What’s New?
- Biographies: Jamaica Kincaid, Marilyn Nelson, Clifford Ashley, Sylvia Earle, and Phillis Wheatley
- Audio: Harriet Beecher Stowe's The Pearl of Orr’s Island
- Video: Derek Walcott reads "Sea Grapes"
- Featured Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Tag Archives: 20th Century
Howe, Tina
by David R. Pellegrini (2000) HOWE, TINA (1937- ). Obie-award-winning playwright Tina Howe often employs sea imagery as metaphoric devices in her plays. Born in Boston and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, Howe began to have her works professionally produced in Continue reading text links
Houston, James
by Boyd Childress (2000) HOUSTON, JAMES [ARCHIBALD] (1921-2005). James Houston has made his mark in writing, art, film illustration, film and documentary production, and design. Winner of numerous awards, Houston has written several children’s books and novels on the Arctic, Arctic Continue reading text links
Posted in H
Tagged 20th Century, Arctic, Children's Writing, Fiction, Multimedia/Multimodal, Whaling/Sealing
Comments Off on Houston, James
Hough, Henry Beetle
by Wesley T. Mott (2000) HOUGH, HENRY BEETLE (1896-1985). Editor of the Vineyard Gazette on the island of Martha’s Vineyard from 1920 almost until his death, Henry Beetle Hough was the grandson of a sea captain. He was born and raised Continue reading text links
Posted in H
Tagged 20th Century, Children's Writing, Fiction, Island Life, Journalism, Nonfiction, Whaling/Sealing
Comments Off on Hough, Henry Beetle
Higginson, Thomas Wentworth
by Jane Donahue Eberwein (2000) HIGGINSON, THOMAS WENTWORTH (1823-1911). This Harvard graduate and versatile man of letters felt at home in water from his early childhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While ministering to the Unitarian church at Newburyport, Massachusetts, he then Continue reading text links
Posted in H
Tagged 20th Century, First-person narrative, Science/Nature
Comments Off on Higginson, Thomas Wentworth
Hersey, John
by James F. Millinger and Jill B. Gidmark (2000) HERSEY, JOHN [RICHARD] (1914-1993). The prolific author John Hersey was born in China and moved to the United States in 1925, when his family decided to return. He was educated at Yale Continue reading text links
Posted in H
Tagged 20th Century, cruise ships, Fiction, Journalism, Recreation (beaches, Short Story, small boat sailing
Comments Off on Hersey, John
Hemingway, Ernest Miller
by Bickford Sylvester (2000) HEMINGWAY, ERNEST MILLER (1899-1961). Ernest Hemingway, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in fiction (1952) and the Nobel Prize in literature (1954), grew up in Oak Park, Illinois. Except when rough water forced them to go by Continue reading text links
Posted in H
Tagged 20th Century, Caribbean, Exploration, Fiction, Fishing, Great Lakes, Nonfiction, Short Story, video
Comments Off on Hemingway, Ernest Miller
Henson, Matthew
by Emma Bonanomi (2021) MATTHEW ALEXANDER HENSON (1866-1955) was a Black American explorer who came to fame after United States Navy Commander Robert E. Peary’s 1908-1909 expedition to the North Pole. He may have been one of the first men Continue reading text links
Posted in H
Tagged 20th Century, Arctic, Exploration, First-person narrative, Merchant Marine, Race/Ethnicity and the Sea, Whaling/Sealing
Leave a comment
Hayden, Sterling
by James F. Millinger (2000) HAYDEN, STERLING [RELYEA WALTER] (1916-1986). Born in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, Sterling Hayden quit school at sixteen to join the crew of a sailing ship. He served as seaman aboard fishing vessels and sailing ships Continue reading text links
Posted in H
Tagged 20th Century, Exploration, Fishing, Multimedia/Multimodal, Navy/Coast Guard
Comments Off on Hayden, Sterling
Hayden, Robert
by Fred M. Fetrow (2000) HAYDEN, ROBERT [EARL] (1913-1980). A long-neglected African American poet, Robert Hayden (born Asa Bundy Sheffey) climaxed his career with two successive terms as consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress (1976-1978), the position now Continue reading text links
Posted in H
Tagged 20th Century, Middle Passage and Enslavement, Poetry
Comments Off on Hayden, Robert
Havighurst, Walter
by Peter H. McCracken (2000) HAVIGHURST, WALTER [EDWIN] (1901-1994). Walter Havighurst is known primarily as a historian of the Midwest, but he also wrote fiction, much of it influenced by his experiences at sea in the 1920s. Havighurst worked as Continue reading text links
de Hartog, Jan
by James F. Millinger (2000) DE HARTOG, JAN (1914-2002). Born in Holland, Jan de Hartog ran off to sea when he was ten years old. Six years later he enrolled in Amsterdam Naval College and became a junior mate in Continue reading text links
Posted in H
Tagged 20th Century, Fiction, Maritime History, Plays, Short Story, War
Comments Off on de Hartog, Jan
Harper, Michael S.
