Hyatt Howe Waggoner
Encyclopedia
Hyatt Howe Waggoner was an English
professor. He is today best known for his work on Nathaniel Hawthorne
, especially Hawthorne's Selected Tales and Sketches (1950), Hawthorne: A Critical Study (1956
) and The Presence of Hawthorne (1979
), and in 1978 played a pivotal role in the authentication of the great novelist's "lost notebook". In the year of Waggoner's death, he was honoured with the House of Seven Gables Hawthorne Award. He did not, however, confine his output to one author: "I've moved around the field," he declared, "at the risk of being superficial." Among the other literary giants who incurred his attention were Ralph Waldo Emerson
, Robert Frost
, Walt Whitman
and William Faulkner
.
In his youth Waggoner attended a single-room school in upstate New York, and later Middlebury College
, where out of the science
-religion
conflict he found fully his Christian faith
, writing to his Presbyterian pastor
that he could not go on as merely a "nominal Christian
".
The year after his 1935 graduation from Middlebury, he received his master's degree
from the University of Chicago
, and in 1939 began teaching at the University of Omaha, which he left in 1942 when he took his Ph.D from Ohio State University
. From 1942 to 1956, he was a professor at the University of Kansas City, whose English department he headed from 1952 to the end of his tenure, when he transferred to Brown University
. John Shroeder, one of his students at Kansas, who later became a Brown English professor himself, recalled of Waggoner's lectures:
Waggoner went to a Unitarian Church
in the 1940s but in the 1950s was Episcopalian
. In 1943
, he wrote a paper in the journal
American Literature, exploring (without reference to its relevance in his own life) the effect of the incompatibility of science and theology
on TS Eliot. A lover of nature, with a fondness for camping and hiking, he finally found a permanent home for his religious bent at a small federated church near his farmhouse in Rochester, Vermont
, where he wrote his books during summer holiday
s and sabbaticals, devoting all his time during the school year to his courses and student
s. His first authorial foray, The Heel of Elohim: Science and Values in Modern American Poetry, much along the same lines as the Eliot paper, was published in 1950
, and William Faulkner: From Jefferson to the World followed in 1959
, along with American Poets: From the Puritan
s to the Present (1968
, a tome of 740 pages which emerged from one of his courses), Emerson as Poet
(1974
) and American Visionary Poetry (1982
). He directed the American Civilization programme all through the 1960s and retired from teaching in 1979.
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
professor. He is today best known for his work on Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
, especially Hawthorne's Selected Tales and Sketches (1950), Hawthorne: A Critical Study (1956
1956 in literature
The year 1956 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Writing under the pseudonym of Emile Ajar, author Romain Gary becomes the only person ever to win the Prix Goncourt twice.*Iris Murdoch marries John Bayley....
) and The Presence of Hawthorne (1979
1979 in literature
The year 1979 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*V.C...
), and in 1978 played a pivotal role in the authentication of the great novelist's "lost notebook". In the year of Waggoner's death, he was honoured with the House of Seven Gables Hawthorne Award. He did not, however, confine his output to one author: "I've moved around the field," he declared, "at the risk of being superficial." Among the other literary giants who incurred his attention were Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
, Robert Frost
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
, Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
and William Faulkner
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
.
In his youth Waggoner attended a single-room school in upstate New York, and later Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
, where out of the science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
-religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
conflict he found fully his Christian faith
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, writing to his Presbyterian pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
that he could not go on as merely a "nominal Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
".
The year after his 1935 graduation from Middlebury, he received his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
from 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 in 1939 began teaching at the University of Omaha, which he left in 1942 when he took his Ph.D from Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. From 1942 to 1956, he was a professor at the University of Kansas City, whose English department he headed from 1952 to the end of his tenure, when he transferred to Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
. John Shroeder, one of his students at Kansas, who later became a Brown English professor himself, recalled of Waggoner's lectures:
Hyatt had small classes. He taught in his office, sitting behind his desk. There were no pyrotechnics, but he was inspiring. He had new and startling ideas about literary matters [...]. He set people up well enough to continue for themselves. And he was what students are always hoping for in a professor. I always felt free to drop in on him and talk about literary matters for two hours. He was always available. He gave exams on the porch of his house and served beer. I make him sound sugary and sweet. He is really a cranky YankeeYankeeThe term Yankee has several interrelated and often pejorative meanings, usually referring to people originating in the northeastern United States, or still more narrowly New England, where application of the term is largely restricted to descendants of the English settlers of the region.The...
.
Waggoner went to a Unitarian Church
American Unitarian Association
The American Unitarian Association was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it merged with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.According to Mortimer Rowe, the Secretary...
in the 1940s but in the 1950s was Episcopalian
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
. In 1943
1943 in literature
The year 1943 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*George Orwell resigns from the BBC to become literary editor of Tribune.*Isaac Bashevis Singer becomes a naturalized citizen of the United States....
, he wrote a paper in the journal
Literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
American Literature, exploring (without reference to its relevance in his own life) the effect of the incompatibility of science and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
on TS Eliot. A lover of nature, with a fondness for camping and hiking, he finally found a permanent home for his religious bent at a small federated church near his farmhouse in Rochester, Vermont
Rochester, Vermont
Rochester is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,171 at the 2000 census. Rochester is home to the Quarry Hill Creative Center...
, where he wrote his books during summer holiday
Summer holiday
Summer holiday may refer to:* Summer vacation, a vacation in the summertime between school yearsIn popular culture:* Summer Holiday , an American musical starring Mickey Rooney...
s and sabbaticals, devoting all his time during the school year to his courses and student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s. His first authorial foray, The Heel of Elohim: Science and Values in Modern American Poetry, much along the same lines as the Eliot paper, was published in 1950
1950 in literature
The year 1950 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Kazuo Shimada wins the "Mystery Writer Of Japan" award for his book Shakai-bu Kisha .*Jack Kerouac has his first novel published....
, and William Faulkner: From Jefferson to the World followed in 1959
1959 in literature
The year 1959 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*April 30 - Theatrical première of Bertolt Brecht's Saint Joan of the Stockyards, originally performed on radio in 1932....
, along with American Poets: From the Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
s to the Present (1968
1968 in literature
The year 1968 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Dean R. Koontz's first novel, Star Quest is published....
, a tome of 740 pages which emerged from one of his courses), Emerson as 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...
(1974
1974 in literature
The year 1974 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics is founded by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman.-New books:*Richard Adams - Shardik*Kingsley Amis - Ending Up...
) and American Visionary Poetry (1982
1982 in literature
The year 1982 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*La Bicyclette Bleue by Régine Deforges becomes France's best selling novel ever.-New books:...
). He directed the American Civilization programme all through the 1960s and retired from teaching in 1979.