Oliver Hazard Perry La Farge II (December 19, 1901 – August 2, 1963) was an American writer and
anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
. In 1925 he explored early
Olmec
The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that t ...
sites in Mexico, and later studied additional sites in Central America and the American Southwest. In addition to more than 15 scholarly works, mostly about Native Americans, he wrote several novels, including the
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning, ''
Laughing Boy'' (1929). La Farge also wrote and published short stories, in such leading magazines as ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' and ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
''.
His more notable works, both fiction and non-fiction, emphasize
Native American culture. He was most familiar with the
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
people, had a speaking knowledge of their language, and was nicknamed by them 'Anast'harzi Nez', i.e. "Tall Cliff-Dweller".
Early life and education
Oliver La Farge was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
but grew up in
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
. He was the son of
Christopher Grant La Farge, a noted
Beaux-Arts architect, and Florence Bayard Lockwood. His older brother
Christopher La Farge became a writer and was a novelist. La Farge and his paternal uncle, architect Oliver H. P. La Farge, were both named for a great-great-grandfather,
Oliver Hazard Perry
Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member
of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...
.
La Farge received both his Bachelor of Arts degree (1924) and his master's degree (1929) 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 higher le ...
.
Career
La Farge worked as a writer and an
anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
. In 1925, he traveled with the Danish archeologist
Frans Blom
Frans Blom (9 August 1893 – 23 June 1963) was a Danish explorer and archaeologist. He was most associated with his research of the Maya civilization of Mexico and Central America.
Biography
Frans Ferdinand Blom was born in Copenhagen, ...
, who taught at
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
, to what is now known as the
Olmec heartland
The Olmec heartland is the southern portion of Mexico's Gulf Coast region between the Tuxtla mountains and the Olmec archaeological site of La Venta, extending roughly 80 km (50 mi) inland from the Gulf of Mexico coastline at its deepest. It i ...
. He (re)discovered
San Martin Pajapan Monument 1 and, more importantly, the ruins of
La Venta
La Venta is a pre-Columbian archaeological site of the Olmec civilization located in the present-day Mexican state of Tabasco. Some of the artifacts have been moved to the museum "Parque - Museo de La Venta", which is in nearby Villahermosa, ...
, one of the major
Olmec
The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that t ...
centers.
La Farge devoted considerable study to Native American peoples and issues, especially after relocating to
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...
, in 1933. He became a champion for American Indian rights and was president of the
Association on American Indian Affairs for several years..
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, La Farge served with the U.S. Air Transport Command, ending service with the rank of major. He participated with the Battle for
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
, commanded by Colonel
Bernt Balchen
Bernt Balchen (23 October 1899 – 17 October 1973) was a Norwegian pioneer polar aviator, navigator, aircraft mechanical engineer and military leader. A Norwegian native, he later became an American citizen and was a recipient of the Distingu ...
. Balchen, together with
Corey Ford
Corey Ford (April 29, 1902 – July 27, 1969) was an American humorist, writer, outdoorsman, and screenwriter. He was friendly with several members of the Algonquin Round Table in New York City and occasionally lunched there.
Early years
Ford was ...
and La Farge, wrote ''War Below Zero: The Battle for Greenland'' (1944) about the actions to defend Greenland.
Marriage and family
La Farge married heiress Wanden Matthews and had two children with her: a son, Oliver Albee La Farge (b. 1931, later known as
Peter La Farge
Peter La Farge (born Oliver Albee La Farge, April 30, 1931 – October 27, 1965) was a New York City-based folk music, folksinger and songwriter of the 1950s and 1960s. He is known best for his affiliations with Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash.
Early l ...
and a daughter, Povy. They relocated to Santa Fe in 1933, but Wanden disliked the area and they eventually divorced in 1937.
Their first son, Oliver Albee, became estranged from his father and changed his name to
Peter La Farge
Peter La Farge (born Oliver Albee La Farge, April 30, 1931 – October 27, 1965) was a New York City-based folk music, folksinger and songwriter of the 1950s and 1960s. He is known best for his affiliations with Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash.
Early l ...
. He relocated to New York City, where he became a well-known
folksinger and
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
, performing during the 1950s and 1960s. Some of his most successful songs have Native American themes including a famous one, "As Long As The Grass Shall Grow", which takes its name from the title of one of his father's books.
