Biography

He was born in Wildwood, New Jersey

Wildwood, New Jersey

Wildwood is a city in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area and is a popular summer resort destination. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's year-round population was 5,325...

 and educated at the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

, where he received his A.B. in 1928. For the next two years he was a graduate student at Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

.

In 1932 he married Helen Freeman

Helen Freeman Corle

Helen Freeman was an American actress.-Biography:She was born in 1886 as Helen Freeman to Benjamin N. Freeman , a Denver banker. In 1932 she married Edwin Corle in in Ensenada, Mexico. She died in 1960.-References:...

 in Ensenada, Mexico.

He served in 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...

, and in 1944 married Jean Armstrong. His prolific writing career led to a final residence at Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...

 where he died on June 11, 1956.

Writing

His writing is noted for realistic portrayals of Native American life in the early 20th century. After a brief stint at writing for radio, Corle began writing numerous short stories and non-fiction pieces for magazines. In 1934 his Mojave: A Book Of Stories was published. This was followed a year later by his first and most successful novel, Fig Tree John, based on a Cahuilla Indian from southern California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. In addition to other novels, Corle also wrote non-fiction, including books on the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...

 and the Gila River

Gila River

The Gila River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 650 miles long, in the southwestern states of New Mexico and Arizona.-Description:...

. His sophisticated interest in the arts is reflected in his works on Igor Stravinsky

Igor Stravinsky

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....

 and the artist Merle Armitage. In the 1950s, Corle began what was to be his most important effort, a multi-volume novel called "The Californians". The work was left uncompleted upon his death and is included in his extensive papers, letters and manuscripts donated by Ralph B. Sipper of Santa Barbara to Indiana University

Indiana University

Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

 in 1997. Another important collection of his papers, including correspondence with Lawrence Clark Powell

Lawrence Clark Powell

Lawrence Clark Powell was a librarian, literary critic, bibliographer and author of more than 100 books....

, is in the Special Collections of UCLA.

Legacy

For many years the Library of the University of California

University of California

The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...

 at Santa Barbara has sponsored an Edwin and Jean Corle Lecture Series.

Further reading

• Pilkington, William T. My blood's country; studies in Southwestern literature. [Fort Worth] Texas Christian University Press, 1973.
• Powell, Lawrence Clark. "Rivers of books : a tribute to Edwin Corle". Los Angeles Clark. Press coll. Period. Rare Book Stacks UCLA.