After graduating from Georgia State College for Women in 1945, O'Connor entered the prestigious Writer's Workshop at the University of Iowa. There, under the tutelage of Workshop teachers Paul Engle, Andrew Lytle, and Austin Warren, the uniqueness of O'Connor's writing emerged with her early stories "Wildcat", "The Coat", "The Geranium", "The Barber", "The Turkey", and "The Train".
"The Geranium" was O'Connor's first published work, printed in the Summer issue of Accent magazine in 1946.
O'Connor graduated from the University of Iowa in June of 1947 with a Master's degree in Fine Arts. O'Connor remained in Iowa City and took a course in European literature. That same year, O'Connor sold "The Turkey" to Mademoiselle magazine and "The Train" to the Sewanee Review.
In the fall of 1948, O'Connor left Iowa City upon accepting a guest writer residency at Yaddo, an artist retreat in New York. Here she continued to work on her first novel, "Wise Blood."
In 1998, the University of Iowa celebrated O'Connor's life and writing with a three-act performance of "Everything That Rises Must Converge," directed by Karin Coonrod. The University of Iowa's play combined O'Connor's three short stories: "Everything That Rises Must Converge", "A View of the Woods," and "Greenleaf," into a single production.
The performance ran from November 5 to 15, 1998, in the David Thayer Theater. The performances sold out every night. If you attended one of the performances of "Everything That Rises Must Converge" and would like to share your thoughts and/or experience, please e-mail the Flannery O'Connor Collection.
For more information on O'Connor in Iowa City see: