Herbert Oswald Nicholas Kubly (April 26, 1915 – August 7, 1996) was an American author and playwright. For his first book, ''American in Italy'', he won the 1956 U.S. National Book Award for Nonfiction."National Book Awards – 1956"
. National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-03-19.

Biography

Kubly was born and raised on a farm in the

Swiss American Swiss Americans are Americans of Swiss descent. Swiss emigration to America predates the formation of the United States, notably in connection with the persecution of Anabaptism during the Swiss Reformation and the formation of the Amish commun ...

community of

New Glarus, Wisconsin New Glarus is a village in Green County, Wisconsin, United States at the intersection of Wisconsin Highways 69 and 39. It has a population of 2,266 according to the 2020 census. The village, and the town that surrounds it, were named after the ...

. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

School of Journalism in 1937. His first professional work as a journalist was for the ''

Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph The ''Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph'' was an evening daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1927 to 1960. Part of the Hearst newspaper chain, it competed with ''The Pittsburgh Press'' and the ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' until bein ...

''. He later wrote for the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

''. His first play, ''Men to the Sea'', was produced on Broadway in 1944. Between 1945 and 1947 he served as the music critic for ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine. In 1950 Kubly became an associate professor of speech at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

, but he left that position to accept a

Fulbright grant The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

to Italy, where he spent 18 months in 1950–1951. He taught creative writing at

San Francisco State College San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

in the 1960s. From 1969 to 1984, he was an English professor and writer-in-residence at the

University of Wisconsin–Parkside The University of Wisconsin–Parkside (UWP) is a public university in Somers, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and has 4,644 students, 161 full-time faculty, and 89 lecturers and part-time faculty. The university of ...

. He married Emily Lee Hill in 1989. He died in New Glarus at age 81.

Legacy

The University of Wisconsin–Parkside English Department established the Herbert Kubly Writing Award in 1996 in Kubly's memory.

Books

* ''American in Italy'' - 1955 * ''Easter in Sicily'' - 1956 * ''Varieties of Love'' (stories) - 1958 * ''Italy'' (

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

World Library) - 1961 * ''The Whistling Zone'' (novel) - 1963 * ''At Large'' (autobiographical) - 1964 * ''Switzerland'' (Life World Library) - 1964 * ''Gods and Heroes'' - 1969 * ''The Duchess of Glover'' (novel) - 1975 * ''Native's Return'' - 1981 * ''The Parkside Stories'' - 1985

Plays

* ''Men to the Sea'' - 1944 :The story concerns the wives of five sailors, who live at a boarding house in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

while their husbands are away at sea. * ''Inherit the Wind'', with Waldemar Hansen - 1946 :A psychological drama set in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1903. A production opened in London circa 1948. (Not the

play of the same name Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

by Jerome Lawrence and

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

.) * ''Punch and Judy'' - 1948 :About the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and the possibility of world organization. * ''The Cocoon'' - 1954 :Produced in London. * ''Beautiful Dreamer'' - 1956 :A comedy about a

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "ex ...

artist trying to escape the police. * ''Virus'' - 1973 :Produced at the University of Wisconsin–Parkside1984 Notable Wisconsin Authors
, Wisconsin Library Association.

References

External links