Allan Seager
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Allan Seager (February 5, 1906 – May 10, 1968) was an American
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
and
short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
writer based in Michigan. His stories were published in such leading magazines as ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' and ''Esquire''. He also taught creative writing to generations of students at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
from 1935 to 1968. Seager won a
Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...
to
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
. After returning to the United States, he worked for a time as an assistant editor at '' Vanity Fair'' magazine in New York City. He returned to the university at Ann Arbor to teach creative writing and write his own works. He published five novels, more than 80 short stories, some of which are collected in two books; and a biography of poet
Theodore Roethke Theodore Huebner Roethke ( ; May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation, having won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1954 for his book '' The ...
.


Early life and education

Born and raised in Adrian, Michigan, Seager attended the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
as an undergraduate. There he was a member of two national championship swimming teams. Among his classmates and lifelong friends was
Theodore Roethke Theodore Huebner Roethke ( ; May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation, having won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1954 for his book '' The ...
, who later became a renowned poet. Seager earned a
Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...
to
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
. When his studies were interrupted by a bout of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
, Seager returned to the US to spend a year "curing" at the
Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium The Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium was a tuberculosis sanatorium established in Saranac Lake, New York, in 1885 by Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau. After Trudeau's death in 1915, the institution's name was changed to the Trudeau Sanatorium, follo ...
in
Saranac Lake, New York Saranac Lake is a village in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,887, making it the largest community by population in the Adirondack Park.U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Report, Saranac Lake village, New ...
. At the time, there were no antibiotics to treat the disease. He returned to Oxford and completed his degree.


Writing career

After his return to the United States from England, Seager worked for '' Vanity Fair'' magazine in New York City for a time as an assistant editor. He returned to Ann Arbor in 1935. There he taught creative writing at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
until 1968. Seager published more than 80 short stories in such leading magazines as ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'', ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'', ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
'', and ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
''. E.J. O'Brien, editor of the yearly ''Best American Short Stories'' series, once stated that the "apostolic succession of the American short story" ran from
Sherwood Anderson Sherwood Anderson (September 13, 1876 – March 8, 1941) was an American novelist and short story writer, known for subjective and self-revealing works. Self-educated, he rose to become a successful copywriter and business owner in Cleveland and ...
to
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
to Seager. numerous works of his own, with collected short stories published in books in 1950 and 1964. Seager drew from his time at the Saranac Lake sanitarium, undergraduate years in
Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
and at
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
for the semi-autobiographical short stories he published that were collected in ''A Frieze of Girls'' (1964).Taylor, Robert, ''America's Magic Mountain'', Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986. His last book was a biography of poet
Theodore Roethke Theodore Huebner Roethke ( ; May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation, having won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1954 for his book '' The ...
, which he struggled to finish while ill. It was published in 1968. Seager identified strongly with the poet, as they had come from similar backgrounds and had created themselves as writers. While living in Seattle and teaching at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
, in the spring of 1963
Theodore Roethke Theodore Huebner Roethke ( ; May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation, having won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1954 for his book '' The ...
introduced his friend Seager by telephone to poet and novelist
James Dickey James Lafayette Dickey (February 2, 1923 January 19, 1997) was an American poet, novelist, critic, and lecturer. He was appointed the 18th United States Poet Laureate in 1966. His other accolades included the National Book Award for Poetry a ...
, who was in the city for a reading. Dickey told Seager that his novel ''Amos Berry'' was a principal reason why Dickey had pursued poetry. Writing was not part of his background, but he had been inspired by Charles Berry, the son in the novel, who persisted at working at poetry. Dickey felt that Seager's talent had not been sufficiently recognized by the public or critics.


Personal life

Seager married and had two daughters. He won a
Fulbright Fellowship 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 o ...
that him to take his family to travel to France for his research. He and his family lived in
Tecumseh, Michigan Tecumseh ( ) is a city in Lenawee County, Michigan, Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan, near the River Raisin. Tecumseh is about southwest of Detroit, south of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor, and north of Toledo, Ohio. The main stree ...
. He died there of lung cancer in 1968.


Bibliography


Novels

*''Equinox''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1943. *''The Inheritance''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1948 *''Amos Berry''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953. *''Hilda Manning''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956 *''Death of Anger''. New York: McDowell, Obolensky, 1960.


Short stories

*''A Frieze of Girls'': Memoirs as Fiction. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964 *''The Old Man of the Mountain''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1950


Nonfiction

*''The Glass House: The Life of Theodore Roethke''. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968 (First Edition) *''The Glass House: The Life of Theodore Roethke''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1991 (Reprint Edition including introduction by poet
Donald Hall Donald Andrew Hall Jr. (September 20, 1928 – June 23, 2018) was an American poet, writer, editor, and literary critic. He was the author of more than 50 books across several genres from children's literature, biography, memoir, essays, and inc ...
) *''They Worked for a Better World''. New York: Macmillan, 1939.


Translation

*Stendhal. ''Memoirs of a Tourist''. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1962.


References


Further reading

* *
Part 1Part 2
* *


External links


"Reintroducing Allan Seager: an essay by Charles Baxter", and a selected chapter from ''A Frieze of Girls''
''McSweeney's'',
Guide to the Allan Seager Papers
The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library is the primary special-collections library of the University of California, Berkeley. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retain the name Bancroft Library in perpetuity. ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seager, Allen 20th-century American novelists American male novelists Writers from Ann Arbor, Michigan University of Michigan alumni 1906 births 1968 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in Michigan University of Michigan faculty American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Michigan