Roberta Teale Swartz Chalmers (9 June 1903 in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

– 13 May 1993 in

Wellesley, Massachusetts Wellesley () is a New England town, town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of Greater Boston. The population was 29,550 at the time of the 2020 census. Wellesley College, Babson Col ...

) was an American academic, a poet, and co-founder of the

Kenyon Review ''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, US, home of Kenyon College. ''The Review'' was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959. ...

Early life and education

The daughter of William King Swartz and his wife Carrie Teale, Swartz attended

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

, where she took her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1925

magna 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 So ...

.Mount Holyoke College,
Llamarada
' (1925 yearbook): 140. After obtaining her

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree at

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

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 ...

in 1926, she went on to

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where she obtained her

B.Litt. Bachelor of Letters (BLitt or LittB; Latin ' or ') is a second undergraduate university degree in which students specialize in an area of study relevant to their own personal, professional, or academic development. This area of study may have been t ...

degree in 1929. On 3 September 1929, she married

Gordon Keith Chalmers Gordon Keith Chalmers (7 February 1904 in Waukesha, Wisconsin – 8 May 1956 in Hyannis, Massachusetts) was a scholar of seventeenth-century English thought and letters, president of Rockford College and Kenyon College, and a national leader i ...

, with whom she had three sons and a daughter.

Academic career

Roberta Teale's first appointment was as an English teacher at

Bancroft School Bancroft School in Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, is an independent, co-educational, PreK–12, college-preparatory day school. Students typically live in Central Massachusetts and MetroWest, MetroWest Boston. ...

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

in 1926-27. From there, she went on to become

instructor Instructor may refer to: Education * Instructor, a teacher of a specialised subject that involves skill: ** Teaching assistant ** Tutor ** Lecturer ** Fellow ** Teaching fellow *** Teaching associate *** Graduate student instructor ** Professor S ...

in English at

, and was promoted to

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...

in 1931. She left Mount Holyoke in 1934 on her husband's selection as president of

Rockford College Rockford or Rockfords may refer to: Places United States * Rockford, Illinois, a city, the largest municipality of this name *Rockford, Alabama, a town * Rockford, Idaho, a census-designated place * Rockford metropolitan area, Illinois, a United St ...

, where she served as

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

of English. On his selection as president of

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is se ...

in 1937, she eventually served as

there in 1942-45. In 1937,

awarded her a

D.Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

degree. While at Kenyon, she became a major influence in the establishment of the

in 1939 and served as an advisor to its first editor

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 ...

. After her husband's death in 1956, she was appointed visiting lecturer at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

in 1956-57, and then she was appointed associate professor of English at Queens College, Charlotte, North Carolina, from 1959 to 1968.

Published works

* ''Lilliput'' New York : Harcourt, Brace, 1926. * ''Lord Juggler & other poems'' New York: Harper, 1932 * ''Mount Holyoke College hundred year poems'' 1937

Unpublished works

* ''Clarastella'' by Robert Heath ( fl. 1636-59), edited, introduction and notes by Roberta Teale Swartz. Mount Holyoke archives

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swartz, Roberta Teale 1903 births Alumni of the University of Oxford Writers from Brooklyn American women poets Mount Holyoke College alumni Mount Holyoke College faculty Kenyon College faculty Radcliffe College alumni Rockford University faculty 1993 deaths Queens University of Charlotte faculty 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers American women academics