Burton Rascoe
Encyclopedia
Arthur Burton Rascoe was an American journalist
, editor and literary critic
of the New York Herald Tribune
.
Born in Fulton, Kentucky
to Matthew L. Rascoe and Elizabeth Burton Rascoe, Rascoe grew up in Shawnee, Oklahoma
. He was class president at Shawnee High School and participated in sports while also working for the local newspaper. Feeling confined to the small town and his increasing more open-minded views he left school before graduation and moved to Chicago. From 1911 until 1913, he attended the University of Chicago
where he joined Sigma Nu
. While still a student, he started writing for the Chicago Tribune
, where he continued working until 1920.
In 1922, he became literary editor of the New York Tribune
. He continued in that position until a merger turned the paper into the New York Herald Tribune in 1924. The writing and editorial staff he assembled included writers who became well-respected: Isabel Paterson
and Will Cuppy
.
Rascoe continued to hold high-profile editorial jobs in the field of literary criticism and to write books of his own about literature and authors. His best-known work, Titans of Literature, appeared in 1932. He also authored "Before I Forget", an autobiography of sorts revealing much of his upbringing in Oklahoma. The book gives a good insight to life for a young man during the early days of the 20th century. Other works include "Theodore Dreiser" (1925), "A Bookman's Daybook" (1929), "The Joys of Reading: Life's Greatest Pleasure" (1937) and "Belle Starr, The Bandit Queen."
He was also a literary critic (New York World Telegram) and was a syndicated columnist early in his career.
Rascoe was married to Hazel Luke, July 5, 1913, and they had two children, Alfred Burton Rascoe, July 2, 1914, who died by suicide in 1936, and daughter Ruth Helen.
Rascoe died of heart failure in New York, March 19, 1957.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, editor and literary critic
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
of the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
.
Born in Fulton, Kentucky
Fulton, Kentucky
Fulton is a city in Fulton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,775 at the 2000 census. It was once known as the "Banana Capital of the World" because 70% of imported bananas to the U.S. used to be shipped there . U.S...
to Matthew L. Rascoe and Elizabeth Burton Rascoe, Rascoe grew up in Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical Area; it is also the county seat of Pottawatomie County and the principal city of the Shawnee Micropolitan Statistical...
. He was class president at Shawnee High School and participated in sports while also working for the local newspaper. Feeling confined to the small town and his increasing more open-minded views he left school before graduation and moved to Chicago. From 1911 until 1913, he attended the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
where he joined Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu is an undergraduate, college fraternity with chapters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
. While still a student, he started writing for the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, where he continued working until 1920.
In 1922, he became literary editor of the New York Tribune
New York Tribune
The New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
. He continued in that position until a merger turned the paper into the New York Herald Tribune in 1924. The writing and editorial staff he assembled included writers who became well-respected: Isabel Paterson
Isabel Paterson
Isabel Paterson was a Canadian-American journalist, novelist, political philosopher, and a leading literary critic of her day. Along with Rose Wilder Lane and Ayn Rand, who both acknowledged an intellectual debt to Paterson, she is one of the three founding mothers of American libertarianism...
and Will Cuppy
Will Cuppy
William Jacob "Will" Cuppy was an American humorist and literary critic, known for his satirical books about nature and historical figures.-Early life:...
.
Rascoe continued to hold high-profile editorial jobs in the field of literary criticism and to write books of his own about literature and authors. His best-known work, Titans of Literature, appeared in 1932. He also authored "Before I Forget", an autobiography of sorts revealing much of his upbringing in Oklahoma. The book gives a good insight to life for a young man during the early days of the 20th century. Other works include "Theodore Dreiser" (1925), "A Bookman's Daybook" (1929), "The Joys of Reading: Life's Greatest Pleasure" (1937) and "Belle Starr, The Bandit Queen."
He was also a literary critic (New York World Telegram) and was a syndicated columnist early in his career.
Rascoe was married to Hazel Luke, July 5, 1913, and they had two children, Alfred Burton Rascoe, July 2, 1914, who died by suicide in 1936, and daughter Ruth Helen.
Rascoe died of heart failure in New York, March 19, 1957.