John Ehle
Encyclopedia
John Marsden Ehle, Jr. is an American
writer
known best for his fiction set in the Appalachian Mountains
of the American South
.
to Gladys Starnes and John Marsden Ehle, Sr. His father was an insurance company executive. Both of Ehle's parents came from families with deep roots in the Appalachian Mountains.
Ehle enlisted in the United States Army
during World War II
, serving as a rifleman
. Following his military service, Ehle went on to study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
, receiving a bachelor of arts
degree in Radio, Television, and Motion Pictures in 1949 and later a Master of Arts
degree in Dramatic Arts (1953). Ehle also served on the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1951 to 1963. During his tenure at UNC-Chapel Hill, Ehle wrote plays for the American Adventure series that played on NBC
Radio and began writing his first novel.
Ehle's first novel, Move Over Mountain, was published by Hodder & Stoughton
of London in 1957. The following year, Ehle returned with a biography
The Survivor: The Story of Eddy Hukov. In 1964, Harper & Row published perhaps his most well known book, The Land Breakers. The book is a fictional account set in the late 18th century that traces the story of the first white pioneers to settle in the Appalachian wilderness of the mountains of Western North Carolina. The Land Breakers, out of print for several decades, was republished in 2006 by Press 53
, a small imprint in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
. The Land Breakers also marked the beginning of a seven part series of historical fiction about the Appalachian region.
Two of Ehle's eleven novels, The Winter People and The Journey of August King
, have been adapted into film. Among his six works of non-fiction is the 1965 book The Free Men, which is a first-person chronicle of the desegregation struggle in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
at the height of the civil rights
movement of the 1960s.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Manuscripts Department, maintains the John Ehle Papers, an archive which contains drafts, notes, correspondence, and other materials pertaining to Ehle's many books. The collection also includes a large collection of audio recordings of interviews, video, and photographs which document the civil rights activities observed by Ehle while he was writing The Free Men.
Ehle is a member of the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame, and has received numerous awards, including: the Thomas Wolfe Prize, the Lillian Smith Book Award
, the John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities, and the Mayflower Award.
John Ehle is married to the English
actress Rosemary Harris
and is the father of actress Jennifer Ehle
. The Ehles have residences in Penland
, NC Winston-Salem
, NC New York City
, and London
.
. From 1963-1964, Ehle served as special assistant to North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford
, an appointment Sanford often called his "one man think tank." Sanford credits Ehle for the idea behind the state-wide initiative The North Carolina Fund
(a non-profit organization funded primarily by grants from the Ford Foundation
to fight poverty
in North Carolina). As an extension of Governor Sanford's focus on education
, Ehle was instrumental in the founding of both the North Carolina School of the Arts
and The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, among the first such state-supported high schools for the gifted and talented in the United States.
John Ehle's public service also reached beyond North Carolina to the national level. From 1964 to 1966, Ehle served as an advisor on President Lyndon B. Johnson
's White House Group for Domestic Affairs. From 1965 to 1968 Ehle was a member of the United States National Committee for UNESCO
. He also served on the National Council for Humanities
(1966–1970).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
known best for his fiction set in the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
of the American South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
.
Biography and literary career
The oldest of five children, John Ehle was born in Asheville, North CarolinaAsheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
to Gladys Starnes and John Marsden Ehle, Sr. His father was an insurance company executive. Both of Ehle's parents came from families with deep roots in the Appalachian Mountains.
Ehle enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, serving as a rifleman
Rifleman
Although ultimately originating with the 16th century handgunners and the 17th century musketeers and streltsy, the term rifleman originated from the 18th century. It would later become the term for the archetypal common soldier.-History:...
. Following his military service, Ehle went on to study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, receiving a bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in Radio, Television, and Motion Pictures in 1949 and later a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in Dramatic Arts (1953). Ehle also served on the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1951 to 1963. During his tenure at UNC-Chapel Hill, Ehle wrote plays for the American Adventure series that played on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Radio and began writing his first novel.
