Antaeus

by Borden Deal

A farm boy from Alabama moves to a northern city during wartime and convinces the neighborhood boys to create a garden on the roof of the adjacent factory.

Genres: Short Stories

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Borden Deal was an American novelist and short story writer. Born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, Deal attended Macedonia Consolidated High School, after which he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and fought forest fires in the Pacific Northwest. Before he began writing, his checkered career included work on a showboat, hauling sawdust for a lumber mill, harvesting wheat, a position as auditor for the United States Department of Labor, a telephone solicitor, copywriter, and an anti-aircraft fire control instructor in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In 1946, Deal enrolled in The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. While there he published his first short story, "Exodus". His creative writing professor was Hudson Strode. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree within three years, then enrolled in Mexico City College for graduate study.

It was not until 1956 that Deal decided to become a full-time writer. Among the pseudonyms he used were Loyse Deal, Lee Borden, and Michael Sunga.

A prolific writer, Deal penned twenty-one novels and more than one hundred short stories, many of which appeared in McCall's, Collier's, Saturday Review, and Good Housekeeping. His work has been translated into twenty different languages. A major theme in his canon is man's mystical attachment to the earth and his quest for land, inspired by his family's loss of their property during the Great Depression. The majority of his work is set in the small hamlets of the Deep South. From 1970 Deal also published, under the name "Anonymous", a series of erotic novels with pronoun titles such as Her and Him.

His novel The Insolent Breed served as the basis for the Broadway musical A Joyful Noise. His novel Dunbar's Cove was the basis for the plot of the movie Wild River, starring Lee Remick and Montgomery Clift.

Deal was married twice and had three children. He died of a heart attack in Sarasota, Florida.

Reviews

[Terris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm just learning about Borden Deal and his writing. I liked this short story pretty well.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took less time than you would think; the task of destruction is infinitely easier than that of creation.

I was unfamiliar with the mythology associated with Antaeus, so before reading this short story, I googled the legend. This is what I read: “Antaeus would challenge all passers-by to wrestling matches and remained invincible as long as he remained in contact with his mother, the earth. As Greek wrestling, like its modern equivalent, typically attempted to force opponents to the ground, he always won, killing his opponents.” Antaeus was eventually defeated by Hercules, who held him off the ground.

After reading the story, the significance of the title is evident, this is a tale about industrialism and the separation of man from his strength, the earth. Most of the boys here are unaware of what the earth gives or what it means to live in harmony with nature, but T.J., newly introduced to the Northern industrial society from his home in the rural South, does.

Beautifully written, with a strong message, I could not help thinking of Wendell Berry, another of my favorite authors, who embraces this view. We sometimes forget to tally what we have lost when we make “progress” that leads us away from our roots.

Huge thank you to Terris for providing the link to this story. For anyone else interested:

https://www.englishscholar.ca/wordpre...