Anthony Robinson (novelist)
Encyclopedia
Anthony Robinson is an American novelist and short story writer, and for many years a professor of creative writing at SUNY New Paltz.
, he grew up in the Maverick Artists Colony in Woodstock, New York
. He graduated from Andover Academy and Columbia University
, where Mark Van Doren
and George Nobbe encouraged him to pursue a career in writing.
He served in the U. S. Navy from 1953-56 in the final days of the Korean War
. He received his Master's degree in American Literature
from Columbia after the conclusion of his Navy service.
He joined the New Paltz faculty in 1964, and remained there (spending the academic year of 1971-72 teaching at the University of Paris
at Vincennes) until his retirement in 2000.
His first marriage ended in 1976 with the death of his wife, Mary. He remarried in 1998, to artist Tatiana Padwa, a childhood friend from Woodstock. He has two children, Jennifer and Henry, from his first marriage.
His first novel, A Departure From the Rules, the story of the worst peacetime disaster in the history of the United States Navy, drew on his Navy experience, and was cited by critics for its "extraordinary skill" (Chicago 1960). He then turned his attention to the moral issues of contemporary society in The Easy Way, praised for its "insights into the legal profession" (Buffalo), Home Again, Home Again, which drew on his experience in the Maverick Artists Colony, "for which the author has a visible attachment" (Levin), and The Whole Truth, "an attention-grabber that will not let go until the last words have been read" (Times-Herald). His 1991 novel, The Member-Guest, has been described as "the consummate golf novel" (Falco).
Personal life
The son of novelist Henry Morton RobinsonHenry Morton Robinson
Henry Morton Robinson was an American novelist, best known for A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake written with Joseph Campbell and his 1950 novel The Cardinal, which Time magazine reported was "The year's most popular book, fiction or nonfiction."-Biography:Robinson was born in Boston and graduated...
, he grew up in the Maverick Artists Colony in Woodstock, New York
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 at the 2000 census.The Town of Woodstock is in the northern part of the county...
. He graduated from Andover Academy and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, where Mark Van Doren
Mark Van Doren
Mark Van Doren was an American poet, writer and a critic, apart from being a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thinkers including Thomas Merton, Robert Lax, John Berryman, and Beat Generation...
and George Nobbe encouraged him to pursue a career in writing.
He served in the U. S. Navy from 1953-56 in the final days of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. He received his Master's degree in American Literature
American literature
American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
from Columbia after the conclusion of his Navy service.
He joined the New Paltz faculty in 1964, and remained there (spending the academic year of 1971-72 teaching at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
at Vincennes) until his retirement in 2000.
His first marriage ended in 1976 with the death of his wife, Mary. He remarried in 1998, to artist Tatiana Padwa, a childhood friend from Woodstock. He has two children, Jennifer and Henry, from his first marriage.
Career
A story he wrote aboard ship, “The Farlow Express,” was published in Prairie Schooner and was later included in The Best American Short Stories of 1957.His first novel, A Departure From the Rules, the story of the worst peacetime disaster in the history of the United States Navy, drew on his Navy experience, and was cited by critics for its "extraordinary skill" (Chicago 1960). He then turned his attention to the moral issues of contemporary society in The Easy Way, praised for its "insights into the legal profession" (Buffalo), Home Again, Home Again, which drew on his experience in the Maverick Artists Colony, "for which the author has a visible attachment" (Levin), and The Whole Truth, "an attention-grabber that will not let go until the last words have been read" (Times-Herald). His 1991 novel, The Member-Guest, has been described as "the consummate golf novel" (Falco).
Novels
- A Departure from the Rules (1960)
- The Easy Way (1963)
- Home Again, Home Again (1969)
- The Whole Truth (1990)
- The Member-Guest (1991)
- The American Golfer (2010)
- The Floodplain (2011)
Short Stories
- My Finnegan (1949)
- The Farlow Express (1956)
- The Lesson (1961)
- The Dirt Machine (1964)
- Navy Buttons (1965)
- A Turn In The Match (1982)
- Zerk the Jerk (1985)
- The 3-Mile Run (2007)