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The Ugliest Pilgrim

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"The Ugliest Pilgrim"
Short story by Doris Betts
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Publication
Published inRed Clay Reader
Media typeShort story
Publication date1969

"The Ugliest Pilgrim" is a southern gothic short story by American writer Doris Betts. It was first published in the Red Clay Reader, an annual magazine focusing on the work of southern authors and artists.[1]

Plot synopsis

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The story follows Violet Karl a disfigured woman in her late twenties who travels by bus from her home in Spruce Pine, North Carolina to Tulsa, Oklahoma in the hopes of being healed by a televangelist.

Adaptations

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The first adaption of "The Ugliest Pilgrim" was a 1981 film titled Violet. The short film was directed by Shelley Levinson and starring Didi Conn. It won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film in 1982. [2]

A musical adaption "The Ugliest Pilgrim" also titled Violet was made with music by Jeanine Tesori and libretto by Brian Crawley. The musical premiered Off-Broadway in 1997 and won the Drama Critics' Circle Award and Lucille Lortel Award as Best Musical.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Thomas, Helen (March 6, 2014). "Doris Betts, a Greyhound Bus, and an Academy Award". Southern Sources. UNC Chapel Hill Library.
  2. ^ Levinson, Shelley, Violet (Short), Didi Conn, Patrick Dollaghan, Rodney Saulsberry, Thomas McGowan, American Film Institute (AFI), The Center for Advanced Film Studies, retrieved 2021-01-13
  3. ^ "Violet". Music Theatre International. 2015-09-16. Retrieved 2021-01-13.