Granville Hicks
Granville Hicks was an American literary critic and educator, born on September 9, 1901, in Exeter, New Hampshire. Growing up in lower middle-class environments in New England, he pursued academic excellence at Harvard University, focusing on literary activities rather than social elitism. After graduating, he briefly attended the Harvard Theological School but shifted his career path to teaching, first at Smith College and then at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Hicks’s writing evolved significantly following the stock market crash of 1929, leading him to embrace Marxist theory, as reflected in his influential work, *The Great Tradition*, published in 1933, which analyzed American literature from a Marxist perspective. He became increasingly involved with the Communist Party, joining in 1935, but left in 1939 in protest of the Soviet Union's pact with Nazi Germany. Following his departure, Hicks dedicated much of his career to critiquing communism, particularly during the Red Scare of the 1950s, when he testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. His autobiography, *Where We Came Out*, documents his political journey and disillusionment with the Communist Party. Hicks’s legacy as a literary critic remains significant, particularly for his insights into the role of the intellectual in industrial society. He passed away in 1982.
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Subject Terms
Granville Hicks
Novelist
- Born: September 9, 1901
- Birthplace: Exeter, New Hampshire
- Died: June 18, 1982
- Place of death: Franklin Park, New Jersey
Biography
Granville Hicks was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, on September 9, 1901, and he grew up in the small villages and industrial towns of New England. As a member of the lower middle-class, Hicks devoted his time at Harvard University to his studies and various literary activities instead of trying to become a part of the socially elite circles. After Hicks graduated from Harvard, he attended the Harvard Theological School.
However, by the time of his marriage in 1925, Hicks decided against a profession in the ministry and took a teaching position at Smith College in Massachusetts. At Smith College, Hicks taught courses in the Bible as literature and in American literature. In 1927, Hicks accepted a position as an assistant professor of the English department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.
With the stock market crash in 1929, Hicks’s writings showed an increased focus in Marxist theory and politics. During the early 1930’s, Hicks became more and more involved with the Communist Party and wrote a Marxist interpretation of American literature titled The Great Tradition: An Interpretation of American Literature Since the Civil War(1933). Traditionis regarded as one of the first analyses of literature and literary history from the Marxist perspective in the period beginning with the Civil War through the early decades of the twentieth century. With the publication of this book, Hicks became an influential Marxist literary critic. He finally joined the United States Communist Party in 1935 and became editor of its cultural magazine.
However, in protest of communist Russia’s nonaggression pact with Nazi Germany, Hicks resigned from the Communist Party in 1939. After his resignation, Hicks devoted a large portion of his career to educating others about the fallibility of communism. During the Red Scare of the 1950’s, Hicks was a cooperative witness before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Hicks’s autobiography, Where We Came Out, talks about his involvement and gradual disillusionment with the Communist Party. Hicks is best known as a literary critic whose interest in the intellectual in industrial society placed him at the center of controversy during his long career. He died in 1982.