Ehle's first novel, Move Over Mountain, was published by Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
of London in 1957. The following year, Ehle returned with a biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
The Survivor: The Story of Eddy Hukov. In 1964, Harper & Row published perhaps his most well known book, The Land Breakers. The book is a fictional account set in the late 18th century that traces the story of the first white pioneers to settle in the Appalachian wilderness of the mountains of Western North Carolina. The Land Breakers, out of print for several decades, was republished in 2006 by Press 53
Press 53
Press 53 is an independent publisher of literary fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. The press was founded October 1, 2005 by Kevin Morgan Watson of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In November 2005, Watson partnered with Sheryl Monks of Hamptonville, North Carolina, and their partnership became...
, a small imprint in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
. The Land Breakers also marked the beginning of a seven part series of historical fiction about the Appalachian region.
Two of Ehle's eleven novels, The Winter People and The Journey of August King
The Journey of August King
The Journey of August King is a 1996 film directed by John Duigan. It stars Jason Patric and Thandie Newton-Cast:*Jason Patric as Asshole King*Thandie Newton as Annalees*Larry Drake as Olaf Singletary*Sam Waterston as Mooney Wright...
, have been adapted into film. Among his six works of non-fiction is the 1965 book The Free Men, which is a first-person chronicle of the desegregation struggle in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
at the height of the civil rights
African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South...
movement of the 1960s.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Manuscripts Department, maintains the John Ehle Papers, an archive which contains drafts, notes, correspondence, and other materials pertaining to Ehle's many books. The collection also includes a large collection of audio recordings of interviews, video, and photographs which document the civil rights activities observed by Ehle while he was writing The Free Men.
Ehle is a member of the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame, and has received numerous awards, including: the Thomas Wolfe Prize, 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 John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities, and the Mayflower Award.
John Ehle is married to the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actress Rosemary Harris
Rosemary Harris
Rosemary Ann Harris is an English actress and a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Throughout her career she has been nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and has won a Golden Globe, an Emmy, a Tony Award, an Obie, and five Drama Desk Awards.-Early life:Harris was born in...
and is the father of actress Jennifer Ehle
Jennifer Ehle
Jennifer Ehle is an American actress of stage and screen. She is known for her BAFTA winning role as Elizabeth Bennet in the 1995 mini-series Pride and Prejudice.-Early life:...
. The Ehles have residences in Penland
Penland School of Crafts
The Penland School of Crafts is a center for craft education located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, about 50 miles from Asheville....
, NC Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
, NC 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...
, and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Public service
In addition to his writing career, Ehle has been active in a number of social, educational, and anti-poverty projects in the state of North CarolinaNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. From 1963-1964, Ehle served as special assistant to North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford
Terry Sanford
James Terry Sanford was a United States politician and educator from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford was the 65th Governor of North Carolina , a two-time U.S. Presidential candidate in the 1970s and a U.S. Senator...
, an appointment Sanford often called his "one man think tank." Sanford credits Ehle for the idea behind the state-wide initiative The North Carolina Fund
North Carolina Fund
The North Carolina Fund was a series of experimental programs conceived at the request of North Carolina governor Terry Sanford, who was aided by writer John Ehle. Its director, George Esser, was appointed in 1963...
(a non-profit organization funded primarily by grants from the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
to fight poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
in North Carolina). As an extension of Governor Sanford's focus on education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, Ehle was instrumental in the founding of both the North Carolina School of the Arts
North Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts , formerly the North Carolina School of the Arts, is a public coeducational arts conservatory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that grants high school, undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is one of the seventeen constituent campuses of the...
and The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, among the first such state-supported high schools for the gifted and talented in the United States.
John Ehle's public service also reached beyond North Carolina to the national level. From 1964 to 1966, Ehle served as an advisor on President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
's White House Group for Domestic Affairs. From 1965 to 1968 Ehle was a member of the United States National Committee for UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
. He also served on the National Council for Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
(1966–1970).
External links
- Inventory of the John Ehle Papers, 1942-1993, in the Southern Historical CollectionSouthern Historical CollectionThe Southern Historical Collection is a repository of distinct archival collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which document the culture and history of the American South...
, UNC-Chapel HillUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States... - Biography of John Ehle at the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame