T.S. Stribling

Thomas Sigismund Stribling
T. S. Stribling, photo taken prior to 1907, from T. S. Stribling collection at University of North Alabama archives
Born	March 4, 1881 Clifton, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	July 8, 1965
Occupation	Novelist

Thomas Sigismund Stribling (March 4, 1881 – July 8, 1965) was an American writer and lawyer who published under the name T.S. Stribling. He won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1933 for his novel The Store.

Born March 4, 1881, in Clifton, Tennessee, a small town off the Tennessee River, Thomas Sigismund Stribling was the first child of lawyer Christopher Columbus Stribling and his wife, Amelia Ann (Waits) Stribling. Christopher Stribling had been a soldier in the Union Army, while the Waits family had fought in the Confederacy. T.S. Stribling would later say this resulted in his being a "doubter and a questioner" (Bain, 433). He would go on to use the stories of his parents, grandparents and extended family on both sides to create the realistic depth of his Southern Reconstruction novels.

Stribling completed his high school education at the age of seventeen, at Huntingdon Southern Normal University in 1899, in the nearby town of Huntingdon, Tennessee. By this time Stribling was convinced that he was meant to be a writer, having already sold his first story at the age of 12 for five dollars; Stribling was ready to get started with his future in literature. With that in mind, Stribling became the editor of a small weekly newspaper called the Clifton News. Stribling was hoping to use the Clifton News as a launching pad for his writing career, unfortunately Stribling was only there for about a year before his parents convinced him to return to school and complete his education. In the fall of 1902, Stribling graduated from the Florence Normal School, what is now recognized as the University of North Alabama, in Florence, Alabama. There, Stribling was able to earn his teaching certification in one year.

In 1903, Stribling moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to teach at the Tuscaloosa High School. He taught both mathematics and physical education. He actually only taught at the school for one year, having "no idea whatever of discipline" (Kunitz, 1359) before departing, preferring instead to continue his own education. In 1905, Stribling completed his law degree at the University of Alabama School of Law. Yet again he only used his newly earned education for a brief time, moving quickly from law office to law office: The Florence law office of George Jones, serving as clerk; the Florence law office of Governor Emmett O'Neal, where Stribling worked as a practicing lawyer; and law office of John Ashcraft, also as a practicing lawyer. Stribling went through three law offices in less than two years. It turns out that instead of working on clients' cases, Stribling was in fact using the office supplies, typewriter, and paid hours to perfect his writing craft. Under the advice of his fellow lawyers, Stribling gave up practicing law in 1907.