by Fred M. Fetrow HARPER, MICHAEL S[TEVEN]. (1938-2016). Few of Michael S. Harper’s challenging poems draw upon the sea for either setting or theme, but when his strong interest in history intersected with even stronger feelings about racial justice, he Continue reading text links
Harlow, Frederick Pease
by Glenn Grasso HARLOW, FREDERICK PEASE (1856-1952). Frederick Pease Harlow was born in Mount Morris, Illinois, on 12 December 1856. He was the youngest son of Frances Ann Winsor and William T. Harlow, an educator and Methodist minister originally from Continue reading text links
Posted in H
Tagged 19th Century, 20th Century, Caribbean, Exploration, First-person narrative, Multimedia/Multimodal
Comments Off on Harlow, Frederick Pease
Hallet, Richard Matthews
by Bert Bender HALLET, RICHARD MATTHEWS (1887-1967). In 1912, at age twenty-five and with both a B.A. and LL.B. from Harvard University, Richard Matthews Hallet abandoned the practice of law in search of adventure and a career as a sea-writer. Continue reading text links
Posted in H
Tagged 20th Century, First-person narrative, Great Lakes, Indian Ocean, War
Comments Off on Hallet, Richard Matthews
Hall, Lawrence Sargent
by Joseph Flibbert HALL, LAWRENCE SARGENT (1915-1993). Lawrence Sargent Hall was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Following completion of his Ph.D. at Yale University in 1941, he served for four years as an officer in the U.S. Navy, including three years Continue reading text links
Posted in H
Tagged 20th Century, Fiction, Navy/Coast Guard, Short Story, War
Comments Off on Hall, Lawrence Sargent
Haley, Alex
by Robert Shenk HALEY, ALEX (1921-1992). Alex Haley joined the Coast Guard as a “mess boy” at seventeen after two years of college. During World War II, aboard the cargo ship U.S.S. Murzim, he sent story after story to national Continue reading text links
Posted in H
Tagged 20th Century, Journalism, Maritime History, Middle Passage and Enslavement, Navy/Coast Guard
Comments Off on Haley, Alex
Hains, Thornton Jenkins (“Captain Mayn Clew Garnett”)
by Bert Bender (2000) [HAINS, THORNTON JENKINS], “CAPTAIN MAYN CLEW GARNETT” (1866-1953). Named for his maternal grandfather, Admiral Thornton Jenkins, U.S.N., Thornton Jenkins Hains had a career of indefinite length as a working seaman and was licensed in both England Continue reading text links
Posted in H
Tagged 19th Century, 20th Century, Exploration, Fiction, Short Story
Comments Off on Hains, Thornton Jenkins (“Captain Mayn Clew Garnett”)
Guterson, David S.
