a Theodore Dreiser chronology, by Roger W. Smith

 

Dreiser chronology

See downloadable Word document, above.

 

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The purpose of this timeline of Theodore Dreiser’s life, career, and publication history is to highlight key dates and events, including milestones in his life and also including turning points and incidents that shed light on Dreiser’s development — professionally and as a writer — and the development of his views.

Seemingly less important accounts or reports (some of which proved to be inaccurate), the occasional passing mention or fleeting glimpse gleaned from a newspaper account have been included to give verisimilitude to this chronology, and to show the expectations held by the public at a given time about Dreiser’s output and productions of his works, as well as false starts Dreiser made.

A key emphasis has been placed in this chronology on the publication history of Dreiser’s works, both in the U.S. and other counties, to show how far and wide Dreiser’s influence and reputation have spread.

Also included in this chronology are works of scholarship that represent key junctures in Dreiser studies.

It is hoped that the chronology posted here, besides listing facts, will give a feeling for the zigs and zags of Dreiser’s life; its ups and downs; and how events shaped the once callow reporter into a literary lion given more and more at the end of his life to pronouncements and less to actual literary output.

Note: An excellent, more concise chronology, compiled by Thomas P. Riggio, which fills in many gaps in this one, can be found in The Library of America edition of Dreiser’s An American Tragedy.

 

— Roger W. Smith

  posted June 2018; updated January 2024