Mark Van Doren (June 13, 1894 – December 10, 1972) was an American poet, writer and critic. He was a scholar and a professor of English at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thinkers including

Thomas Merton Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. On May 26, 1949, he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood and giv ...

Robert Lax Robert Lax (November 30, 1915 – September 26, 2000) was an American poet, known in particular for his association with Trappist monk and writer Thomas Merton. Another friend of his youth was the painter Ad Reinhardt. After a long period of dri ...

John Berryman John Allyn McAlpin Berryman (born John Allyn Smith, Jr.; October 25, 1914 – January 7, 1972) was an American poet and scholar. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and is considered a key figure in th ...

Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), defected from the Soviet underground (1938), ...

, and

Beat Generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatio ...

writers such as

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

and

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian a ...

. He was

literary editor A literary editor is an editor in a newspaper, magazine or similar publication who deals with aspects concerning literature and books, especially reviews.

of ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'', 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 ...

(1924–1928), and its film critic, 1935 to 1938. He won the 1940

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first presented in 1922, and is given for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author, published ...

for ''Collected Poems 1922–1938''. Amongst his other notable works, many published in ''

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. ' ...

'',"History"
the ''Kenyon Review'' Web site, accessed January 26, 2007 include a collaboration with brother

Carl Van Doren Carl Clinton Van Doren (September 10, 1885 – July 18, 1950) was an American critic and biographer. He was the brother of critic and teacher Mark Van Doren and the uncle of Charles Van Doren. He won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autob ...

, ''American and British Literature since 1890'' (1939); critical studies, ''The Poetry of John Dryden'' (1920), ''Shakespeare'' (1939), ''The Noble Voice'' (1945) and ''Nathaniel Hawthorne'' (1949); collections of poems including ''Jonathan Gentry'' (1931); stories; and the verse play ''The Last Days of Lincoln'' (1959).

Early life and education

Van Doren was born in

Vermilion County, Illinois Vermilion County is a County (United States), county in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Illinois, between the Indiana border and Champaign County, Illinois, Champaign County. It was established in 1826 and was the 45th of Illinois' 102 cou ...

, the fourth of five sons of the county's doctor, Charles Lucius Van Doren, of remote Dutch ancestry, and wife Eudora Ann Butz. He was raised on his family's farm in eastern Illinois, before his father decided to move to the neighboring town of

Urbana __NOTOC__ Urbana can refer to: Places Italy *Urbana, Italy United States *Urbana, Illinois **Urbana (conference), a Christian conference formerly held in Urbana, Illinois *Urbana, Indiana * Urbana, Iowa *Urbana, Kansas * Urbana, Maryland *Urbana, ...

, to be closer to good schools. He was the younger brother of the academic and biographer

, starting with whom all five brothers attended the local elementary school and high school. Mark Van Doren eventually studied at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

in Urbana,Mark Van Doren: Collected and New Poems

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

where he earned a B.A. in 1914. In 1920, he earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from what became the

Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (also known as GSAS) is the graduate school of Columbia University. Founded in 1880, GSAS is responsible for most of Columbia's graduate degree programs in the humanities, social sciences, and natural scie ...

, while also a member of the

Boar's Head Society The Boar's Head Society (1910 – 1970s) was a student ''conversazione society'' devoted to poetry at Columbia University. It was an "adjunct to Columbia College's Philolexian Society... The purpose of their new society was entirely creative: r ...

, a student society at the university devoted to poetry.

Career

Van Doren joined the

faculty in 1920, having been preceded by his brother Carl. Mark Van Doren went on to become one of Columbia's greatest teachers and a "legendary classroom presence"; he became a full professor in 1942, and taught English until 1959, at which point he became

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

until his death in 1972. His students at Columbia included the poets and writers

Louis Simpson Louis Aston Marantz Simpson (March 27, 1923 – September 14, 2012) was an American poet born in Jamaica. He won the 1964 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his work ''At the End of the Open Road''. Life and career Simpson was born in Jamaica ...

Richard Howard Richard Joseph Howard (October 13, 1929 – March 31, 2022; adopted as Richard Joseph Orwitz) was an American poet, literary critic, essayist, teacher, and translator. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was a graduate of Columbia University, w ...

