Dahlberg, Edward, 1900-1977

Edward Dahlberg was an American poet, novelist, and critic.

From the description of Edward Dahlberg fonds. [1930]. (University of Victoria Libraries). WorldCat record id: 667848419

American novelist, essayist, autobiographer, literary critic, and poet.

From the description of Edward Dahlberg papers, circa 1925-1980. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 754864299

Biography

Edward Dahlberg, American writer of fiction, poetry, and criticism, was born in Boston in 1900. After a tumultuous early childhood, he was placed by his mother in the Jewish Orphan Asylum in Cleveland, where he remained until 1917. Dahlberg then joined the army and later worked as a day laborer while wandering the American West. In 1921, he enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in philosophy and anthropology, before transferring to Columbia University to complete his degree.

Dahlberg moved to Europe in 1926 and became part of the expatriate group of American writers living in Paris. In 1929, he published his first novel, Bottom Dogs, based on his childhood experiences at the orphanage and his travels in the American West. After the publication of Bottom Dogs, Dahlberg returned to the United States and wrote a number of other works that reflected his early life, including From Flushing to Calvary (1932) and Those Who Perish (1934).

For a number of years, Dahlberg devoted himself to literary study. His extensive readings of the works of Dante, Shakespeare, Thoreau, and many others, resulted in a writing style quite different from the social realism that characterized his earlier writing. Dahlberg's new style, one rich in biblical and classical allusions, first appeared in Do These Bones Live (1941), a collection of essays on American Literature.

During most of the 1940s and 1950s, Dahlberg wrote little, but during the 1960s and 1970s, he became quite prolific and further refined his unique style through the publication of poetry, autobiographical works, fiction, and criticism. Dahlberg died in Santa Barbara, California in 1977.

From the guide to the Edward Dahlberg Papers, Bulk, 1960-1977, Circa 1960-1977, (Department of Special Collections and University Archives)