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Gay Wilson Allen

ゲイ・ウィルソン・アレン

Gei Uiruson Aren

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1903-08-23 （Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, United States）
Died
1995-08-06 （Raleigh, North Carolina, United States） age 91
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Lake Junaluska, North Carolina → Canton, North Carolina → Oradell, New Jersey → Raleigh, North Carolina

Career

Occupations
writer, academic, biographer, English professor, philologist
Active Years
1929-1995
Affiliations
Lake Erie College (assistant professor), Alabama Polytechnic Institute (instructor), Shurtleff College (associate professor), Bowling Green State University (associate professor), New York University (English professor; later emeritus), Harvard University (visiting scholar), Emory University (visiting scholar), University of Texas (visiting lecturer), University of Hawaii (visiting lecturer)
Influenced By
Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson
Influenced
Scholars of Walt Whitman, Ed Folsom (Whitman scholar)
Nominations
National Book Award (Nonfiction) nominee (1956), Pulitzer Prize (Biography) finalist (1982), American Book Awards (Autobiography/Biography) nominee (1982)

Education

Duke University
Period: 1920年代
Country: United States
Attended in the 1920s; specific degree and graduation year not specified.
University of Wisconsin
Period: 1930年代
Country: United States
Associated with the university in the 1930s; specific degree and graduation year not specified.

Awards

Guggenheim Fellowship
1952
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
1959
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
National Book Award (Nonfiction)
1956
Work: The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: ノミネート（候補）
James Russell Lowell Prize
1981
Work: Waldo Emerson: A Biography
Category: 伝記
Organization: Modern Language Association (MLA)
Result: 受賞
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Biography)
1982
Work: Waldo Emerson: A Biography
Category: 伝記
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize (Biography)
1982
Work: Waldo Emerson: A Biography
Category: 伝記
Organization: The Pulitzer Prizes
Result: ノミネート（ファイナリスト）
New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame
1983
Organization: New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame
Result: 殿堂入り
Modern Language Association literature award (American literature)
1977
Category: アメリカ文学
Organization: Modern Language Association (MLA)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman

1955 biography / literary criticism

A critical biography of Walt Whitman detailing his life and works. Considered a major contribution to Whitman studies, based on extensive bibliographic research.

American literaturebiographyWhitman studies

Walt Whitman Handbook (later New Walt Whitman Handbook)

1946 reference / scholarship

A handbook compiling research and reference material on Whitman. Later revised and republished as the New Walt Whitman Handbook.

bibliographytextual editingWhitman

Waldo Emerson: A Biography

1981 biography

A detailed biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson based on unpublished letters and primary sources. Published in 1981 and recognized with multiple award nominations and wins.

TranscendentalismAmerican intellectual historybiographical study

William James: A Biography

1967 biography

A biography of philosopher and psychologist William James. A shortened teaching edition was also produced for classroom use.

history of philosophyhistory of psychologybiography

Walt Whitman and the World (posthumous edition)

1996 scholarship / essays

A revised collection of essays on Whitman's international influence. Allen died during proofreading; the book was published posthumously.

international receptionWhitman studies

Bibliography

  • Twenty-Five Years of Walt Whitman Bibliography: 1918-1942
  • Walt Whitman Handbook / New Walt Whitman Handbook
  • The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman
  • William James: A Biography
  • Waldo Emerson: A Biography
  • St. John be Crèveccouer: The Life of an American Farmer
  • The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman (editorial project)
  • Walt Whitman and the World (posthumous)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
scholarly, documentary approachblend of biographical narrative and criticismclear and objective prose
Recurring Motifs
tradition and lineage of American literatureWhitman and transcendentalismdetailed citation of biographical sources

Health

  • pneumonia
    1995
    Caused his death in 1995

Legacy

Gay Wilson Allen made significant contributions to Whitman studies and American literary biography and bibliography. Through major biographies and editorial projects he influenced subsequent generations of scholars.

Academic Societies

  • Modern Language Association (associated awards)
  • New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame

Archives

  • New York University archives (related materials)

Quotes

  • If he had bought a microscope, he might have turned out to be a scientist.
    Source: The Record (interview, 1988) (1988)

Trivia

  • Worked as a potato farmer in childhood and made a literary debut with an essay about an opossum as a teenager.
  • Served as one of the lead editors on the Collected Writings of Walt Whitman while at New York University.
  • Conducted research collaboratively with his wife on some projects.
  • Reportedly had no children.
  • Moved from Oradell to Raleigh late in life.