Robert Ferro (October 21, 1941 – July 11, 1988) was an American
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
whose semi-autobiographical fiction explored the uneasy integration of
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
and traditional
American upper middle class values.
Biography
He was born in
Cranford, New Jersey
Cranford is a Township (New Jersey), township in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 23,847, an increas ...
and graduated from
Cranford High School. He went to college at
Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
and received a
Master's Degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
from the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
. In late 1965 Ferro met
Andrew Holleran
Andrew Holleran is the pseudonym of Eric Garber (born 1944), an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer, born on the island of Aruba. Most of his adult life has been spent in New York City, Washington, D.C., and a small town in Florid ...
at the
Iowa Writer's Workshop
The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...
. He later lectured at
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...
.
He was a member of
The Violet Quill.
He died of
AIDS
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
a few months after his partner,
Michael Grumley
Michael Grumley (July 6, 1942 – April 28, 1988) was an American writer and artist.
Grumley was born in Bettendorf, Iowa. He attended the University of Denver, the City College of New York and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Grumley received a B.S. D ...
, in 1988 at his father's home in
Ho-Ho-Kus
Ho-Ho-Kus () is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,258, an increase of 180 (+4.4%) from the 2010 census count of 4,078, which in turn reflected an i ...
, New Jersey, age 46.
Grumley and Ferro are buried together under the Ferro-Grumley memorial in Rockland Cemetery,
Sparkill, New York.
Following their deaths, the Ferro-Grumley Foundation, which manages their estate, created and endowed the annual
Ferro-Grumley Award
The Ferro-Grumley Award is an annual literary award, presented by Publishing Triangle and the Ferro-Grumley Foundation to a book deemed the year's best work of LGBT fiction. The award is presented in memory of writers Robert Ferro and Michael Gru ...
for LGBT fiction in conjunction with
Publishing Triangle
The Publishing Triangle, founded in 1988 by Robin Hardy, is an American association of gay men and lesbians in the publishing industry. They sponsor an annual National Lesbian and Gay Book Month, and have sponsored the annual Triangle Awards prog ...
.
Themes
Robert Ferro's works are especially interested in the phenomena of homosexual integration into the traditional family. Love of family is a theme that appears in both ''The Family of Max Desir'', and ''Second Son'' and reflects his traditional Italo-American sentiments.
In 1984, Ferro told the "Cranford Chronicle" that the town in his novel ''The Family of Max Desir'' was a fictionalized version of his hometown,
Cranford, New Jersey
Cranford is a Township (New Jersey), township in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 23,847, an increas ...
. The novel's "Indian River" is meant to be the
Rahway River
The Rahway River is a river in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex, Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex, and Union County, New Jersey, Union Counties, New Jersey, United States, The Rahway flows into the Arthur Kill, the tidal channel between ...
and acts as "the heart of the town and the center of
he main character'simagination". "Indian Park", host to a revived Victorian water carnival in "Desir", is a fictionalized version of the real-life Nomahegan Park on the
Rahway River
The Rahway River is a river in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex, Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex, and Union County, New Jersey, Union Counties, New Jersey, United States, The Rahway flows into the Arthur Kill, the tidal channel between ...
.
[1984 Chronicle interview; Encyclopedia of Contemporary LGBTQ Literature of the United States volumes/ref>
]
Books
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*
*
*
References
Further reading
Archival sources
Robert Ferro papers, 1963-1988
(8.5 linear feet) are housed at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts and ...
at 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 ...
.
External links
Robert Ferro Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
1941 births
1988 deaths
20th-century American novelists
American writers of Italian descent
American gay writers
Cranford High School alumni
Rutgers University alumni
University of Iowa alumni
AIDS-related deaths in New Jersey
American LGBTQ novelists
LGBTQ people from New Jersey
American male novelists
People from Cranford, New Jersey
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American LGBTQ people
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