La Farge married a second time, to Consuelo Otile Baca, with whom he had a son, John Pendaries "Pen" La Farge. La Farge's non-fiction book ''Behind The Mountains'' (1956) is based on his memories of Consuelo's family, the
Baca family of New Mexico
The progenitors of the Baca family of New Mexico were Cristóbal Baca (Vaca) and his wife Ana Ortiz. Cristóbal was a military captain from Mexico City, who arrived in 1600 with his family to help reinforce the Spanish colonial Santa Fe de Nuevo ...
who were ranchers in northern
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. He wrote a regular column for the Santa Fe newspaper, ''The New Mexican.'' Some of his columns were collected and published as ''The Man With the Calabash Pipe'' (1966).
La Farge died in Santa Fe in 1963, at the age of 61.
Legacy and honors
*
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
for fiction for ''
Laughing Boy'' (1929).
*Dedicated "Oliver La Farge" branch of the Santa Fe Public Library system.
Works
Non-fiction
* ''Tribes and Temples'' (with
Frans Blom
Frans Blom (9 August 1893 – 23 June 1963) was a Danish explorer and archaeologist. He was most associated with his research of the Maya civilization of Mexico and Central America.
Biography
Frans Ferdinand Blom was born in Copenhagen, ...
) 1926-27
* ''The Year Bearer's People'' (with Douglas Byers) 1931
* ''Introduction to American Indian Art'' (with John Sloan) 1931
* ''An Alphabet for Writing the Navajo Language'', 1940
* ''As Long As The Grass Can Grow - Indians Today'', with photographs by Helen M. Post, 1940
* ''The Changing Indian'' (editor) 1942
* ''War Below Zero: The Battle for Greenland'' (Colonel
Bernt Balchen
Bernt Balchen (23 October 1899 – 17 October 1973) was a Norwegian pioneer polar aviator, navigator, aircraft mechanical engineer and military leader. A Norwegian native, he later became an American citizen and was a recipient of the Distingu ...
, with Major
Corey Ford
Corey Ford (April 29, 1902 – July 27, 1969) was an American humorist, writer, outdoorsman, and screenwriter. He was friendly with several members of the Algonquin Round Table in New York City and occasionally lunched there.
Early years
Ford was ...
), 1944
* ''Santa Eulalia: The Religion of a Cuchumatan Indian Town'' (1947)
* ''The Eagle in the Egg'', 1949
* ''Cochise of Arizona'', 1953
* ''The Mother Ditch'', 1954
* ''A Pictorial History of the American Indian'' (1956)
* ''Behind the Mountains'' (1956)
* ''Santa Fe: The Autobiography of a Southwestern Town'' (with Arthur N. Morgan) 1959
Fiction and personal
* ''
Laughing Boy'' (1929), novel; it was adapted for the
1934 motion picture of the same name.
* ''Sparks Fly Upward'' (1931), novel.
*''Long Pennant'' (1933), novel.
* ''All the Young Men'' (1935), collection of short stories.
* ''The Enemy Gods'' (1937), novel.
*''The Copper Pot'' (1942), novel.
* ''Raw Material'' (1945), a
memoir
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...
.
* ''A Pause in the Desert'' (1957), collection of short stories.
*''The Door in the Wall'' (1965), collection of short stories.
* ''The Man With the Calabash Pipe'' (collected columns, edited by
Winfield Townley Scott
Winfield Townley Scott (April 30, 1910 – April 28, 1968) was an American poet and diarist. He also worked as a newspaperman and book reviewer.
Biography
Scott was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, seven days after the arrival of Halley's Co ...
), 1966
Translation
*''A Man's Place'' (1940), translation of ''El lugar de un hombre,'' by
Ramón J. Sender
References
External links
An Inventory of the Oliver La Farge Collection, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
Excerpts from ''Tribes and Temples''a
Mesoweb
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Farge, Oliver
1901 births
1963 deaths
20th-century Mesoamericanists
20th-century American novelists
American columnists
American Mesoamericanists
American short story writers
Harvard University alumni
Mesoamerican anthropologists
Olmec scholars
Writers from Newport, Rhode Island
Perry family
Pulitzer Prize for the Novel winners
Writers from New York City
American male novelists
American male short story writers
Novelists from New York (state)
American male non-fiction writers
20th-century American anthropologists
20th-century American male writers
La Farge family
Burials at Santa Fe National Cemetery
Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters