John Erskine (writer)

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John Erskine (born October 5, 1879 in New York , † June 1, 1951 ) was an American writer and pianist . He gained notoriety through teaching at Columbia University and with satirical novels.

Life

Childhood and youth

John Erskine was born on October 5, 1879 in Manhattan, New York to Eliza Jane (née Hollingsworth) and James Morrison Erskine.

At the age of three, however, the entire family moved to Weehawken to a house on Pleasant Avenue, which he describes in his autobiography as "large and comfortable". Here the father owned a shop and a small factory, which he had to sell after financial problems in 1900 and the family moved back to New York.

Career as a writer and professor

After completing his studies, Erskine was a professor of literature at Columbia University between 1909 and 1937 .

His first novel was published in 1903 under the title The Elizabethan Lyric , with Erskine mostly re-telling well-known myths humorously, sometimes with daring titles at the time. His best-known work is the novel The private life of Helen of Troy (Eng. Ich, Helena von Troja).

In 1946 he became the first chairman of the newly formed American Writers Association .

Career as a pianist

He learned to play the piano with Carl Walter and took composition lessons with Edward MacDowell . After that, he focused primarily on his literary and academic career. In 1923 he resumed playing the piano under Ernest Hutchinson and played as a soloist with the New York Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Civic Orchestra, among others .

Erskine was also President of the Juilliard School of Music in New York from 1928 to 1937 and President of the Juilliard Music Foundation from 1948 until his death. In 1920 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and in 1930 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Erskine also published numerous essays and other publications on musical topics.

Private

John Erskine was married to Helen Erskine, with whom he also published Written English in 1910 . A street was named after him in the Bronx , New York .

Publications

Works

  • The Elizabethan Lyric (1903)
  • Selections from the Faerie Queene (1905)
  • Actœon and Other Poems (1907)
  • Leading American novelists (1910)
  • Written English , with Helen Erskine (1910; revised edition, 1913)
  • Selections from the Idylls of the King (1912)
  • The Kinds of Poetry (1913)
  • Poems of Wordsworth, Shelley, and Keats , with WP Trent (1914)
  • The Moral Obligation to be Intelligent, and Other Essays (1915)
  • The Shadowed Hour (1917)
  • Democracy and Ideals (1920)
  • Short history of American literature; based upon the Cambridge history of American literature (1922)
  • The Little Disciple (1923)
  • The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1925)
  • Sonata (1925)
  • Galahad (1926)
  • Adam And Eve (1927)
  • American Character (1927)
  • Prohibition And Christianity, And Other Paradoxes (1927)
  • The Delight Of Great Books (1928)
  • Penelope's Man (1928)
  • Sincerity (1929)
  • Uncle Sam In The Eyes Of His Family (1930)
  • Cinderella's Daughter, And Other Sequels And Consequences (1930)
  • The Influence of Women and Its Cure (1936)
  • The Brief Hour Of Francois Villon (1937)
  • The Start Of The Road (1938)
  • Baker's Wife (1940)
  • Give me liberty; the story of an innocent bystander (1940)
  • Casanova's women, eleven moments of a year (1941)
  • The Human Life of Jesus (1945)
  • Venus, the Lonely Goddess (1949)
  • My Life in Music (1950)

German-language editions

  • Ich, Helena von Troja , Heyne Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3-453-17331-7
  • Ich, Helena von Troja , Matthes and Seitz Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3-88221-818-5
  • Odysseus in private , Arche publishing house, 1959
  • The private life of the beautiful Helena , Schweizer Spiegel Verlag, 1948
  • The brief happiness of François Villon , Neff Verlag, 1950

Film adaptations

John Erskine's works have been filmed six times so far. The most well-known are:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John Erskine , Wissen.de.
  2. ↑ Biography on the Weekhawken, New Jersey Ward website , weehawkenhistory.org.
  3. ↑ Members: John Erskine. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed March 1, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Musical work , bach-cantatas.com.
personal data
SURNAME Erskine, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer and pianist
DATE OF BIRTH October 5, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH June 1, 1951
Place of death New York City