Harvey Swados
Harvey Swados was a notable American author and educator, recognized for his contributions to literature and his advocacy for socialist ideals. Born to a doctor and a painter, he graduated from the University of Michigan in 1940 and initially worked as a riveter and metal finisher before serving as a radio officer in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II. Following the war, he married Bette Beller and settled in Valley Cottage, New York, where he began publishing his work in prominent journals such as The New Republic.
Swados published his first novel, *Out Went the Candle*, in 1955 and taught literature at several prestigious institutions, including Sarah Lawrence College and Columbia University, for over fifteen years. He was known for incorporating his compassionate socialist perspective into his well-regarded fiction. His accolades include a Guggenheim fellowship and a National Book Award nomination, highlighting his impact on the literary community. Additionally, his essay "Why Resign from the Human Race?" is credited with helping inspire the Peace Corps. Swados's legacy is marked by both his literary achievements and his commitment to social issues.
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Subject Terms
Harvey Swados
Writer
- Born: October 28, 1920
- Birthplace: Buffalo, New York
- Died: December 11, 1972
- Place of death: Holyoke, Massachusetts
Biography
Harvey Swados was the son of Aaron Meyer, a doctor, and Rebecca (Bluestone) Swados, a painter. After earning a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Michigan in 1940, Swados became a riveter for an aircraft factory in Buffalo, New York, then moving one year later to New York City to work as a metal finisher for Ford Motor Company. Swados served in the U.S. Merchant Marine as a radio officer between 1942 and 1945.
In September of 1946, the war veteran married Bette Beller, and the two had three children: Marco, born in 1947; Felice, born in 1949; and a second son, Robin, born in 1953. Shortly after Marco’s birth, the family made their home in Valley Cottage, New York, north of Manhattan, living there for the next twenty- plus years.
Having been publishing short stories and essays in the The New Republic and other journals for many years, Swados published his first novel, Out Went the Candle, in 1955, and in 1956 he began more than fifteen years of working as a literature faculty member and visiting lecturer at several institutions, including Sarah Lawrence College, San Francisco State College (now University), the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, New York University, and Columbia University. He taught at Sarah Lawrence during two separate periods, first from 1958 to 1960 and again between 1962 and 1970. Additionally, he acted as a judge for the National Book Awards in 1970 and wrote speeches in 1972 for Sargent Shriver, a Democratic vice- presidential candidate. Known openly as a compassionate socialist who empathized greatly with the working class, Swados often imbued his well-received novels and short stories with his socialist ideas.
For his work, Swados received many honors and awards, including a Hudson Review fellowship in fiction in 1957, the Sidney Hillman Award in 1958 for “The Myth of the Happy Worker,” a Guggenheim fellowship in 1961, a National Book Award nomination for The Will in 1963, a National Institute of Arts and Letters Award in 1965, the University of Michigan Sesquicentennial Award in 1967, and a National Endowment for the Arts grant in fiction in 1968.
In 1970 Swados moved with his family to Amherst, Massachusetts, often visiting their home in the southern France locale of Cagnes-sur-Mer as well. A member of the Authors League and PEN, the author also played flute with a group of friends and in a local orchestra. Five of his short stories appeared in annual Best American Short Stories volumes, and Swados’s 1959 essay “Why Resign from the Human Race?” has often been credited for inspiring the creation of the Peace Corps.