Noel Perrin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edwin Noel Perrin (1927-09-18)September 18, 1927 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | November 21, 2004(2004-11-21) (aged 77) Thetford, Vermont, U.S. |
| Occupation |
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| Education | |
| Genre | Essay |
| Subject | Rural life |
| Spouse |
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| Children | 2 |
Edwin Noel Perrin (September 18, 1927 – November 21, 2004) was an American essayist and a professor atDartmouth College. He was known for writing about rural life.[1][2][3][4]
Perrin was born on September 18, 1927, in Manhattan[5] and grew up inPelham Manor, New York. His parents both worked as advertising copywriters at theJ. Walter Thompson Agency.[1] His mother Blanche was a career writer and the author of several novels,[2] and she was his inspiration to become a writer.
Perrin was educated at theWoodberry Forest School inOrange, Virginia, and later atWilliams College where he majored in English Literature and graduated in 1949. He received a master's degree fromDuke University in 1950, then served in the Army. During theKorean War, he served as a forward observer in a field artillery unit and was awarded theBronze Star.[1][2][3][4]
Perrin taught English literature at theWoman's College of the University of North Carolina from 1956 to 1959. He further studied atCambridge University, where he received aM.Litt. degree in 1958.[2] He joined the Dartmouth faculty in 1959 as an instructor in English, reaching the rank of full professor by 1970. He specialized in teaching modern poetry, particularly that ofRobert Frost. He was aFulbright professor atWarsaw University in Poland in 1970, and was twice aGuggenheim Fellow. He joined Dartmouth'sEnvironmental Studies Program in 1984 as an adjunct professor, teaching courses on a range of subjects.[1][2][3][4]
Perrin wrote essays for many publications and was a regular contributor to theWashington Post for more than 20 years, covering a wide variety of subjects. HisWashington Post essays later were published asA Reader's Delight (1988), one of his 12 books. His laterWashington Post columns about forgotten works of children's literature were collected inA Child's Delight (1997).[1][2][3][4] His second book wasDr. Bowdler's Legacy: A History of Expurgated Books in England and America (1969) and was nominated for theNational Book Award. His sixth book wasGiving up the Gun: Japan's Reversion to the Sword, 1543–1879.[1][2][3]
In 1963, Perrin bought a farm inThetford Center, Vermont which served him as home and grist for six books, includingFirst Person Rural: Essays of a Sometime Farmer (1978). He often wrote essays about rural life in a fashion similar to the poems ofWill Carleton. "He reveled in the rural life," said writerReeve Lindbergh, who was Perrin's third wife's sister. Perrin's third wife wasAnne Lindbergh, elder daughter ofCharles Lindbergh andAnne Morrow Lindbergh.[6]
Perrin once wrote to a friend: "I currently spend half my time teaching at Dartmouth, half farming and half writing. That this adds up to three halves I am all too aware."
Perrin was married four times: to Nancy Hunnicut, from 1960 until their divorce in 1971; to Annemarie Price, from 1975 until their divorce in 1980; to Lindbergh, from 1988 until her death in 1993; and Sara Coburn, until his death. He had two daughters from his first marriage.[3]
Perrin's interest in environmental matters, includingalternative energy sources, led him to purchase anelectric car in 1990.[7] He recounted his adventures driving his convertedFord Escort fromSolar Electric Engineering in California to his Vermont home inSolo: Life with an Electric Car (1992). One advantage of the car proved to be a rare reserved parking spot on campus—with its own electrical outlet.[7]
Perrin, who hadShy–Drager syndrome, died at his farmhouse on November 21, 2004, aged 77.[1][2][3][4] Prior to that, he lived in a nursing home for 6 months, but came back home to his farmhouse shortly before his death.
