Edward Dahlberg
Encyclopedia
Edward Dahlberg was an American
novel
ist, essay
ist and autobiographer.
. In April 1912 Dahlberg was sent to the Jewish Orphan Asylum, in Cleveland, Ohio
, where he lived until 1917. He eventually attended the University of California, Berkeley
(1922–23) and Columbia University
(B.S. in philosophy. 1925).
. In the late 1920s Dahlberg became part of the expatriate group of American writers living in Paris
. His first novel, Bottom Dogs, based on his childhood experiences at the orphanage and his travels in the American West, was published in London with an introduction by D. H. Lawrence
. With his advance money, Dahlberg returned to New York City
, resided in Greenwich Village
. He visited Germany
in 1933 and in reaction briefly joined the Communist Party, but left the Party by 1936. From the 1940s onwards, Dahlberg made his living as an author, and also taught at various colleges and universities. In 1948, he taught briefly at the experimental Black Mountain College
. He was replaced by his friend and fellow author, Charles Olson
, on the faculty of Black Mountain College.
He was an expatriate writer of the 1920s, a proletarian novelist of the 1930s, a spokesman for a fundamental humanism in the 1940s. For a number of years, Dahlberg devoted himself to literary study. His extensive readings of the works of Dante, Shakespeare, Thoreau, and
many others, resulted in a writing style quite different from the social realism that characterized his earlier writing.
He moved to the Danish island of Bornholm
in 1955 while working on The Flea of Sodom. The Sorrows of Priapus was published in 1957, becoming his most successful book thus far. He later moved to Mallorca
, while working on Because I Was Flesh, an autobiography which was published in 1964. During the 1960s and 1970s, he became quite prolific and further refined his unique style through the publication of poetry, autobiographical works, fiction, and criticism.
. Dahlberg died in Santa Barbara, California
, on February 27, 1977.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist, essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
ist and autobiographer.
Background
Edward Dahlberg was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Elizabeth Dahlberg. Together mother and son led a vagabond existence, until 1905 when she operated the Star Lady Barbershop in Kansas CityKansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. In April 1912 Dahlberg was sent to the Jewish Orphan Asylum, in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, where he lived until 1917. He eventually attended the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
(1922–23) 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...
(B.S. in philosophy. 1925).
Career
He enlisted in the Army in 1918, amidst the last few weeks of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In the late 1920s Dahlberg became part of the expatriate group of American writers living in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. His first novel, Bottom Dogs, based on his childhood experiences at the orphanage and his travels in the American West, was published in London with an introduction by D. H. Lawrence
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
. With his advance money, Dahlberg returned to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, resided in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
. He visited Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1933 and in reaction briefly joined the Communist Party, but left the Party by 1936. From the 1940s onwards, Dahlberg made his living as an author, and also taught at various colleges and universities. In 1948, he taught briefly at the experimental Black Mountain College
Black Mountain College
Black Mountain College, a school founded in 1933 in Black Mountain, North Carolina, was a new kind of college in the United States in which the study of art was seen to be central to a liberal arts education, and in which John Dewey's principles of education played a major role...
. He was replaced by his friend and fellow author, Charles Olson
Charles Olson
Charles Olson , was a second generation American modernist poet who was a link between earlier figures such as Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams and the New American poets, which includes the New York School, the Black Mountain School, the Beat poets, and the San Francisco Renaissance...
, on the faculty of Black Mountain College.
He was an expatriate writer of the 1920s, a proletarian novelist of the 1930s, a spokesman for a fundamental humanism in the 1940s. For a number of years, Dahlberg devoted himself to literary study. His extensive readings of the works of Dante, Shakespeare, Thoreau, and
many others, resulted in a writing style quite different from the social realism that characterized his earlier writing.
He moved to the Danish island of Bornholm
Bornholm
Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
in 1955 while working on The Flea of Sodom. The Sorrows of Priapus was published in 1957, becoming his most successful book thus far. He later moved to Mallorca
Mallorca
Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...
, while working on Because I Was Flesh, an autobiography which was published in 1964. During the 1960s and 1970s, he became quite prolific and further refined his unique style through the publication of poetry, autobiographical works, fiction, and criticism.
Personal life
He married R'Lene LaFleur Howell in 1950. In 1968 he was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1976, he was awarded a Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
. Dahlberg died in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, on February 27, 1977.
Selected works
- 1929 Bottom Dogs
- 1932 From Flushing to Calvary
- 1934 Those Who Perish
- 1941 Do These Bones Live, essays
- 1947 Sing O Barren, revision of Do These Bones Live
- 1950 Flea of Sodom, essays and parables
- 1957 The Sorrows of Priapus
- 1960 Can These Bones Live, second revision of Do These Bones Live
- 1961 Truth Is More Sacred
- 1964 Because I Was Flesh, autobiography
- 1964 Alms for Oblivion, essays and reminiscences
- 1965 Reasons of the Heart: Maxims
- 1966 Cipango’s Hinder Door, poems
- 1967 The Dahlberg Reader
- 1967 Epitaphs of Our Times, letters
- 1967 The Leafless American, miscellany
- 1968 The Carnal Myth: A Search Into Classical Sensuality
- 1971 The Confessions of Edward Dahlberg, autobiography and fiction
- 1976 The Olive of Minerva: Or, The Comedy of a Cuckold
- 1989 Samuel Beckett's Wake & Other Uncollected Prose
Other sources
- Billings, Harold A Bibliography of Edward Dahlberg (Harry Ransom Humanities; 1971) ISBN 978-0879590376
- Moramarco, Fred S. Edward Dahlberg (Twayne Publishing. 1972) ISBN 978-0805701807
- DeFanti, Charles The Wages of Expectation: A Biography of Edward Dahlberg (New York University Press. 1978) ISBN 978-0814717646
- Solomon, William, Literature, Amusement, and Technology in the Great Depression (Cambridge University Press: 2002) ISBN 0521813433
External links
- Edward Dahlberg Collection at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research CenterHarry Ransom Humanities Research CenterThe Harry Ransom Center is a library and archive at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the United States and Europe. The Ransom Center houses 36 million literary manuscripts, 1 million rare books, 5 million photographs, and more...
at the University of Texas at AustinUniversity of Texas at AustinThe University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin... - Guide to the Edward Dahlberg Papers at Stanford University
- University of Tulsa McFarlin Library's inventory of Edward Dahlberg papers
- Edward Dahlberg Quotes