Amos Niven Wilder (September 18, 1895 – May 1, 1993) was an American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, minister, and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

professor.

Life

Wilder was born in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. He studied for two years at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

(1913–1915), but volunteered in the Ambulance Field Service; he was awarded the ''Croix de Guerre.'' In November 1917, he enlisted in the U.S. Field Artillery as a corporal. He wrote ''Battle Retrospect'', about his experiences in World War I. In 1920, Wilder graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. In college he was an inter-collegiate doubles champion tennis player, and he played at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

in 1922, with his partner Lee Wiley. He served as secretary to

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...

lecturing at

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 ...

, where he was studying at Mansfield College (1921–1923). He completed his studies for ordained ministry at Yale in 1924.

Ministry

Wilder was ordained in 1926 and served in a

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

church in

North Conway, New Hampshire North Conway is a census-designated place (CDP) and village in eastern Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,116 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, North Conway is the second-largest village within the tow ...

. He received his doctorate from Yale in 1933. He taught for 11 years at the

Chicago Theological Seminary The Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) is a Christian ecumenical American seminary located in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of several seminaries historically affiliated with the United Church of Christ. It is the oldest institution of higher e ...

and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, and served as president of the Chicago Society of Biblical Research in 1949–1950. Wilder joined

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1954 as Hollis Professor of Divinity. In 1962 he was part of the first board of directors for the

Society for the Arts, Religion and Contemporary Culture The Society for the Arts, Religion, and Contemporary Culture, or ARC, was founded in October 1961 by three people: Alfred Barr, the art critic and founder of the Museum of Modern Art, the theologian Paul Tillich, and Marvin Halverson, an American Pr ...

. In 1963, he was named ''emeritus'' faculty. His papers are held at the Harvard Divinity School Library of Harvard Divinity School.

Family

Wilder's father,

Amos Parker Wilder Amos Parker Wilder (February 15, 1862 – July 2, 1936) was an American journalist and diplomat who served as United States Consul General to Hong Kong and Shanghai in the early 20th century. Early life and education Wilder was born on Septembe ...

, was a journalist with a doctorate from Yale, who served as United States Consul General in Hong Kong and Shanghai between 1906 and 1914. His mother was the daughter of a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister. His brother was

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...

, and sisters were

Charlotte Wilder Charlotte Wilder (August 28, 1898 – May 26, 1980) was an American poet and academic who worked in the Federal Writers Project. Wilder published poetry in ''The Nation'' and ''Poetry Magazine''. She also published poetry collections in 19 ...

, Isabel Wilder and

Janet Wilder Dakin Janet Wilder Dakin (June 3, 1910 – October 7, 1994), was an American philanthropist and zoologist, known for her animal advocacy and environmental work. Biography Janet Frances Wilder was born in China, the daughter of Isabella Niven and A ...

. Wilder married Catharine Kerlin in 1935. They had a daughter, Catharine Wilder Guiles, and a son, Amos Tappan Wilder.

Awards

Golden Rose Award The Golden Rose Award, one of America’s oldest literary prizes, was inaugurated in 1919. The rose was modeled after the Gold Rose which is now in the Cluny Museum in Paris. ThNew England Poetry Clubawards the Rose annually for American poetry. ...

* 1923

Yale Series of Younger Poets The Yale Series of Younger Poets is an annual event of Yale University Press aiming to publish the debut collection of a promising American poet. Established in 1918, the Younger Poets Prize is the longest-running annual literary award in the Uni ...

, ''Battle Retrospect''

Works

Poetry

* * reprint 1971 by AMS Press.

Memoir

Theology

* * * * * * * * *

Non-fiction

Criticism

* *

References

External links

Papers of Wilder are in the Harvard Divinity School Library
at

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the religious studies, academic study of religion or for leadership role ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilder, Amos 1895 births 1993 deaths Alumni of Mansfield College, Oxford American expatriates in the United Kingdom American male tennis players United States Army personnel of World War I American theologians American World War I poets 20th-century American male writers American male poets Harvard Divinity School faculty Oberlin College alumni Sportspeople from Madison, Wisconsin People from North Conway, New Hampshire American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Tennis players from Wisconsin University of Chicago faculty Writers from Wisconsin Yale Bulldogs men's tennis players Yale Younger Poets winners United States Army soldiers American Congregationalists 20th-century American sportsmen