Marshall Dodge (1935–1982) was a

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

humorist A humorist is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking. A raconteur is one who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way. Henri Bergson writes that a humorist's work grows from viewing the morals of society ...

Early life

Dodge was born in New York City, attended high school in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, and 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 ...

with a degree in philosophy.

Career

Dodge and his associate, Robert Bryan (1931 – 2018), put out several defining albums of Maine humor, starting with ''

Bert & I ''Bert & I'' is the name given to numerous collections of humor stories set in the "Down East" culture of traditional Maine. These stories were made famous and mostly written by the humorist storytelling team of Marshall Dodge (1935–1982) ...

'', released in 1958. In 1964, he and

Noel Parmentel Noel Edward Parmentel Jr. (June 21, 1926 – August 31, 2024) was an American writer who was a leading figure on the New York political journalism, literary, and cultural scene during the 20th century. He was known for criticizing political figur ...

published (with accompanying LP record) a parody of popular folk songs titled ''Folk Songs for Conservatives''. During the early 1970s, Dodge performed at various clubs around New England, including in Mystic, Connecticut. In 1976, he founded the Maine Festival of the Arts at

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

. In a 1979 interview, Dodge claimed that his real love was

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, and that he was writing a book on the subject.

Death

Dodge died in a hit-and-run accident in 1982 in Waimea, Hawaii.

References

External links

A Downeast Smile-In: The Farm
Documentary produced by

Maine Public Broadcasting Network The Maine Public Broadcasting Network (abbreviated MPBN and branded as Maine Public) is a network of public television and radio stations located in the U.S. state of Maine. It is operated by the Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation, which h ...

A Downeast Smile-In: The Sea
Documentary produced by

A Maine Writer: Dodge, Marshall (1935 - 1982)
from

Maine State Library The Maine State Library is an agency of the State of Maine and located in Augusta, Maine. History The Maine State Library began when the Maine Legislature The Maine State Legislature is the State legislature (United States), state legislatur ...

1935 births 1982 deaths American humorists Comedians from Maine Road incident deaths in Hawaii Writers from Maine Comedians from New York City Writers from New York City 20th-century American writers 20th-century American male writers Yale College alumni {{US-writer-stub