Gay Wilson Allen
Gay Wilson Allen (1903–1995) was a prominent American literary biographer and scholar known for his extensive studies of key figures in American literature, particularly Walt Whitman. Born in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, he pursued higher education at Duke University and the University of Wisconsin, earning a Ph.D. in English literature. Allen's academic career began at Bowling Green State University, where he gained recognition for his contributions to poetry and literary criticism. His work, "The Walt Whitman Handbook," established him as an authority on Whitman, leading to his appointment at New York University. His biography, "Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman," published in 1955, is considered a definitive work that set a standard for future biographers.
Allen's meticulous approach favored extensive quotations from his subjects, allowing them to express their thoughts while providing readers with a wealth of information. His biographies on William James and Ralph Waldo Emerson further solidified his reputation, earning accolades such as the Jay B. Hubbell Medal and the Los Angeles Times Book Award. A member of several prestigious organizations, Allen was respected in both academic and literary circles until his retirement in 1969 and subsequent passing in 1995. His legacy continues to influence the field of literary biography today.
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Gay Wilson Allen
Writer
- Born: August 23, 1903
- Birthplace: Lake Junaluska, North Carolina
- Died: August 6, 1995
- Place of death: Raleigh, North Carolina
Biography
Born on August 23, 1903, in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, Gay Wilson Allen was the son of Robert Henry Wilson, a carpenter, and Ethel Garren Allen. Allen earned a B.A. in 1926 from Duke University, a M.A. in 1929, and a Ph.D. in 1934 from the University of Wisconsin, which had one of the finest postgraduate programs in the study of English and American literature. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Allen also joined the Modern Language Association, the International Association of University Professors, and the PEN American Center, a writer’s organization. In 1929, Allen married Evie A. Allison, a librarian.
Allen began his teaching career as an associate professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. During his tenure there (1935-1946), he was awarded a Rockefeller Fellowship (1944-1945), and he produced several studies of poetry and literary criticism. The Walt Whitman Handbook (1946) established him as a leading authority on the poet and led to Allen’s appointment as professor of English at New York University in 1946.
Work during a Guggenheim Fellowship (1952-1953) resulted in Allen’s biography of Walt Whitman, Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (1955), which was the product of more than two decades of scholarly research and was hailed as a definitive work on Whitman’s life. Allen’s lucid style and careful handling of documentation set a high standard for academic biographers aiming to appeal to both their peers and to a literate public. The book won the Tamiment Institute Book Award for the biographical work that best demonstrated the creativity of the free spirit. Subsequent biographies of Whitman by Justin Kaplan and Jerome Loving have built on Allen’s pioneering work.
Allen’s subsequent books especially William James: A Biography (1967) and Waldo Emerson: A Biography (1981) solidified his reputation as one of America’s leading literary biographers. For the most part, critics praised Allen’s method of extensive quotation, which allowed his subjects to speak for themselves. In some cases, however, reviewers thought Allen did not do enough to shape his books into appealing narratives. The James biography contained significant amounts of new material, some of it available only to Allen through his contacts with James’s descendants. In both biographies, Allen shied away from excessive speculation, believing that it was best for the reader to form his or her own interpretation from the careful presentation of data. In 1977, Allen won the Jay B. Hubbell Medal for contributions to American literature, and in 1982 Allen’s biography on Emerson won the Los Angeles Times Book Award for biography. In 1969, Allen retired from his professorship at New York University, having taught for brief periods at Harvard University, Emory University, Duke University, and the University of Texas. He died of pneumonia on August 6, 1995, in Raleigh, North Carolina.