Lionel Trilling Lionel Mordecai Trilling (July 4, 1905 – November 5, 1975) was an American literary critic, short story writer, essayist, and teacher. He was one of the leading U.S. critics of the 20th century who analyzed the contemporary cultural, social, ...

(later a colleague),

, Anthony Robinson, as well as the

Japanologist Japanese studies (Japanese: ) or Japan studies (sometimes Japanology in Europe), is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese ...

and interpreter of

Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanes ...

Donald Keene Donald Lawrence Keene (June 18, 1922 – February 24, 2019) was an American-born Japanese scholar, historian, teacher, writer and translator of Japanese literature. Keene was University Professor emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japan ...

, author and activist

, writer and

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

monk

, Walter B. Pitkin Jr. and poet-critic

John Hollander John Hollander (October 28, 1929 – August 17, 2013) was an American poet and literary critic. At the time of his death, he was Sterling Professor Emeritus of English at Yale University, having previously taught at Connecticut College, Hunter C ...

. He twice served on the staff of ''

'' from 1924–1928 and again from 1935–1938. He was a member of the

Society for the Prevention of World War III The Society for the Prevention of World War III was an organization set up in the U.S. in 1944 during World War II that advocated a harsh peace for Germany in order to completely remove Germany as a future military threat. The Organization was a sp ...

. In 1940, he was awarded the

for ''Collected Poems 1922–1938''. This came only a year after his elder brother Carl had won the

Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography The Pulitzer Prize for Biography is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished biography, autobiography or memoir by an American author o ...

for ''Benjamin Franklin''. Van Doren helped Ginsberg avoid jail time in June 1949 by testifying on his behalf when Ginsberg was arrested as an accessory to crimes carried out by

Herbert Huncke Herbert Edwin Huncke (January 9, 1915 – August 8, 1996) was an American writer and poet, and an active participant in a number of emerging cultural, social and aesthetic movements of the 20th century in America. He was a member of the Beat ...

and others, and was an important influence on Merton, both in Merton's conversion to Catholicism and Merton's poetry. He was a strong advocate of

liberal education A liberal education is a system or course of education suitable for the cultivation of a free (Latin: ''liber'') human being. It is based on the medieval concept of the liberal arts or, more commonly now, the liberalism of the Age of Enlightenment ...

, and wrote the book, ''Liberal Education'' (1943), which helped promote the influential "

great books A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the Cl ...

" movement. Starting in 1941, he also did ''Invitation to Learning'', a

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

show, where as one of the experts he discussed great literature. He was made a Fellow in American Letters of the Library of Congress and also remained president of the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

.Mark Van Doren Profile

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

Personal life

In 1922 Mark Van Doren married Dorothy Graffe, novelist and writer of the memoir ''The Professor and I'' (1959), whom he had earlier met at ''The Nation''. His successful book, ''Anthology of World Poetry'', enabled the couple to buy a house on

Bleecker Street Bleecker Street is an east–west street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightclub district. The street connects a neighborhood today popular for music venues and comedy, but which was ...

in February 1929, before markets collapsed. Their son,

Charles Van Doren Charles Lincoln Van Doren (February 12, 1926 – April 9, 2019) was an American writer and editor who was involved in a television quiz show scandal in the 1950s. In 1959 he testified before the U.S. Congress that he had been given the corr ...

(February 12, 1926 - April 9, 2019), briefly achieved renown as the winner of the rigged game show '' Twenty-One''. In the film ''

Quiz Show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...

'' (1994), Mark Van Doren was played by

Paul Scofield David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was a British actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the US Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Awards, Academy Award, Emmy Award, Emmy, and Tony Award, Tony for his ...

, who earned an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category for his performance. Their second son is John Van Doren who also lives in

Cornwall, Connecticut Cornwall is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,567 at the 2020 census. History The town of Cornwall, Connecticut, is named after the county of Cornwall, England. The town was incorporated in 1740, near ...

