Richard Benson Sewall (11 February 1908 – 16 April 2003) was a professor of English at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, and author of the influential works ''The Life of

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

'' and ''The Vision of Tragedy''. He was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

to a family with a long Congregational tradition: his father, Reverend Charles G. Sewall, was the thirteenth son in an unbroken chain of Congregational ministers. His mother, Kate Strong, was the daughter of Reverend

Augustus Hopkins Strong Augustus Hopkins Strong (3 August 1836 – 29 November 1921) was a Baptist minister and theologian who lived in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His most influential book, ''Systematic Theology'', proved to be a m ...

, president of the Rochester Theological Seminary. Sewall attended Phillips Exeter Academy, graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

and received his PhD from Yale in 1933. He taught initially at

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...

, then at Yale for 42 years, from 1934 to 1976. For much of that period he taught "English 61", a course on

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

that became so popular it was held in Yale's largest lecture hall. He also taught, from 1941, "Daily Themes", a writing class that was a training ground for many authors, including

William F. Buckley William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American public intellectual, conservative author and political commentator. In 1955, he founded ''National Review'', the magazine that stim ...

Calvin Trillin Calvin Marshall Trillin (born 5 December 1935) is an American journalist, humorist, food writer, poet, memoirist and novelist. He is a winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor (2012) and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts ...

, and

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for '' The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the title of associate editor. While a young reporter for ''The Washingt ...

. He was popular with both the students he taught and those he dealt with in his various administrative roles, which included stints as a member of the Committee on Manners and Morals and as first master of

Ezra Stiles College Ezra Stiles College is one of the fourteen residential colleges at Yale University, built in 1961 and designed by Eero Saarinen. It is often simply called "Stiles," despite an early-1990s crusade by then-master Traugott Lawler to preserve the us ...

. During the

Vietnam Era Vietnam Era is a term used by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to classify veterans of the Vietnam War. Various departments of federal, state and local governments as well as private employers often give Vietnam Era veterans s ...

he supported the activities of peace activists on campus, making

William Sloane Coffin William Sloane Coffin Jr. (June 1, 1924 – April 12, 2006) was an American Christian clergyman and long-time peace activist. He was ordained in the Presbyterian Church, and later received ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ. In h ...

and

Allard Lowenstein Allard Kenneth Lowenstein (January 16, 1929 – March 14, 1980)Lowenstein's gravestone, Arlington National Cemeteryphoto onlineon the cemetery's official website. Accessed online 28 October 2006.New Haven Black Panther trials In 1969-1971 there was a series of criminal prosecutions in New Haven, Connecticut, against various members and associates of the Black Panther Party. The charges ranged from criminal conspiracy to first-degree murder. All charges stemmed from t ...

by persuading Yale President

Kingman Brewster Kingman Brewster Jr. (June 17, 1919 – November 8, 1988) was an American educator, academic and diplomat. He served as the 17th President of Yale University and as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Early life Brewster was born in ...

to take a conciliatory rather than oppositional approach to campus demonstrations. One of Yale's awards named for him, the Harwood F. Byrnes/Richard B. Sewall Teaching Prize, is presented each year to the professor who "has given the most time, energy and effective effort" to educating undergraduates. ''The Life of Emily Dickinson'', published in 1974, won the U.S.

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

in Biography."National Book Awards – 1975."
''

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...

''. Retrieved March 17, 2012. It dispelled many myths about the poet, especially her depiction as the "Nun of Amherst," a neurotic lovelorn woman too fragile for the world who turned to poetry as solace for an unhappy life. However, as Sewall was named the executor of Millicent Todd's estate and worked significantly from her papers, the biography has been criticized by Dickinson biographer Lyndall Gordon as being too influenced by the image of Dickinson created by Mabel Loomis and Millicent Todd, supposedly passing along a skewed perspective of Emily and Susan Dickinson.Gordon, Lyndall
"A Bomb in her Bosom: Emily Dickinson's Secret Life."
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' (February 12, 2010).

Notes

References

External links

Richard Benson Sewall papers (MS 1413).
Manuscripts and Archives,

Yale University Library The Yale University Library is the library system of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Originating in 1701 with the gift of several dozen books to a new "Collegiate School," the library's collection now contains approximately 14.9 mill ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sewall, Richard B. 1908 births 2003 deaths National Book Award winners Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Yale University alumni Yale University faculty American academics of English literature

Further reading

Notes

References

External links