Robert Siegel (writer)

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Robert Harold Siegel (born August 18, 1939 in Oak Park , Illinois , † December 20, 2012 in South Berwick , Maine ) was an American writer , poet and English scholar .

Life

Robert Siegel was born in Illinois in 1939 to Frederick William and Charlotte Lucille Chance Siegel.

In 1957 he finished the Arlington Heights High School in Illinois and then studied for two years at Denison University . He received his Bachelor of Arts in English from Wheaton College in 1961 . He received a Gilman Fellowship and received his Master of Art in Writing from Johns Hopkins University . After serving as Chairman of the English Department at Trinity College, he received his Ph.D. in English Literature from Harvard University .

During his time at Harvard, Siegel studied with Robert Lowell, among others, and published his first poems in various magazines.

He later taught at Dartmouth College , Princeton University , Wheaton College, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main , the University of London and the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee , where he was professor emeritus for English from 1992.

He then settled with his wife in southern Maine , where he gave courses in creative writing, among other things.

Siegel died of cancer in December 2012. He left behind his wife Ann Hill Siegel, with whom he was married for 51 years, his three daughters and four grandchildren.

The Robert Siegel Collection with numerous manuscripts, letters and other documents from Siegel is part of the Wheaton College Special Collections.

plant

Siegel published numerous poems and several novels . He is best known for his books on the life of whales . With The White Whale (1995) he continued his successful novel Das Lied der Wale (1982, original title: Whalesong ). The novel The Ice at the End of the World (2004) forms the third part of his novel trilogy about whales.

Robert Siegel has received several awards for his literary work. For "The Song of the Whales" he received the Matson Award and the Golden Archer Award . This very detailed story is also used in German books.

The song of the whales

The song of the whales depicts the exciting life of a humpback whale named Hruna. Hruna tells of his adventures, of the games of the young whales, of long journeys through the depths of the ocean , of his friendships and love, but also of deadly dangers emanating from humans.

With this book, Robert Siegel wanted to draw attention to the threat to the large marine mammals from humans. These destroy more and more this magic of the ocean. "The Song of the Whales" is a call to be careful with nature and a clear plea for saving the whales.

German-language book editions

  • The song of the whales . (Original title: Whalesong ). dtv, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-423-70544-2
  • The white whale . (Original title: White whale ). dtv, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-423-70657-0
  • The ice at the end of the world (Original title: The ice at the end of the world ). dtv, Munich ISBN 3-423-70821-2

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Obituary for Robert Harold Siegel at taskerfh.com, accessed July 24, 2014
personal data
SURNAME Siegel, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Siegel, Robert Harold (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer, poet, and English scholar
DATE OF BIRTH August 18, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Oak Park , Illinois
DATE OF DEATH December 20, 2012
Place of death South Berwick , Maine