, at the farmstead where their father did most of his writing between academic years, and where he moved after retirement.Mark Van Doren and Shakespeare
columbia.edu. Mark Van Doren died on December 10, 1972, in

Torrington, Connecticut Torrington is the most populated municipality and only city in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut and the Northwest Hills (Connecticut), Northwest Hills region. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the ...

, aged 78, two days after undergoing surgery for circulatory problems at the Charlotte Hungerford Hospital. He was interred at Cornwall Hollow Cemetery in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Legacy

His correspondence with

Allen Tate John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979), known professionally as Allen Tate, was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and poet laureate from 1943 to 1944. Life Early years Tate was born near Winchester, ...

is at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. Since 1962, students of Columbia College have honored a great teacher at the school each year with the "Mark Van Doren Award".

Bibliography

Poetry: * ''Spring Thunder'' (1924) * ''An Anthology of World Poetry'' (1928) * ''Jonathan Gentry'' (1931), (Editor) * ''The Oxford Book of American Prose'', (

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

), (1932) * ''Winter Diary'' (1935) * ''Collected Poems 1922–1938'' (1939), Winner of the 1940

* ''The Mayfield Deer'' (1941) * The Country Year (1946) William Sloane Associates, New York * ''Selected poems'' ( Holt), (1954) * ''The Last Days of Lincoln, a play in six scenes'' (1959), a Verse Play * ''Our Lady Peace'' * ''The Story-Teller'' (N/A) * ''Collected and New Poems 1924–1963'' (1963) * * That Shining Place: New Poems (1969) Hall and Wang Novels: * ''The Transients'' (1935) * ''Windless Cabins'' (1940) * ''Tilda'' (1943) Short story collection * ''Nobody Say a Word'' (1954) Nonfiction: * ''Henry David Thoreau: A Critical Study'' (1916) * ''The Poetry of John Dryden'' (1920) * ''Introduction to

Bartram's Travels Bartram's ''Travels'' is the short title of naturalist William Bartram's book describing his travels in the American South and encounters with American Indians between 1773 and 1777. The book was published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1791 b ...

'' (1928) * ''An Autobiography of America'', (A. & C. Boni), )1929) * ''American poets, 1630-1930'' (Little, Brown), (1932) * ''American and British Literature Since 1890'' (1939), with Carl Van Doren * ''Shakespeare'' (1939) * ''The Liberal Education'' (1943) * ''The night of the summer solstice: & other stories of the Russian war'', (

Henry Holt and Company Henry Holt and Company is an American book-publishing company based in New York City. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt. Currently, the company publishes in the fields ...

), (1943) * ''The Noble Voice'' (1946) * ''Nathaniel Hawthorne'' (1949) * ''Introduction to Poetry'' (1951) * ''The Autobiography Of Mark Van Doren'' (1958) * ''The Happy Critic'' (1961) * * * * * Discography:
''Mark Van Doren Reads from His Collected and New Poems''
(

Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...

, 1967)

Quotes

* "The literature of the world has exerted its power by being translated." The Art, Craft, Modes, and Efficacy of Literary Translation Discussed Through the Ages

The University of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD or UT Dallas) is a public research university in Richardson, Texas. It is one of the largest public universities in the Dallas area and the northernmost institution of the University of Texas system. It wa ...

- School of Arts & Humanities.

References

External links

Mark Van Doren, Biography and Poems
at

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Rut ...

Mark Van Doren and Shakespeare
''Columbia College Today'', September 2005 (retrieved May 24, 2009)
Mark Van Doren & American classicism.
Free Library *
Finding aid to William F. Claire collection on Mark van Doren at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.Finding aid to Robert N. Caldwell Correspondence with Mark van Doren at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Doren, Mark 1894 births 1972 deaths American male poets American autobiographers American film critics American literary editors American people of Dutch descent Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Columbia University faculty American academics of English literature People from Vermilion County, Illinois Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winners The Nation (U.S. magazine) people University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni

Mark Van Doren Mark Van Doren (June 13, 1894 – December 10, 1972) was an American poet, writer and critic. He was a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thin ...

20th-century American poets 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Writers from Illinois Presidents of the American Academy of Arts and Letters