Michael Jenkins Kernan Jr. (April 29, 1927 – May 4, 2005) was an American author and journalist.

Background

Kernan was born in

Utica, New York Utica () is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the foot ...

and grew up outside

Clinton, Oneida County, New York Clinton (or ''Ka-dah-wis-dag'', "white field" in Seneca language) is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 1,942 at the 2010 census. It was named for George Clinton, the first Governor of New York. The Vil ...

. His father, Michael J. Kernan (1884–1953), was a

stockbroker A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks ...

and member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

. His great-grandfather

Francis Kernan Francis Kernan (January 14, 1816September 7, 1892) was an American lawyer and politician. A resident of New York, he was active in politics as a Democrat, and served in several elected offices, including member of the New York State Assembly, m ...

(1816–1892) was a U.S. Senator (D-NY). Kernan graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1949.

Career

Kernan worked for the ''

Watertown Daily Times The ''Watertown Daily Times'' is a newspaper published six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday, in Watertown, New York. It provides coverage of Jefferson County, Lewis County, St. Lawrence County and Oswego County. It was founded in 1861 and ...

'' from 1949 until 1953. From 1953 to 1966 he was an editor and reporter for the ''

Redwood City Tribune The ''Peninsula Times Tribune'' was a daily newspaper serving Palo Alto, Redwood City, and neighboring cities in the San Francisco Peninsula of California. It was published by the Tribune Newspaper Company from 1979 to 1993. History The ''T ...

'', a paper in California. In 1967, Kernan began work at The ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

''. In 1969, he became one of the founding journalists of the new ''Posts Style section. He would remain at the Post in the Style section for the rest of his primary career, writing articles on a wide variety of subjects, including about his

speech impediment Speech disorders or speech impairments are a type of communication disorder in which normal speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute. Speech skills a ...

stuttering Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the ...

. Kernan's final story as a staff writer was on June 18, 1989. Benjamin C. Bradlee, executive editor of The Post, described Kernan as a "poet in newspaperman's clothing." Mary Hadar, former editor of the Post's Style section, said "He was a glorious writer who could make anything interesting." The Post published a special appreciation for Kernan.

Works

Kernan published a work of non-fiction ''The Violet Dots'' (1978) about a British soldier who fought in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and the novels ''The Lost Diaries of Frans Hals'' (1994) and ''Before''(2001) (a prequel to

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', '' Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure n ...

. He published more than 100 articles for the ''

Smithsonian Magazine ''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' ma ...

'', including seven years writing the "Around the Mall and Beyond" column. Some of his articles for the Washington Post include: * "A Literary Skirmish Over Hiss" (review of ''Perjury'' by

Allen Weinstein Allen Weinstein (September 1, 1937 – June 18, 2015) was an American historian, educator, and federal official who served in several different offices. He was, under the Reagan administration, cofounder of the National Endowment for Democracy i ...

) * "War Casualty" (Review of Let There Be Light by

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...

, republished in 2012 from 1981) * "Mortal Thoughts" (Review of ''Enter Sandman'' by Stephanie Williams)

References

External links

Works by Michael Kernan
at ''The Washington Post''
Works by Michael Kernan
at ''Smithsonian Magazine'' * Washington Pos

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kernan, Michael 1927 births 2005 deaths Harvard University alumni The Washington Post journalists