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{{short description|American poet}}
'''Helen Smith Bevington''' (1906-2001) was an [[United States|American]] poet, prose author, and educator.
{{for|the musician|Helen O'Hara}}
'''Helen Smith Bevington''' (1906 – March 16, 2001) was an American poet, prose writer, and educator.<ref name=twsMarE25>{{cite news |author=James Janega |title=Helen Smith Bevington, 94 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=March 24, 2001 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2001/03/24/helen-smith-bevington-94/ |access-date=2011-03-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://neglectedbooks.com/?p=1770 |title=A Book and A Love Affair, by Helen Bevington |work=[[Neglected Books Page]] |author=Brad Bigelow |date=January 27, 2013 |accessdate=January 27, 2013}}</ref> Her most noted book, ''Charley Smith's Girl'' (1965), was "banned by the library in the small town of Worcester, N.Y., where she grew up, because the book tells of her minister father's having been divorced by her mother for affairs that he was carrying on with younger female parishioners."<ref name=mock/>


==Life and works==
She was born in [[Afton, New York]], between [[1906]] [[March 17]]. She grew up in [[Worcester, New York]] where her father was a Methodist minister. Her younger brother, Boyce Smith (later known as Rev. [[Ray Vaughn]], was also a Methodist minister.


Born in [[Afton (town), New York|Afton, New York]],<ref name=carvajal>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/22/arts/helen-bevington-94-wry-author-professor-and-tireless-tourist.html |title=Helen Bevington, 94, Wry Author, Professor and Tireless Tourist |work=[[New York Times]] |author=Doreen Carvajal |date=March 22, 2001 |accessdate=January 27, 2013}}</ref> Bevington was reared in [[Worcester, New York]], where her father was a Methodist minister. She attended the [[University of Chicago]] and earned a degree in [[philosophy]].<ref name=mock/> She proceeded to write a thesis about [[Thoreau]], earning a master's degree in English from [[Columbia University]].<ref name=mock/> In 1928, she married Merle M. Bevington (1900–64). The couple travelled abroad, returning in 1929 in response to the [[Wall Street Crash 1929|Stock Market Crash of 1929]].<ref name=carvajal/> Both Bevingtons taught English at [[Duke University]] starting in the 1940s, Helen retiring in 1976.<ref name=carvajal/> They had two sons:<ref name=mock/> the elder, [[David Bevington]], was a pre-eminent Shakespeare scholar until his death in 2019; the second son, Philip, died in the 1980s.<ref name=mock/>
Bevington attended the University of Chicago and earned a degree in [[philosophy]]. She proceeded to write a thesis about [[Thoreau], earning a master’s degree from Columbia University.


In addition to her 12 books of poetry and essays,<ref name=carvajal/> Bevington's work appeared in ''[[The New York Times Book Review]]'', ''[[The Atlantic Monthly]]'', ''[[The New Yorker]]''<ref name=twsMarE25/> and ''[[The American Scholar]]''. Bevington was a [[poet]], a [[diarist]], and an [[essayist]]. She was also a winner of the [[Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry]] (1956) and the [[Mayflower Cup]] (1974) both given by the [[North Carolina Literary and Historical Association]];<ref name=mock/> and the [[North Carolina Award for Literature]] (1973).<ref name=mock>{{cite web |url=http://today.duke.edu/2001/03/bevingtonobit323.html |title=Helen Bevington, Professor Emerita, Dies |work=DukeToday |author=Geoffrey Mock |date=March 23, 2001 |accessdate=January 27, 2013}}</ref> ''Charley Smith's Girl'' (1965) was runner-up for the [[Pulitzer Prize]].<ref name=mock/>
In 1928 she married Merle M. Bevington. The couple travelled abroad, returning in 1929 in response to the [[Wall Street Crash 1929|Stock Market Crash of 1929]]. Both Bevingtons taught English at [[Duke University]] starting in the 1940s. Helen Bevington's Duke teaching career spanned from 1943 to 1976. Merle Bevington died in 1964.


⚫
Helen Bevington died on March 16, 2001, in [[Chicago]].<ref name=carvajal/>
In addition to her books, Helen Bevington's work appeared in The [[New York Times Book Review]], [[The Atlantic Monthly]], [[The New Yorker]] and [[The American Scholar]]. Bevington was a [[poet]], a [[diarist]] and an [[essayist]]. She was also a winner of the Roanoke-Chowan Award (1956), the North Carolina Award for Literature (1973), and the Mayflower Cup (1974).


