Sally Hirsh-Dickinson (born January 7, 1971) is an American academic who is a producer and host for

New Hampshire Public Radio New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) is the National Public Radio member network serving the state of New Hampshire. NHPR is based in Concord and operates eight transmitters and six translators covering nearly the whole state, as well as portions of ...

, a

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

politician, and an English professor at

Rivier University Rivier University is a private Catholic liberal arts university in Nashua, New Hampshire. Rivier is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education and approved by the New Hampshire Department of Education. History Rivier Universit ...

, where she teaches courses on American literature, gender studies and public speaking. Previously, she was a professor at Colby-Sawyer College. She is an expert on

Grace Metalious Grace Metalious (September 8, 1924 – February 25, 1964) was an American author known for her novel '' Peyton Place'', one of the best-selling works in publishing history. Early life Marie Grace DeRepentigny was born into poverty and a broken ...

. Hirsh-Dickinson is the first person to write a full-length study, ''Dirty Whites and Dark Secrets: Sex and Race in Peyton Place'', on Metalious's magnum opus, '' Peyton Place''.

Early life and education

Sally Hirsh-Dickinson was born on January 7, 1971, in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. She graduated from Centennial High School in Howard County, Maryland. Hirsh-Dickinson received her B.A from

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

and her M.A and Ph.D. in English from the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

Academic career

During Hirsh-Dickinson's time as a graduate student at the University of New Hampshire she was a teaching assistant. Afterwards, she taught at various schools, including as an adjunct professor at

Colby–Sawyer College Colby–Sawyer College is a private baccalaureate college in New London, New Hampshire. It was founded as a coeducational academy in 1837 and sits on a campus. History New London Academy A legislative charter was granted by the State of N ...

. While Hirsh-Dickinson was working on her dissertation about ''Peyton Place'', ''Dirty Whites and Dark Secrets Sex and Race in Peyton Place'', she received criticism because

is not considered to be part of the

literary fiction Literary fiction, mainstream fiction, non-genre fiction or serious fiction is a label that, in the book trade, refers to market novels that do not fit neatly into an established genre (see genre fiction); or, otherwise, refers to novels that are ch ...

genre. However, despite initial opposition in academia during the research process, her book was later acclaimed in ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to rea ...

'' in 2011. Her work on ''Peyton Place'' opened eyes in academia about the interlink of sex and racism in the novel and how the portrayal of racism in rural New England is not far from reality. She has served as a trustee for the New Hampshire Writer's Project.

Radio career

Hirsh-Dickinson joined

in 1999 as an intern. Starting in 2003 she was a producer and host for ''The Exchange'', New Hampshire Public Radio's call-in radio show that ran until 2021, and is the station's Friday night announcer.

Personal life

Hirsh-Dickinson lives in

Penacook, New Hampshire Penacook, originally called "Fisherville", is a village within the city of Concord in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. It lies along Concord's northern border with Boscawen. The name comes from the Pennacook tribe that lived in the ...

with her family. She serves as Penacook's School Board Representative to the Merrimack Valley School District.

Publications

* ''Dirty Whites and Dark Secrets: Sex and Race in Peyton Place'' (University of New Hampshire Press, 2011) . * "Becoming a Gardner" (''New Hampshire Home'' magazine, 2019)

References

Living people University of New Hampshire alumni University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni {{catimprove, date=August 2021 1971 births