Gloria Jahoda (October 6, 1926 – January 13, 1980) was an American author of fiction and non-fiction, including literature for young readers. She is best known for her book about the Hillsborough River, '' River of the Golden Ibis'' and her collection of essays ''The Other Florida'' about parts of north-central Florida that had largely been neglected up until the 1960s, or at least not written about by historians. Her essays include a description of Dr.

John Gorrie John B. Gorrie (October 3, 1803 – June 29, 1855) was a Nevisian-born American physician and scientist, credited as the inventor of mechanical refrigeration. Early life Born on the Island of Nevis in the Leeward Islands of the West Indies t ...

's quest to make ice in the

Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia (U. ...

, the story of Natural Bridge where the Confederate Army had their final victory, the inspiration composer

Frederick Delius Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted atte ...

received from Black native music in Florida as well as various local fishermen, turpentine tappers, preachers, and other characters who lived in the rural area. Jahoda also included hundreds of descriptions of

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

. Jahoda is also the author of ''Annie, Delilah's Mountain'' (novels) ''Trail of Tears'' and ''The Road to Samarkand: Frederick Delius and His Music''. Her ''River of the Golden Ibis'', part of the

Rivers of America Series The Rivers of America Series is a landmark series of books on American rivers, for the most part written by literary figures rather than historians. The series spanned three publishers and thirty-seven years. History The Rivers of America Series ...

, was voted "Best History Book" in 1973 by the Society of Midland Authors.

Biography

Jahoda was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

with a BA in English and an MS in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

. She came to Florida in 1963 when her husband, Gerald Jahoda, was appointed professor of Library Science at the

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

. In 1973, Jahoda was honored by the Florida Senate and was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the

University of West Florida The University of West Florida (West Florida or UWF) is a public university in Pensacola, Florida. Established in 1963 as part of the State University System of Florida, the university sits on the third largest campus in the State University Sy ...

for her services to Floridian culture and the

history of Florida The history of Florida can be traced to when the first Native Americans began to inhabit the peninsula as early as 14,000 years ago. They left behind artifacts and archeological evidence. Florida's written history Recorded history or writt ...

as a writer and advocate.

Works

;Fiction *''Annie'' -

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

;

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

; 1960 *''Delilah's Mountain'' - Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1963 ' The Loving Maid' ...Chatto and Windus (London) 1962. Set in Norfolk, England, UK. ;Non-fiction *''The Road to Samarkand: Frederick Delius and His Music'' -

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

;

New York, NY 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 ...

; 1969 *''The Other Florida'' - Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, NY, 1967 *''River of the Golden Ibis'' -

Holt, Rinehart & Winston Holt McDougal is an American publishing company, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that specializes in textbooks for use in high schools. The Holt name is derived from that of U.S. publisher Henry Holt (1840–1926), co-founder of the e ...

, New York, 1973 (Part of the

) *''The Trail of Tears The Story of the American Indian Removals 1813-1855 - Holt, Rhinehart & Winston, New York, 1975 *''Florida: A Bicentennial History'' - W. W. Norton & Company; New York; 1976

References

Sources

*''The Other Florida'' (jacket) *''River of the Golden Ibis'' (Jacket) *Search on 24 August 2008 of ABE.co

External links

The Gloria Jahoda Collection at the Warren D. Allen Music Library at Florida State University

Finding Aid for the Gloria Jahoda Collection at Strozier Library at Florida State University {{DEFAULTSORT:Jahoda, Gloria 1926 births 1980 deaths Florida State University faculty 20th-century American women writers American women academics