by Jeffrey Cass (2000) GUTERSON, DAVID S. (1956- ). Born in Seattle, and residing on Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound, David S. Guterson is well aware of the nuanced lives of his fellow islanders. His haunting novel Snow Falling on Continue reading text links
Green, Paul
by David R. Pellegrini (2000) GREEN, PAUL [ELIOT] (1894-1981). A prolific playwright and poet whose literary career spanned several decades and genres, Paul Green is remembered chiefly for his dramatizations of southern folklore and customs and the plight of the Continue reading text links
Goodrich, Marcus
by C. Herbert Gilliland (2000) GOODRICH, MARCUS [AURELIUS] (1897-1991). Novelist Marcus Goodrich was born 28 November 1897, in San Antonio, Texas. Enlisting in the navy in 1916, he served initially in the Philippines aboard the destroyer U.S.S. Chauncey. With the Continue reading text links
Posted in G
Tagged 20th Century, Fiction, First-person narrative, Journalism, Navy/Coast Guard
Comments Off on Goodrich, Marcus
Glaspell, Susan
by Attilio Favorini (2000) GLASPELL, SUSAN [KEATING] (1876-1948). Associated with the Provincetown Players, a group that included Eugene O’Neill, Jig Cook, and Floyd Dell in the early years of their illustrious collaboration (1916- 1922), Susan Glaspell is best known for Continue reading text links
Gilkerson, William
by Michael P. Dyer (2000) GILKERSON, WILLIAM (1936-2015). William Gilkerson wrote nine books, most of which relate directly to maritime history. His first book, Gilkerson on War–From Rocks to Rockets (1964), is an exception, as it only touches upon maritime Continue reading text links
Posted in G
Tagged 20th Century, Fiction, Maritime History, Multimedia/Multimodal, Whaling/Sealing
Comments Off on Gilkerson, William
Gardner, John
by William Crisman (2000) GARDNER, JOHN [CHAMPLIN] (1933-1982). The son of a dairy farmer, John Gardner had no important personal connection with the sea. Indeed, his maritime novella, The King’s Indian (1972, in a volume of the same name), a Continue reading text links
Gann, Ernest K.
by James F. Millinger (2000) GANN, ERNEST K[ELLOGG]. (1910-1991). Known primarily for his books in the field of aviation literature, Ernest K. Gann wrote about seafaring in Twilight for the Gods (1956) and Song of the Sirens (1968). Twilight for Continue reading text links
Posted in G
Tagged 20th Century, Fiction, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean
Comments Off on Gann, Ernest K.
Galloway, Les
by Haskell Springer (2000) GALLOWAY, LES [EDWARD WILLIAM] (1919-1990). A commercial fisherman for most of his life, Les Galloway also wrote fiction, publishing short sea stories in several periodicals. Of Great Spaces (1987), shared with Jerome Gold, collects and reprints Continue reading text links
Gallery, Daniel V.
by Robert Shenk (2000) GALLERY, DANIEL V[INCENT]. (1901-1977). Admiral Daniel V. Gallery, termed a “true original” by his friend Herman Wouk, was a brilliant career naval officer who published widely both during and after his naval duty. A 1920 Naval Continue reading text links
Posted in G
Tagged 20th Century, First-person narrative, Navy/Coast Guard, Short Story
Comments Off on Gallery, Daniel V.
