James Ashbrook Perkins is Professor Emeritus of English and Public Relations at Westminster College,

New Wilmington, Pennsylvania New Wilmington is a borough in northern Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, first platted in 1824 and established as a borough on April 9, 1863. The population was 2,097 at the 2020 census. It is home to Westminster College and serves ...

, where he became a faculty member in 1973 and was department chair from 2000 to 2005.

Education

Perkins earned his BA from

Centre College Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, United States. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the col ...

, Danville, Kentucky, in 1963, an MA from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

, Oxford, Ohio, in 1965, and a PhD from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

, Knoxville in 1972.

Career

After receiving his doctorate, he was appointed assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 1971. He moved to Westminster in 1973 and is now retired as an emeritus professor. He was a Visiting Fulbright professor in Korea, 1998, and was a

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

fellow four times, in 1978, 1981, 1987, and 1989. Perkins was appointed Special Program Chair for the Centenary of the birth of

Robert Penn Warren Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, literary critic and professor at Yale University. He was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern ...

and was instrumental in securing the release of a stamp honoring him by the

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; the governor of Kentucky named him a

Kentucky Colonel Kentucky Colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the US state of Kentucky. It is the most well-known colonelcy in the United States. A Kentucky Colonel Commission (the certificate) is awarded in the name of the Commonwealth by the go ...

in recognition.

Academic works

Perkins has published books on Warren and on David Madden. *(coedited with Randy Hendricks) ''David Madden: A Writer for All Genres'', Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2006 *(editor) ''The Cass Mastern Material: The Core of Robert Penn Warren's "All the King's Men"'', Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2005 *(coedited with James A Grimshaw) ''Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men: Three Stage Versions'', Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2000 *(coedited with Randy Hendricks) ''For the Record: A Robert Drake Reader'', Macon: Mercer University Press, 2001 *(coedited with William Bedford Clark and Randy Hendricks) ''Selected Letters of

'' vol. 3: ''Triumph and Transition 1943–1952''; vol. 4: ''New Beginnings and New Directions, 1953–1968''; vol. 5: ''Backward Glances and New Visions, 1969–1979''; vol. 6, ''Toward Sunset, at a Great Height, 1980–1989'', Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. *(coedited with Jeffrey J. Folks) ''Southern Writers at Century's End'', Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 1997 *(coedited with Carol Morrow) ''Interviews with David Madden'', Newfound Press, 2014 *(editor) ''The Last Bizarre Tale: Stories by David Madden'', Knoxville: University of Pennessee Press, 2014

Creative works

Poetry

*The Woodcarver, 1978. *The Amish 2, Perceptions 2, 1981. *''Brother enemy: Poems of the Korean War'' edited and translated by Suh Ji-Moon; in collaboration with James A. Perkins. Buffalo, N.Y.: White Pine Press, 2002. *''Decembers: Poems'', Macon: Mercer University Press, 2013

Fiction

*''Snakes, Butterbeans and the Discovery of Electricity'', Macon: Mercer University Press, 2003

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, James Ashbrook Living people Westminster College (Pennsylvania) faculty American male poets Year of birth missing (living people)