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Verlyn Klinkenborg

ヴァーリン・クリンケンボルグ

Verlyn Klinkenborg

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1952-01-01 （Meeker, Colorado, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Iowa (raised on a farm) → Sacramento, California (family moved) → The Bronx, New York City (lived while teaching in 1980s) → Upstate New York (small farm, current residence)

Career

Occupations
non-fiction author, academic, newspaper editor, professor, columnist
Active Years
1975-
Affiliations
Fordham University (teaching), St. Olaf College (teaching), Bennington College (teaching), Sarah Lawrence College (teaching), Bard College (teaching), Harvard University (teaching), Yale University (teaching, creative writing), Pomona College (visiting writer-in-residence)
Influenced By
Gilbert White (18th-century parson-naturalist)

Education

University of California, Berkeley (attended)
Country: United States
Attended; primary degrees obtained at Pomona College (BA) and Princeton University (PhD).
Pomona College
English literature
Degree: BA
Country: United States
Earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature.
Princeton University
English literature
Degree: PhD
Country: United States
Earned a Ph.D. in English literature.

Awards

Lila Wallace–Reader's Digest Writer's Award
1991
Organization: Lila Wallace Foundation / Reader's Digest
Result: 受賞
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
1991
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 受給
Guggenheim Fellowship
2007
Work: The Mermaids of Lapland (funding for research/writing)
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受給

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Rural Life

essays / non-fiction

A collection of essays and observations on rural life and farming that moves from daily practices and seasonal change to broader cultural reflections.

rural lifeseasonality and naturefarming and community

More Scenes from the Rural Life

essays / non-fiction

A follow-up to The Rural Life, continuing observations and essays on rural labor, landscape, and the cultural dimensions of country living.

rural landscapesarchitecture and landmemory and labor

Making Hay

non-fiction / rural essays

Essays using haymaking and farm work as entry points to explore rhythms of labor, craft, and relationships to the land.

rhythms of worktechnique and traditionrelationship to land

The Last Fine Time

non-fiction / cultural history

A work that treats local community and cultural change, depicting America's shifting landscapes through specific episodes.

community changememory and time

Timothy; or, Notes of an Abject Reptile

non-fiction / natural history

Explores the tortoise Timothy, associated with 18th-century naturalist Gilbert White, using the animal as a lens for natural-historical reflection.

animals and historynatural observationnatural history

Several Short Sentences About Writing

2012 essay / writing craft

A concise collection of short, incisive meditations on craft and style—short sentences about the practice of writing.

style and craftethics of writing

The Mermaids of Lapland

history / biographical non-fiction

A research-driven book about William Cobbett, produced as a project supported by a Guggenheim Fellowship.

historical researchbiographypolitics and culture

Bibliography

  • The Rural Life
  • More Scenes from the Rural Life
  • Making Hay
  • The Last Fine Time
  • Timothy; or, Notes of an Abject Reptile
  • Several Short Sentences About Writing
  • The Mermaids of Lapland

Style & Themes

Literary Style
meditative, lyrical essayistic proseconcise, observation-based writingdetail-oriented depiction of rural life
Recurring Motifs
farm work and seasonsflora and faunaland and memory

Legacy

Verlyn Klinkenborg is known for his keen observations and literary meditations on American rural life and the land; recognized as a writer and academic and a long-serving editorial board member at The New York Times, he has made significant contributions to contemporary American rural literature.

Trivia

  • Served on the editorial board of The New York Times from 1997 to 2013.
  • Received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2007 to support work on The Mermaids of Lapland.
  • Born in Meeker, Colorado and raised on a farm in Iowa.
  • Studied at UC Berkeley (attended), earned a BA at Pomona College and a PhD at Princeton University.