Fuller, Iola
by Mary DeJong Obuchowski (2000) FULLER [MCCOY], IOLA (1906-1993). Born in Marcellus, Michigan, Iola Fuller worked both as a librarian and a teacher at Ferris State College before engaging in writing full-time. She won an Avery Hopwood award at the Continue reading text links
Frost, Robert
by Haskell Springer (2000) FROST, ROBERT [LEE] (1874-1963). Though Robert Frost was not a nautical writer, he did treat the sea as a subject in several poems. Best known among these are “Once by the Pacific” (1926), “Neither Out Far Continue reading text links
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
by Donald Yannella (2000) FITZGERALD, F[RANCIS]. SCOTT (1896-1940). Although not an author of sea fiction, F. Scott Fitzgerald used water as a setting and employed water imagery and related symbolism in his most important work, The Great Gatsby (1925), and Continue reading text links
Ferrini, Vincent
by Joseph Flibbert (2000) FERRINI, VINCENT (1913-2007). Vincent Ferrini was born into a blue-collar, immigrant family struggling to earn a living in the shoe factories of Lynn, Massachusetts. His first volume of poems, No Smoke (1941), records the depression-era deprivations Continue reading text links
Faulkner, William
by Doreen Fowler (2000) FAULKNER, WILLIAM [CUTHBERT] (1897-1962). William Faulkner, who lived and wrote in the hills of north Mississippi, often visited the Gulf coast. From April to June 1925, he resided in New Orleans, frequently sailing on yachts and Continue reading text links
Posted in F
Tagged 20th Century, cruise ships, Fiction, Recreation (beaches, small boat sailing, War
Comments Off on Faulkner, William
Ellsberg, Edward
by Robert Shenk (2000) ELLSBERG, EDWARD (1891-1983). Edward Ellsberg was a naval officer, diver, expert in ship salvage, and captivating storyteller. Graduating from the Naval Academy in 1914, Ellsberg served as a naval officer until 1926, when he went into Continue reading text links
Ellis, Edward Sylvester
by Donald P. Curtis (2000) ELLIS, EDWARD SYLVESTER (1840-1916). A prolific, versatile author, Edward Sylvester Ellis was born in Geneva, Ohio, near Lake Erie. While young, he moved to New Jersey, only later to return to the Great Lakes in Continue reading text links
Posted in E
Tagged 19th Century, 20th Century, Fiction, Great Lakes, Nonfiction
Comments Off on Ellis, Edward Sylvester
Eiseley, Loren
by William A. Sullivan (2000) EISELEY, LOREN C[OREY]. (1907-1977). Loren C. Eiseley, anthropologist, educator, and author, was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. He collected fossils as a child and began speculating on the evolution of humankind and the universe. His early Continue reading text links
Eberhart, Richard
by Thomas R. Brooks (2000) EBERHART, RICHARD [GHORMLEY] (1904-2005). Richard Eberhart is the author of some twenty-six volumes of poetry, from A Bravery of Earth (1930), to Maine Poems (1989). Throughout his career he has utilized nautical images and themes, Continue reading text links
Posted in E
Tagged 20th Century, cruise ships, First-person narrative, Pacific Ocean, Poetry, Recreation (beaches, small boat sailing
Comments Off on Eberhart, Richard
Earle, Sylvia
by Barbara Krystal (2020) EARLE, SYLVIA ALICE. (1935- ). Marine biologist, ocean conservationist, underwater explorer, and author Sylvia Earle wrote in The World is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean’s Are One (2009): “Even if you never have the chance Continue reading text links
Posted in Articles, E
Tagged 20th Century, Gulf of Mexico, Indian Ocean, Nonfiction, Science/Nature
Leave a comment
Doty, Mark
by Cara Murray (2011) MARK DOTY (1953- ). From his birth in 1953 until age seventeen, when he left his parents’ home in Tucson, Arizona, Mark Doty moved frequently. In Firebird (1992), Doty’s memoir of childhood, he recalls living in Continue reading text links
Posted in D
Tagged 20th Century, First-person narrative, Gender/Sexuality and the Sea, Poetry
Comments Off on Doty, Mark
Doolittle, Hilda
by Gregg Allen Walker (2000) D[OOLITTLE]., H[ILDA]. (1886-1961). H. D., a poet, novelist, dramatist, and translator whose works often incorporate sea imagery, was born in Pennsylvania. Childhood visits to the seacoasts of Rhode Island and Maine first inspired H. D., Continue reading text links
