Helen Bevington
Encyclopedia
Helen Smith Bevington was an American poet, prose author, and educator. She was born in Afton, New York
. Bevington was reared in Worcester, New York
where her father was a Methodist minister. Her younger brother, Boyce Smith (later known as Rev. Ray Vaughn, was also a Methodist minister. Bevington attended the University of Chicago
and earned a degree in philosophy
. She proceeded to write a thesis about Thoreau, earning a master’s degree from Columbia University
. In 1928, she married Merle M. Bevington. The couple travelled abroad, returning in 1929 in response to the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Both Bevingtons taught English at Duke University
starting in the 1940s. Bevington's Duke teaching career spanned from 1943 to 1976. Merle Bevington died in 1964.
In addition to her books, Bevington's work appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic Monthly
, The New Yorker
and The American Scholar
. Bevington was a poet
, a diarist, and an essayist. She was also a winner of the Roanoke-Chowan Award (1956), the North Carolina Award for Literature (1973), and the Mayflower Cup (1974). Helen Bevington died on Friday, 2001 March 16 in Chicago
.
Afton (town), New York
Afton is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The population was 2,977 at the 2000 census. Afton is situated on the south-east corner of the county and lies wholly within the original township of Clinton...
. Bevington was reared in Worcester, New York
Worcester, New York
Worcester is a town in Otsego County, New York, United States. The population was 2,207 at the 2000 census.Worcester is on the southeast border of the county and is northeast of Oneonta....
where her father was a Methodist minister. Her younger brother, Boyce Smith (later known as Rev. Ray Vaughn, was also a Methodist minister. Bevington 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...
and earned a degree in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. She proceeded to write a thesis about Thoreau, earning a master’s degree from 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...
. In 1928, she married Merle M. Bevington. The couple travelled abroad, returning in 1929 in response to the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Both Bevingtons taught English at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
starting in the 1940s. Bevington's Duke teaching career spanned from 1943 to 1976. Merle Bevington died in 1964.
In addition to her books, Bevington's work appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,...
, The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
and The American Scholar
The American Scholar
The American Scholar was a speech given by Ralph Waldo Emerson on August 31, 1837, to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cambridge. He was invited to speak in recognition of his groundbreaking work Nature, published a year earlier, in which he established a new way for America's fledgling society to...
. Bevington was a poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, a diarist, and an essayist. She was also a winner of the Roanoke-Chowan Award (1956), the North Carolina Award for Literature (1973), and the Mayflower Cup (1974). Helen Bevington died on Friday, 2001 March 16 in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.