Publisher's Synopsis
King Arthur's Socks and Other Village Plays by Floyd Dell. These plays, with one exception, were written in Greenwich Village, and, with another exception, first performed there-some at the old Liberal Club, and others by the Provincetown Players. They are souvenirs of an intellectual play-time which, being dead, deserves some not-too-solemn memorial. Floyd James Dell (June 28, 1887 - July 23, 1969) was an American newspaper and magazine editor, literary critic, novelist, playwright, and poet. Dell has been called "one of the most flamboyant, versatile and influential American Men of Letters of the first third of the 20th Century." As editor and critic, Dell's influence is alive in the work of many major American writers from the first half of the 20th century. A lifelong poet, he was also a best-selling author, as well as a playwright whose hit Broadway comedy, Little Accident (1928), was made into a Hollywood movie. Dell wrote extensively on controversial social issues of the early 20th century, and played a major part in the political and social movements originating in New York City's Greenwich Village during the 1910s & 1920s. As editor of left-wing magazine The Masses Dell was twice put on trial for publishing subversive literature. Following the war, Dell turned to fiction and his first novel, the bildungsroman Moon-Calf, became a best seller. This was followed by several other novels with limited success. Dell continued to publish both fiction and non-fiction until the end of his life. Dell joined the WPA and U.S. Information Service in 1935 from which he retired following World War II. Floyd Dell died in Bethesda, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., on July 23, 1969.
