Mary Dearborn is an American

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

. Dearborn has published biographies of

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American writer, journalist and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least ...

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

Peggy Guggenheim Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim ( ; August 26, 1898 – December 23, 1979) was an American art collector, bohemianism, bohemian, and socialite. Born to the wealthy New York City Guggenheim family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who we ...

and others. Dearborn received a Ph.D. in English and comparative literature from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1984.

Career

After the publication of her 2017 biography of Ernest Hemingway, Dearborn wrote a critical essay regarding his antisemitism. She reflected on her experience writing, where many sources sought to decrease the extent of his prejudices due to the time period. She emphasized that she did not believe the antisemitism was reason to stop reading his works, but instead provided another perspective to study his work from. Dearborn's biography ''Carson McCullers: A Life'', was published in 2024. It is the first notable biography of

Carson McCullers Carson McCullers (February 19, 1917 – September 29, 1967) was an American novelist, short-story writer, playwright, essayist, and poet. Her first novel, ''The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' (1940), explores the spiritual isolation of misfits ...

written in more than 20 years. Dearborn explored aspects of McCullers that had never been examined before especially after comparison to 1976 biography ''The Lonely Hunter'' by

Virginia Spencer Carr Virginia Spencer Carr (July 21, 1929 – April 10, 2012) was a biographer of Carson McCullers, John Dos Passos and Paul Bowles. Carr was also a college professor for more than 25 years at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia, and Ge ...

. In an article for Lit Hub, Dearborn described McCullers' career as creating "what may be American literature’s most detailed, carefully observed picture of what it means to be an outsider.There is a newfound brilliance in Dearborn's deep dive into every aspect of McCuller's difficulties and creativity."

Works

Biographies

* ''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

's Daughters: Gender and Ethnicity in American Culture'' (1986) * ''Love in the Promised Land: The Story of

Anzia Yezierska Anzia Yezierska (October 29, 1880 – November 20, 1970) was an American novelist born in Plock, Poland, which was then part of the Russian Empire. She emigrated as a child with her parents to the United States and lived in Manhattan's Lower E ...

and

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and Education reform, educational reformer. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the first half of the twentieth century. The overridi ...

'' (1988) * ''The Happiest Man Alive: A Biography of

'' (1991) * ''Queen of Bohemia: The Life of

Louise Bryant Louise Bryant (December 5, 1885 – January 6, 1936) was an American feminist, political activist, and journalist best known for her sympathetic coverage of Russia and the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution of November 1917. Born Anna L ...

'' (1996) * '' Mailer: A Biography'' (1999) * ''Mistress of Modernism: The Life of

'' (2004) * ''

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

: A Biography'' (2017) * ''

: A Life'' (2024)

Introductions

* Henry Miller, ''Crazy Cock'' (1991) * Henry Miller, '' Moloch: or, This Gentile World'' (1992)

External links

Official website

References

American biographers American women biographers Living people Brown University alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-bio-writer-stub