John Chapin Mosher (June 2, 1892 – September 3, 1942) was an American

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 as well as the first regularly assigned

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: Academic criticism by film scholars, who study the composition of film theory and publish their findin ...

for ''

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 ...

'', a position he held from 1928 to 1942.

Life and career

Mosher was born in

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,064 at the 2020 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden. T ...

, and graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in 1914. Moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1915, he joined the editorial staff of the general interest magazine ''Every Week'' and became involved in the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

theater community, writing the one-act comedy plays ''Sauce for the Emperor'' and ''Bored'', which were staged by the Provincetown Players in 1916–17. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Mosher served in the

shell shock Shell shock is a term that originated during World War I to describe symptoms similar to those of combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which many soldiers suffered during the war. Before PTSD was officially recogni ...

ward of a U.S. Medical Corps hospital in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. After the war, Mosher traveled around Europe and wrote various freelance articles for magazines before becoming an English instructor at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

. In 1926 he joined the staff of ''

'', initially contributing short stories. In the earliest historical chronicle of the magazine published in 1951, Mosher was credited as "a pioneer of the ''New Yorker'' short story." He became the magazine's resident film critic starting with the September 22, 1928 issue. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Mosher's writings "had a personal note and were noteworthy for their humor and bristling style", while ''The New Yorker'' stated he "wrote with restraint and was never dull." In addition to writing, Mosher read the magazine's unsolicited manuscripts. In 1940, a compilation of Mosher's ''New Yorker'' fiction was published in a book titled ''Celibate at Twilight and Other Stories''. A number of these stories, featuring a wealthy, middle-aged bachelor named Mr. Opal, capture 1930s community life on

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy once again divided Fire Island into two islands. Together, these two isl ...

, where Mosher was among the earliest gay property owners in Cherry Grove.Bergman, David. "Beauty and the Beach: Representing Fire Island." ''Public Sex/Gay Space.'' Ed. William L. Leap. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. 102-103. . Mosher's final ''New Yorker'' column ran in the June 20, 1942 issue; he died less than three months later in New York City of heart disease at the age of 50. The magazine eulogized him as "witty, perceptive, and influenced by a deep and tolerant knowledge of the world" and "one of the most delightful companions we have ever known."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosher, John 1892 births 1942 deaths American film critics 20th-century American short story writers American gay writers The New Yorker critics The New Yorker people American male short story writers American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American LGBTQ people LGBTQ media critics