The recent publication of Letters to my Father (Louisiana State Press, 2009) reminds us of Styron’s connections to Davidson. The book, edited by James L. W. West, includes letters written between 1943 and 1953. Styron was a student in 1942-1943 and received an honorary degree from the college in 1986. The College Archives has a small manuscript collection that includes some of his student work and letters written later in life.
During a summer English classes, Styron wrote a series of essays on such assigned topics as “Introducing Myself Against My Background, “My Favorite Magazine” (he chose Time, and characters in Thomas Hardy novels. Titles of other essays include “What the Reading Public Demands”(sensationalism), “The Volcanic Origin and Structure of the East Indies, with Special Reference to the Volcano Krakatoa” (complete with hand drawn map), and “Fog on the River.”
His professor, possibly Prof. E. J. Erwin, used his red pencil freely –offering corrections and praise. One essay has “You express yourself with ease and facility, but not make too much effort to be ‘poetic,’ to make an effect. Well narrated.” 
The essay on Time magazine earned, “an interesting and original effort to copy the Time matter, though it falls down rather painfully at times. You need either more practice or more revision or or understanding of method.”
Styron wrote for the Davidsonian and the humor magazine Scripts and Pranks. His newspaper articles covered a visit by women from area colleges, the arrival of Air Cadets on campus and changes in dormitories. Although the pieces were not editorials, they were written with an emphasis on humor over facts. (click on the headline to read the article)
Like many of his classmates, he left college to enter the armed forces and serve during WWII. After the war, he finished his undergraduate education at Duke. In his remarks after receiving an honorary degree from Davidson, he noted that “1942 was not quite a normal time to be attending an institution of higher education. I have warm and loving memories of Davidson but I am afraid that most of them are clouded by feeling that during my freshman year my inate sinfulness was in constant conflict with the prevailing official piety.”
Among his favorite memories were those of “three great teachers. . . Chalmers Davidson and William Cumming in addition to Henry Tracy Lilly, both of the latter taught English. I wish I had been a little more conscientious student, for all of these gentlemen were brilliant and classy. As stubborn as I was, they infected me with their love and care for knowledge and for the English language.”
I’m looking forward to reading Styron’s letters from Davidson in light of his time here and the experiences of the rest of his life .
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