==Bibliography==
⚫
Helen Bevington died on Friday, [[2001]] [[March 16]] in [[Chicago]].
⚫
* ''Dr. Johnson’s Waterfall, and Other Poems''. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1946
⚫
* ''Nineteen Million Elephants, and Other Poems''. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1950
⚫
* ''A Change of Sky, and Other Poems''. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1956
⚫
* ''When Found, Make a Verse of''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1961
⚫
* ''Charley Smith’s Girl: A Memoir''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965<ref name=twsMarE25/>
⚫
* ''A Book & A Love Affair''. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968<ref name=carvajal/>
⚫
* ''The House Was Quiet and the World Was Calm''. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1971
⚫
* ''Beautiful Lofty People''. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974
⚫
* ''Along Came the Witch: A Journal in the 1960s''. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976.
⚫
* ''The Journey Is Everything: A Journal of the Seventies''. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1983
⚫
* ''The World and the Bo Tree''. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1991
⚫
* ''The Third and Only Way: Reflections on Staying Alive''. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1996<ref name=twsMarE25/>


==References==
==Books by Helen Bevington==
{{Reflist}}
⚫
* Dr. Johnson’s Waterfall, and Other Poems. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1946
⚫
* Nineteen Million Elephants, and Other Poems. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1950
⚫
* A Change of Sky, and Other Poems. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1956
⚫
* When Found, Make a Verse of. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1961
⚫
* Charley Smith’s Girl: A Memoir. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965
⚫
* A Book & A Love Affair. NewYork: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968
⚫
* The House Was Quiet and the World Was Calm. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1971
⚫
* Beautiful Lofty People. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974
⚫
* Along Came the Witch: A Journal in the 1960s. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976.
⚫
* The Journey Is Everything: A Journal of the Seventies. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1983
⚫
* The World and the Bo Tree. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1991
⚫
* The Third and Only Way: Reflections on Staying Alive. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1996


==External links==
⚫
[[Category:American poets|Bevington, Helen]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927013346/http://www.ncwriters.org/services/lhof/inductees/bevington.htm Helen Bevington Poems]
⚫
[[Category:1906 births|Bevington, Helen]]

⚫
[[Category:2001 deaths|Bevington, Helen]]
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevington, Helen}}
[[Category:Poets from New York (state)]]
[[Category:University of Chicago alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:Duke University faculty]]
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[[Category:1906 births]]
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[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American diarists]]
[[Category:American humorous poets]]
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[[Category:American women poets]]
[[Category:20th-century American poets]]
[[Category:People from Afton, New York]]
[[Category:People from Worcester, New York]]
[[Category:American women memoirists]]
[[Category:American women essayists]]
[[Category:20th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American essayists]]
[[Category:American women diarists]]
[[Category:American women academics]]

Latest revision as of 19:30, 9 September 2024

For the musician, see Helen O'Hara.

Helen Smith Bevington (1906 – March 16, 2001) was an American poet, prose writer, and educator.[1][2] Her most noted book, Charley Smith's Girl (1965), was "banned by the library in the small town of Worcester, N.Y., where she grew up, because the book tells of her minister father's having been divorced by her mother for affairs that he was carrying on with younger female parishioners."[3]

Life and works

[edit]

Born in Afton, New York,[4] Bevington was reared in Worcester, New York, where her father was a Methodist minister. She attended the University of Chicago and earned a degree in philosophy.[3] She proceeded to write a thesis about Thoreau, earning a master's degree in English from Columbia University.[3] In 1928, she married Merle M. Bevington (1900–64). The couple travelled abroad, returning in 1929 in response to the Stock Market Crash of 1929.[4] Both Bevingtons taught English at Duke University starting in the 1940s, Helen retiring in 1976.[4] They had two sons:[3] the elder, David Bevington, was a pre-eminent Shakespeare scholar until his death in 2019; the second son, Philip, died in the 1980s.[3]

In addition to her 12 books of poetry and essays,[4] Bevington's work appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker[1] and The American Scholar. Bevington was a poet, a diarist, and an essayist. She was also a winner of the Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry (1956) and the Mayflower Cup (1974) both given by the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association;[3] and the North Carolina Award for Literature (1973).[3] Charley Smith's Girl (1965) was runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize.[3]

Helen Bevington died on March 16, 2001, in Chicago.[4]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Dr. Johnson’s Waterfall, and Other Poems. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1946
  • Nineteen Million Elephants, and Other Poems. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1950
  • A Change of Sky, and Other Poems. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1956
  • When Found, Make a Verse of. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1961
  • Charley Smith’s Girl: A Memoir. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965[1]
  • A Book & A Love Affair. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968[4]
  • The House Was Quiet and the World Was Calm. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1971
  • Beautiful Lofty People. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974
  • Along Came the Witch: A Journal in the 1960s. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976.
  • The Journey Is Everything: A Journal of the Seventies. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1983
  • The World and the Bo Tree. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1991
  • The Third and Only Way: Reflections on Staying Alive. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1996[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d James Janega (March 24, 2001). "Helen Smith Bevington, 94". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  2. ^ Brad Bigelow (January 27, 2013). "A Book and A Love Affair, by Helen Bevington". Neglected Books Page. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Geoffrey Mock (March 23, 2001). "Helen Bevington, Professor Emerita, Dies". DukeToday. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Doreen Carvajal (March 22, 2001). "Helen Bevington, 94, Wry Author, Professor and Tireless Tourist". New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
[edit]
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