Hal Crowther
Encyclopedia
Hal Crowther is an American journalist and essayist.
His essays have been published in many anthologies, including Novello: Ten Years of Great American Writing (2000). "Dealer's Choice," Crowther's column on southern letters and culture, has been featured in The Oxford American
since 1994.
He was executive editor for the Spectator in Raleigh, North Carolina
from 1984 until 1989, and he has also been the film and drama critic for the Buffalo News, media critic for Newsweek
, and writer for Time magazine. Additionally, Crowther has written for The Humanist and Free Inquiry
magazines. He has also been a regular contributor to the book pages of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
He is a graduate of Williams College
and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
. He lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina
with his wife, novelist Lee Smith.
Writing Award and in 1998 it won the American Association of Newsweeklies first prize for commentary, shared with Nat Hentoff
of the Village Voice. His book Cathedrals of Kudzu: A Personal Landscape of the South won the Lillian Smith Book Award
, the 1999-2001 Fellowship Prize for Non-Fiction from the Fellowship of Southern Writers
, and the 2001 first prize for essays from Foreword Magazine. In 2000, he received the Russell J. Jandoli Award for Excellence in Journalism from St. Bonaventure University
.
His essays have been published in many anthologies, including Novello: Ten Years of Great American Writing (2000). "Dealer's Choice," Crowther's column on southern letters and culture, has been featured in The Oxford American
Oxford American
The Oxford American is an American quarterly literary magazine "dedicated to featuring the very best in Southern writing while documenting the complexity and vitality of the American South."-First publication:...
since 1994.
He was executive editor for the Spectator in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
from 1984 until 1989, and he has also been the film and drama critic for the Buffalo News, media critic for Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, and writer for Time magazine. Additionally, Crowther has written for The Humanist and Free Inquiry
Free Inquiry
Free Inquiry is a bi-monthly journal of secular humanist opinion and commentary published by the Council for Secular Humanism, which is part of the Center for Inquiry. Philosopher Paul Kurtz is the editor-in-chief and Thomas W. Flynn the editor. Feature articles cover a wide range of topics from a...
magazines. He has also been a regular contributor to the book pages of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
He is a graduate of Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
. He lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina
Hillsborough, North Carolina
Hillsborough is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,653 at the 2008 census. It is the county seat of Orange County....
with his wife, novelist Lee Smith.
Awards
In 1992 his syndicated column received the Baltimore Suns H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken
Henry Louis "H. L." Mencken was an American journalist, essayist, magazine editor, satirist, acerbic critic of American life and culture, and a scholar of American English. Known as the "Sage of Baltimore", he is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the...
Writing Award and in 1998 it won the American Association of Newsweeklies first prize for commentary, shared with Nat Hentoff
Nat Hentoff
Nathan Irving "Nat" Hentoff is an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media and writes regularly on jazz and country music for The Wall Street Journal....
of the Village Voice. His book Cathedrals of Kudzu: A Personal Landscape of the South won the Lillian Smith Book Award
Lillian Smith Book Award
Jointly presented by the Southern Regional Council and the University of Georgia Libraries, the Lillian Smith Book Awards honor those authors who, through their outstanding writing about the American South, carry on Smith's legacy of elucidating the condition of racial and social inequity and...
, the 1999-2001 Fellowship Prize for Non-Fiction from the Fellowship of Southern Writers
Fellowship of Southern Writers
The Fellowship of Southern Writers is a literary organization founded in 1987 in Chattanooga, Tennessee by 21 Southern writers and other literary luminaries...
, and the 2001 first prize for essays from Foreword Magazine. In 2000, he received the Russell J. Jandoli Award for Excellence in Journalism from St. Bonaventure University
St. Bonaventure University
St. Bonaventure University is a private, Franciscan Catholic university, located in Allegany, Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. It has roughly 2,400 undergraduate and graduate students....
.
Works
- Gather at the River: Notes From the Post Millennial South (2005) ISBN 0807131008
- Cathedrals of Kudzu: A Personal Landscape of the South (2002) ISBN 0807125946
- Unarmed but Dangerous: A Withering Attack on All Things Phony, Foolish, and Fundamentally Wrong With America Today (1995) ISBN 1563521938
Quotes
- "What seems to animate this movementTea Party movementThe Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
even more than xenophobiaXenophobiaXenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
, the raw material of racismRacismRacism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, is 'epistemophobia'—fear of knowledge—the raw material of superstitionSuperstitionSuperstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
and barbarismBarbarianBarbarian and savage are terms used to refer to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...
."
- "My friend Wilbur FerryWilbur H. FerryWilbur H. Ferry was an American activist and philanthropist. He was born in Detroit on December 17, 1910. He attended the University of Detroit High School where he was a star football player. After high school, Ferry went on to Dartmouth College, earning his A.B degree in 1932. He worked as an...
used to say that you could classify people by their response to the verse in Woody GuthrieWoody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
's "This Land is Your Land"----"I was walkin' down a ribbon of highway, saw a sign, it said 'No Trespassin'/ But on the other side, it didn't say nothin', that side was made for you and me." If it scandalizes you, you're a Republican; if it makes you smile and want to clap, there's hope for you."
- "...it means nothing when 80 percent of Americans say they distrust their government. At least 80 percent have no idea what it is. The most mendacious, insidious bill of goods the apostles of profit ever sold to the gullible public was this nonsense about a sinister government encroaching on our personal freedoms—as if the U.S. government was at any time in living memory an independent entity, or anything more than what the corporate will and the corporate treasure chest allows it to be."