Edward Hoagland
Encyclopedia
Edward Hoagland is an author best known for his nature and travel writing.
in the summers of 1951 and 1952. He helped to tend the big cats and later sold a novel about this experience, Cat Man (1955), before graduating from Harvard in 1954. After serving two years in the Army, he published The Circle Home (1960), a novel about boxing, before going on the first of nine trips to Alaska
and British Columbia
.
During the 1970s, he made the first two of his five trips to Africa
. After receiving two Guggenheim Fellowships, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1982. He has taught at The New School
, Rutgers, Sarah Lawrence
, CUNY, the University of Iowa
, U.C. Davis, Columbia University
, Beloit College
, and Brown
. In 2005, Hoagland retired from a teaching position at Bennington College
in Vermont
. Since 1968, he has focused most of his energies on Montaigne-type essays.
According to the Dictionary of Literary Biography, "Hoagland's love of solitude and silent observation of wildlife rather than social conversation may have resulted from a severe stammer that still persists. This stammer has, according to Hoagland himself, influenced how he writes: 'Words are spoken at considerable cost to me, so a great value is placed on each one. That has had some effect on me as a writer. As a child, since I couldn't talk to people, I became close to animals. I became an observer, and in all my books, even the novels, witnessing things is what counts.' His reluctance to speak may account for his desire to write--and be read--and for the sensitive visual, tactile, and olfactory images in his writings."
Since his retirement, he has spent his summers in Sutton, Vermont
at a place he has owned since 1969, and his winters in Martha's Vineyard
.
, who called him "the best essayist of my generation."
Life
Hoagland joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey CircusRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an American circus company. The company was started when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1907, but ran the circuses...
in the summers of 1951 and 1952. He helped to tend the big cats and later sold a novel about this experience, Cat Man (1955), before graduating from Harvard in 1954. After serving two years in the Army, he published The Circle Home (1960), a novel about boxing, before going on the first of nine trips to Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
During the 1970s, he made the first two of his five trips to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. After receiving two Guggenheim Fellowships, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1982. He has taught at The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
, Rutgers, Sarah Lawrence
Sarah Lawrence
Sarah Lawrence may refer to;* Sarah Lawrence College, an Arts college in Westchester County, New York* Sarah Lawrence , wife of Joseph Smith-See also:* Sara Lawrence, who represented Jamaica in the 2006 Miss World Contest...
, CUNY, the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, U.C. Davis, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Beloit College
Beloit College
Beloit College is a liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, USA. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, and has an enrollment of roughly 1,300 undergraduate students. Beloit is the oldest continuously operated college in Wisconsin, and has the oldest building of any college...
, and Brown
Brown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
. In 2005, Hoagland retired from a teaching position at Bennington College
Bennington College
Bennington College is a liberal arts college located in Bennington, Vermont, USA. The college was founded in 1932 as a women's college and became co-educational in 1969.-History:-Early years:...
in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. Since 1968, he has focused most of his energies on Montaigne-type essays.
According to the Dictionary of Literary Biography, "Hoagland's love of solitude and silent observation of wildlife rather than social conversation may have resulted from a severe stammer that still persists. This stammer has, according to Hoagland himself, influenced how he writes: 'Words are spoken at considerable cost to me, so a great value is placed on each one. That has had some effect on me as a writer. As a child, since I couldn't talk to people, I became close to animals. I became an observer, and in all my books, even the novels, witnessing things is what counts.' His reluctance to speak may account for his desire to write--and be read--and for the sensitive visual, tactile, and olfactory images in his writings."
Since his retirement, he has spent his summers in Sutton, Vermont
Sutton, Vermont
Sutton is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,001 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 38.4 square miles , of which 38.3 square miles is land and 0.1 square mile is...
at a place he has owned since 1969, and his winters in Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
.
Critique
His non-fiction has been widely praised by writers such as John UpdikeJohn Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
, who called him "the best essayist of my generation."
External references
Duffy, John J & Hand, B Samuel. The Vermont Encyclopedia. UPNE, 2003. ISBN 1-58465-086-9External links
- Author papers, 1953-2007, at Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University
- Author's manuscripts deposited at Houghton Library, Harvard University; consult HOLLIS catalog
- Additional holdings.
- Ed Hoagland quotes
- "Edward Hoagland: Relishing a Second Chance for Sight -- and Speech" (interview), BookPage, February 2001 (interview), BookPage, February 2001