Jean Rikhoff
Encyclopedia
Jean Rikhoff is an American
author
and editor
. She is best known for two trilogies
that she wrote: the Timble Trilogy, made up of Dear Ones All, Voyage In, Voyage Out, and Rites of Passage, and the trilogy of the North Country
, consisting of Buttes Landing, One of the Raymonds, and The Sweetwater. She received a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship, a Eugene Saxton fellowship in creative writing (1958), and two State University of New York
creative writing fellowships.
, Illinois
, and grew up in Indianapolis
, Indiana. She received her B.A. in English from Mount Holyoke College
in 1948 and completed graduate work in English and philosophy
at Wesleyan University
. Her dissertation was on The Classical Imagery in Christopher Marlowe
's Plays.
Rikhoff then left for Europe where she traveled with her first husband and taught for seven years. During this time she wrote her first novel, Dear Ones All, in Seville
. Back in the US, she settled with her young daughter in the Adirondack Mountains
, first living in Bolton Landing
.
In 1954 she established Quixote, a literary magazine, which she also edited. Rikhoff described the magazine as a financial failure, yet continued to publish until 1966 out of altruism towards writers and a profound love of literature. In Quixote she wrote an annual report called "Troubles of a Small Magazine." The collected reports were published by Grosset & Dunlap
as the Quixote Anthology, along with some of the works in the magazine.
In the meantime, she had started to work with literary agent
Barthold Fles
, who was of great support to her creative writing. Rikhoff remarried and spent 20 years on a horse farm in West Hebron, where she wrote some of her best known books. In 1983 she co-founded the Loft Press in Glens Falls, for which she served as publisher and editor of the Glens Falls Review. She also worked as an editorial assistant for Gourmet Magazine.
Rikhoff took up teaching again, now at the State University of New York
's Adirondack Community College
. Among others, she served a faculty advisor to Expressions, the literary magazine of the Adirondack students. At the time of her retirement she was the chair of the English Department at Adirondack College. For her teaching and academic leadership, she won the Adirondack Community College President's Award for Academic Excellence (1990) and State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching (1992).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
. She is best known for two trilogies
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
that she wrote: the Timble Trilogy, made up of Dear Ones All, Voyage In, Voyage Out, and Rites of Passage, and the trilogy of the North Country
North Country, New York
The North Country is a region of the U.S. state of New York that encompasses the state's extreme northern frontier, bordering Lake Ontario on the west, the Saint Lawrence River and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec on the north and northwest, and Lake Champlain and Vermont on the east...
, consisting of Buttes Landing, One of the Raymonds, and The Sweetwater. She received a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship, a Eugene Saxton fellowship in creative writing (1958), and two State University of New York
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
creative writing fellowships.
Life and work
Jean Rikhoff was born in ChicagoChicago
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...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and grew up in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana. She received her B.A. in English from Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
in 1948 and completed graduate work in English and 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...
at Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
. Her dissertation was on The Classical Imagery in Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
's Plays.
Rikhoff then left for Europe where she traveled with her first husband and taught for seven years. During this time she wrote her first novel, Dear Ones All, in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
. Back in the US, she settled with her young daughter in the Adirondack Mountains
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....
, first living in Bolton Landing
Bolton Landing, New York
Bolton Landing is a hamlet in the town of Bolton in Warren County, New York, United States. It is located on Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains. It is a common tourist destination and the closest town to the State Park lands and islands of the Lake George Narrows...
.
In 1954 she established Quixote, a literary magazine, which she also edited. Rikhoff described the magazine as a financial failure, yet continued to publish until 1966 out of altruism towards writers and a profound love of literature. In Quixote she wrote an annual report called "Troubles of a Small Magazine." The collected reports were published by Grosset & Dunlap
Grosset & Dunlap
Grosset & Dunlap is a United States book publisher founded in 1898.The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of the British publishing conglomerate, Pearson PLC through its American subsidiary Penguin Group....
as the Quixote Anthology, along with some of the works in the magazine.
In the meantime, she had started to work with literary agent
Literary agent
A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers and film producers and assists in the sale and deal negotiation of the same. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwriters and major non-fiction writers...
Barthold Fles
Barthold Fles
Barthold Fles was a Dutch-American literary agent, author, translator, editor and publisher. Among his many clients were Raymond Loewy, Heinrich Mann, Joseph Roth, Felix Salten, Ignazio Silone, Bruno Walter and Arnold Zweig.-Life and career:Barthold "Bart" Fles was born in Amsterdam into an...
, who was of great support to her creative writing. Rikhoff remarried and spent 20 years on a horse farm in West Hebron, where she wrote some of her best known books. In 1983 she co-founded the Loft Press in Glens Falls, for which she served as publisher and editor of the Glens Falls Review. She also worked as an editorial assistant for Gourmet Magazine.
Rikhoff took up teaching again, now at the State University of New York
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
's Adirondack Community College
Adirondack Community College
SUNY Adirondack is a community college serving Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties in New York State. Founded in 1961 as Adirondack Community College , it offers over 30 academic programs.-History:...
. Among others, she served a faculty advisor to Expressions, the literary magazine of the Adirondack students. At the time of her retirement she was the chair of the English Department at Adirondack College. For her teaching and academic leadership, she won the Adirondack Community College President's Award for Academic Excellence (1990) and State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching (1992).
Books written
- 1961 - Dear Ones All
- 1961 - Writing About the Frontier: Mark TwainMark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
- 1963 - Voyage In, Voyage Out
- 1966 - Rites of Passage
- 1968 - Robert E. Lee, Soldier of the South
- 1973 - Buttes Landing (Book of the MonthBook of the Month ClubThe Book of the Month Club is a United States mail-order book sales club that offers a new book each month to customers.The Book of the Month Club is part of a larger company that runs many book clubs in the United States and Canada. It was formerly the flagship club of Book-of-the-Month Club, Inc...
alternate) - 1974 - One of the Raymonds (Book of the Month alternate)
- 1976 - The Sweetwater
- 1979 - Where Were You in '76?
- 1984 - David Smith, I Remember
Books edited
- 1961 - Quixote Anthology
- 1986 - North Country Anthology (co-editor)