- Floyd Dell
Floyd Dell (1887-1969) was an American author and critic.
Biography
Floyd Dell was born in
Barry, Illinois in 1887.As a literary critic, Dell had a national reputation for promoting modern American literature in the 1910s. Dell was a best-selling author of novels and books of stories and essays. He was a life-long poet and the author of a hit Broadway play. His influence is alive in the work of many major American writers from the first half of the 20th century.
After dropping out of high school in
Davenport, Iowa , Dell found work as a reporter on local newspapers and with the socialist magazine 'Tri-City Worker.' While in Davenport he also began publishing poetry in national magazines.In 1908 Dell moved on to
Chicago where he became editor of the "Friday Literary Review " and a leader of the Chicago Renaissance. In his position at FLR, Dell promoted the work ofTheodore Dreiser ,Sherwood Anderson ,Carl Sandburg and other Chicago writers. Relocating toNew York in 1913, Dell became managing editor of Max Eastman's radical magazine "The Masses ", and a leader of the pre-war bohemian community inGreenwich Village .Dell joined fellow Davenporters
Susan Glaspell andGeorge Cram Cook as a member of theProvincetown Players and his play "King Arthur's Socks " was the first performed by that historic theater group. Following the war, Dell turned to fiction and his first novel, thebildungsroman "Moon-Calf ", became a best seller. This was followed by several other novels withlimited success.Dell continued to publish both fiction and non-fiction until the end of his long life. He joined the WPA and U. S. Information Service in 1935 from which he retired following World War II.
He died in
Maryland nearWashington DC in 1969.References
Clayton, Douglas, "Floyd Dell: The Life and Times of an American Rebel," (Chicago: Ivan R, Dee, 1994)
External links
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Persondata
NAME=Dell, Floyd
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=novelist, poet, playwright, critic, editor.
DATE OF BIRTH=28 June ,1887
PLACE OF BIRTH=Barry, Illinois
DATE OF DEATH=1969,
PLACE OF DEATH= Maryland
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