Lew Dietz (22 May 1906 – 27 April 1997) was an American writer, much of whose work centered on his native

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. In a long career he produced 20 books and hundreds of magazine articles for

Down East "Down East", also "Downeast", is a term for parts of eastern coastal New England and Canada, particularly the U.S. state of Maine and Canada's Maritime Provinces, an area that closely corresponds to the historical French territory of Acadia. Th ...

magazine (which he helped establish ''"The July 8, 1954, edition of the Camden Herald included a story about the founding of a new magazine called Down East, created "to satisfy a long-felt need of people throughout the country for a magazine about the wonderful world of Maine." The accompanying photograph showed the publication's team: publisher-editor Duane Doolittle; associate editor Margaret Shea; T. V. Sproul, vice president and business manager; Lew Dietz, associate editor; and Frank Hamabe, art director."''), ''

True True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * Tr ...

'', ''

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...

'', ''

Redbook ''Redbook'' is an American women's magazine that is published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the " Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines. It ceased print publication as of January 2019 and now operates an article-comprise ...

'', '' Coast Fisherman'' and '' Outdoors Maine'' among others. Dietz was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, but he lived much of his life in and near

Rockport, Maine Rockport is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. It is thirty-five miles southeast of Augusta. The population was 3,644 at the 2020 census. Rockport is a popular tourist destination and art colony. History Rockport, or "the River", was ...

. In his youth, he was a foreign correspondent in Paris and a copywriter in New York. Perhaps his best known work (with Harry Goodridge) was '' A Seal Called Andre,'' based on the true story of an orphaned baby seal that learned to perform tricks and became a popular tourist attraction in Rockport. The 1975 book remains in print; the book was the source for the film '' Andre'' (1995). He was also well known for the Jeff White books, young adult novels on outdoor themes: *''Jeff White, Young Guide'' (1951) *''Jeff White, Young Lumberjack'' (1952) *''Jeff White, Young Trapper'' (1951) *''Jeff White, Young Woodsman'' (1949) Other books included ''The Story of Boothbay'' (1937), ''Camden Hills. An Informal History of the Camden-Rockport Region'' (1947), ''The Allagash,'' (1968, 1978, 2001), originally published as part of the Rivers of America Series); ''Touch of Wildness A Maine Woods Journal'' (1970); ''Pines for the King's Navy,'' (1955), concerning the struggle among settlers, Indians, and the British king for Maine's timber, and ''Full Fathom Five'' (1958), illustrated by his wife, the artist Denny Winter. Other juvenile titles, all with Maine settings, are ''Wilderness River'' (1961); ''The Savage Summer'' (1964), also illustrated by Denny Winter and ''The Year of the Big Cat (1970)'' In 1977 Dietz wrote the text for ''Night Train at Wiscasset Station: An Unforgettable Portrait of Maine and Its People,'' a Maine classic. Reissued in 1998, the book combines Dietz's words with Kosti Ruohomaa's (1914–1961) black and white photographs of ordinary rural and fishing industry Mainers. Dietz died at the age of 90 at a hospital in Rockport, Maine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dietz, Lew 1906 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American writers Writers from Pittsburgh People from Rockport, Maine 20th-century American male writers