The Vineyard Gazette. December 15, 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  2. ^ "10 Youngest Child Authors in History". mom.me. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  3. ^ "Straight, Dorothy". WorldCat Identities. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
  4. ^ Barrett, Erin; Mingo, Jack (August 1, 2003). It Takes a Certain Type to be a Writer: Facts from the World of Writing and Publishing. Conari Press. ISBN 9781609250737. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Lehmann-haupt, Christopher (5 January 2004). "Michael Straight, Who Wrote of Connection to Spy Ring, Is Dead at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  6. ^ Newspaper Enterprise Association (1914). The World Almanac & Book of Facts. Newspaper Enterprise Association. p. 662. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  7. ^ MAJ. W.D. STRAIGHT IS DEAD IN PARIS - Financier and Diplomat Victim of Pneumonia While on War Mission with Col. House. BEGAN LIFE AS A POOR BOY Son of Missionary to Japan and China, He Won International Fame—Tributes Here. Chosen by E.H. Harriman Associated With J.P. Morgan & Co. - The New York Times December 2, 1918; accessed Dec 6, 2015
  8. ^ Morrison-Reed, Mark D. (2014). The Selma Awakening: How the Civil Rights Movement Tested and Changed Unitarian Universalism. Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. ISBN 9781558967335. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c "HOW THE WORLD BEGAN by Dorothy- Illus". kirkusreviews.com. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  10. ^ "Kids' Stuff: A Monthly Feature" (PDF). Washington Post. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
  11. ^ "Child Authors". The Wee Web. Archived from the original on 2010-01-11. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
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