Doner, Mary Frances
by Mary DeJong Obuchowski (2000) DONER, MARY FRANCES (1893-1985). Mary Frances Doner set many of her books near her birthplace, Port Huron, Michigan. She supplied around 250 short stories for pulp magazines early in her career and in the 1930s Continue reading text links
Posted in D
Tagged 20th Century, Great Lakes, Nonfiction, Passenger Travel, Short Story
Comments Off on Doner, Mary Frances
Dickey, James
by Brian Anderson (2000) DICKEY, JAMES [LAFAYETTE] (1923-1997). James Dickey, noted poet, novelist, and critic, was born in Atlanta, Georgia. During World War II, he served in a night-fighter squadron in the South Pacific. In the late 1940s he attended Continue reading text links
Dey, Richard
by Leah Feldman (2013) DEY, RICHARD (1945-) is an American poet born in 1945 who writes of New England and the West Indies. As a teenager he sailed in the Schooner Tabor Boy out of Marion, Massachusetts. After serving in Continue reading text links
Posted in D
Tagged 20th Century, Caribbean, Maritime History, Poetry, video
Comments Off on Dey, Richard
Desrosiers, Leo-Paul
by Donald P. Curtis (2000) DESROSIERS, LEO-PAUL (1896-1967). Leo-Paul Desrosiers was born in Berthier-en-Haut, Quebec, a village on the banks of the Saint Lawrence River northeast of Montreal. His happy childhood provided him with material for his first work, Ames Continue reading text links
Posted in D
Tagged 20th Century, Fiction, French, Great Lakes, Maritime History
Comments Off on Desrosiers, Leo-Paul
Dean, Harry
by Boyd Childress (2000) DEAN, HARRY [FOSTER] (1864-1935). Published in 1929 in Boston, Berlin, and London, Harry Dean’s unique sea narrative and remarkable autobiography was entitled Umbala in Britain and The Pedro Gorino in the United States. Dean was born Continue reading text links
Posted in D
Tagged 19th Century, 20th Century, First-person narrative, Passenger Travel
Comments Off on Dean, Harry
Cussler, Clive
by R. D. Madison (2000) CUSSLER, CLIVE [ERIC] (1931-2020). As a boy Clive Cussler immersed himself in the literature of the American Civil War and the writings of C. S. Forester. Describing himself as “the kid that stared out the Continue reading text links
Curwood, James Oliver
by Ed Demerly (2000) CURWOOD, JAMES OLIVER (1878-1927). James Oliver Curwood, born in Owosso, Michigan, was a popular writer of nonfiction, romance and adventure fiction, and scripts for silent films. Although much of his fiction is set in the Canadian Continue reading text links
Posted in C
Tagged 19th Century, 20th Century, Fiction, Great Lakes, Journalism, Multimedia/Multimodal, Nonfiction
Comments Off on Curwood, James Oliver
Creeley, Robert
by Donald Yannella (2000) CREELEY, ROBERT [WHITE] (1926-2005). Robert Creeley’s most sustained and important piece of sea writing is his 1963 novel The Island. Although his work only infrequently focuses on the sea or even uses it as background, the center section Continue reading text links
Crane, Harold Hart
by Donald Yannella (2000) CRANE, [HAROLD] HART (1899-1932). Critical opinion remains divided about the quality of Hart Crane’s best-known and longest poem, The Bridge (1930), but it appears that it will continue to hold a solid place in the canon of American Continue reading text links
Cozzens, James Gould
by Douglas Robillard (2000) COZZENS, JAMES GOULD (1903-1979). Born in Chicago, James Gould Cozzens lived for a time on Staten Island. Educated at the Kent School and at Harvard, he left college after completing a first work, Confusion: a Novel (1924). Continue reading text links
Coxe, Louis O.
by Robert Shenk (2000) COXE, LOUIS O[SBORNE]. (1918-1993). Louis O. Coxe was a student in Allen Tate’s Creative Arts program at Princeton when Pearl Harbor occurred. Having grown up in Salem, Massachusetts, Coxe joined the navy. He came to regard Continue reading text links
Coomer, Joe
by Jeffrey Cass (2000) COOMER, JOE (1958- ). A transplanted Texan, Joe Coomer married into a boating family and has spent a great deal of time off the Maine coast becoming adept at sailing. In 1992 Coomer purchased a wooden Continue reading text links
Posted in C
Tagged 20th Century, Coastal Life, cruise ships, Fiction, First-person narrative, Recreation (beaches, small boat sailing
Comments Off on Coomer, Joe