Edwin Corle (May 7, 1906 – June 11, 1956) was an American writer.

Biography

He was born in

Wildwood, New Jersey Wildwood is a city in Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area and is a popular summer resort destination along the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's year- ...

and educated at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, where he received his A.B. in 1928. For the next two years he was a graduate student at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. In 1932 he married Helen Freeman in

Ensenada, Mexico Ensenada is a city in Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, situated on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Located on the Bahía de Todos Santos, the city had a population of 279,765 in 2018, making it the third-largest city in Baja California. Th ...

. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and in 1944 married Jean Armstrong. His prolific writing career led to a final residence at Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara where he died on June 11, 1956.

Writing

His writing is noted for realistic portrayals of American Indian life in the early 20th century. After a brief stint at writing for radio, Corle began writing numerous short stories and non-fiction pieces for magazines. In 1934 his ''Mojave: A Book Of Stories'' was published. This was followed a year later by his first and most successful novel, ''Fig Tree John'', based on a Cahuilla Indian from southern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. In addition to other novels, Corle also wrote non-fiction, including books on the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a ...

and the

Gila River The Gila River (; O'odham ima Keli Akimel or simply Akimel, Quechan: Haa Siʼil, Maricopa language: Xiil) is a tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of ...

. His sophisticated interest in the arts is reflected in his works on

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

and the artist Merle Armitage. In the 1950s, Corle began what was to be his most important effort, a multi-volume novel called "The Californians". The work was left uncompleted upon his death and is included in his extensive papers, letters and manuscripts donated by Ralph B. Sipper of Santa Barbara to

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

in 1997. Another important collection of his papers, including correspondence with Lawrence Clark Powell, is in the Special Collections of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

Legacy

For many years the Library of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Fran ...

at Santa Barbara has sponsored an Edwin and Jean Corle Lecture Series.

Bibliography

* ''Billy the Kid''. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1979, 953 * ''Burro Alley''. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1938. * ''Coarse Gold''. New York: E.P. Dutton and Co., 1942. * ''Death Valley and the Creek Called Furnace''. Los Angeles: Ward Ritchie Press 962 * ''Desert Country'', American Folkways Series. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce. 1941. * ''Fig Tree John''. os Angeles Ward Ritchie, 1955. * ''The Gila, River of the Southwest''. New York: Rinehart, 1951. (Part of the Rivers of America Series) * ''In Winter Light''. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1949. * ''John Studebaker, an American dream''. New York: E. P. Dutton; 1948. * ''Listen, Bright Angel''. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce 946* ''Mojave: A Book of Stories''. New York: Liveright. 1934. * ''People on the Earth''. New York: Random House. 1937. * ''The Royal Highway (El Camino Real)''. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merril, 1949. * ''Solitaire''. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1940. * ''The Story of the Grand Canyon''. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce. 1951. * ''Three Ways to Mecca''. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce. 1947.

Biography

Writing

Legacy

Bibliography

References

Further reading