Perry Carlton Lentz (born March 27, 1943, in

Anniston, Alabama Anniston is a city and the county seat of Calhoun County, Alabama, Calhoun County in Alabama, United States, and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston–Oxford metropolitan area, Anniston–Oxford Metropo ...

)Time (magazine)
/ref> is an author and professor

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of English language and literature at

Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...

Gambier, Ohio Gambier ( ) is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,213 at the 2020 census. Gambier is the home of Kenyon College. History Gambier was laid out in 1824. The village was named after one of Kenyon College's early ...

Early life and education

The son of Lucian Boyd Lentz, a sales executive, and his wife, Adelaide Carleton Sterne, Perry Lentz attended

, and was a member of

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest Fraternities and sororities, fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active Colony (fraternity or sorority), colonies across No ...

, graduating with his Bachelor of Arts in English in 1964, ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' with Highest Honors in English. He went on to

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, where he earned his master's degree in 1966 and his PhD in 1970. He married Jane Anderson in 1965; they have two children, Robin Lentz and Emily Hollis, and six grandchildren, Amos, Etta, and Piper DeMartino, and Abraham, Margaret, and Arlo Hollis. His son-in-law is legal scholar

Duncan Hollis Duncan Hollis is an American legal scholar and the Laura H. Carnell Professor of Law at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law known for his expertise on treaties and the application of international law to cyberspace. He has been a prominent ...

Academic career

As a graduate student, Lentz served as a teaching fellow at

between 1964 and 1969. In 1969, he returned to

, where he has spent his entire career, being appointed assistant professor of English in 1969, associate professor in 1973, and then full professor. He was subsequently appointed to an academic chair, McIlvaine Professor of English, and has served as chairman of the English Department. He was a

Woodrow Wilson Fellow The Institute for Citizens & Scholars (formerly known as the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation) is a nonpartisan, non-profit institution based in Princeton, New Jersey that says it aims to strengthen American democracy by "cultivating ...

in 1964 and held a

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

grant in 1971. In 1978–79, he was visiting professor at

Exeter University The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School o ...

in England, where he established a joint program with Kenyon. Lentz was twice awarded ''Trustee Teaching Excellence Award,'' in 1992 and 2009''.'' In honor of his distinguished tenure and teaching excellence,

opened the Lentz House for its Department of English in 2009. Lending his name to the new English building places Lentz in the ranks of other highly distinguished Kenyon faculty, such as

John Crowe Ransom John Crowe Ransom (April 30, 1888 – July 3, 1974) was an American educator, scholar, literary critic, poet, essayist and editor. He is considered to be a founder of the New Criticism school of literary criticism. As a faculty member at Kenyon ...

, for whom Ransom Hall, Kenyon's Admissions building, was renamed in 1958. In a video uploaded to the

Vlogbrothers Vlogbrothers (sometimes stylized as VlogBrothers or vlogbrothers) is a video blog channel on YouTube. The Internet-based show is created and hosted by the Green brothers: John and Hank. The first incarnation of the brothers' online broadcasting ...

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel, author

John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author and YouTuber. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including ''The Fault in Our Stars'' (2012), which is one of the List of best-selling books#Bet ...

, whom Lentz taught at Kenyon, listed Lentz's "Instruction Booklet" as one of his most valuable books.

Published works

* ''The Falling Hills,'' New York, Scribner,

967 Year 967 ( CMLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Otto I (the Great) calls for a council at Rome, to present the new government under Pope John XIII. He ...

Columbia : University of South Carolina Press, 1993. * ''It Must Be Now the Kingdom Coming: An Historical Romance,'' New York, Crown

973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias ( Domestic of the Schools in the East), continues the op ...

* ''Private Fleming at Chancellorsville:

The Red Badge of Courage ''The Red Badge of Courage'' is an 1895 war novel by American author Stephen Crane. The novel was published on 3 October 1895. Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming ...

and the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

,'' Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2006. * Perish From the Earth

008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * "008", a fictional 00 Agent In Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the derived films, the 00 Section of MI6 is considered the secret service's elite. A 00 (pronounced "Double O") is a field agent who ho ...

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Sources

* ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'' * ''

Contemporary Authors ''Contemporary Authors'' is a reference work that has been published by Gale since 1962. The work provides short biographies and bibliographies of contemporary and near-contemporary writers and is a major source of information on over 116,000 liv ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lentz, Perry 1943 births People from Anniston, Alabama Living people Kenyon College alumni Kenyon College faculty American historical novelists American literary critics Vanderbilt University alumni American male novelists Novelists from Ohio American male non-fiction writers