Bernard DeVoto

Bernard DeVoto was a prominent American historian, novelist, journalist, and professor, known for his extensive work on the American West and its history, as well as his contributions to Harper's Magazine and other notable publications, including The Saturday Evening Post and The New Yorker. DeVoto's writing often explored the intersection of history, culture, and politics, drawing on his interests in Mark Twain, Herman Melville, and other notable American authors, such as Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman. His work was also influenced by his relationships with other prominent writers and intellectuals, including Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Sinclair Lewis. DeVoto's writing career spanned multiple genres, from historical nonfiction to fiction, and his work continues to be studied by scholars of American literature and American history, including those at Yale University, Harvard University, and Stanford University.

● Early Life and Education

DeVoto was born in Ogden, Utah, to a family of Mormon pioneers, and grew up in a household that valued education and literature, with influences from Shakespeare, Dickens, and other English literature giants. He attended University of Utah, where he developed an interest in history and literature, particularly in the works of Theodore Roosevelt, Frank Norris, and Jack London. DeVoto later moved to Harvard University, where he earned his master's degree in English literature, studying under notable scholars such as George Lyman Kittredge and Irving Babbitt. During his time at Harvard, DeVoto was exposed to the ideas of William James, John Dewey, and other prominent thinkers, which would later influence his own writing and intellectual pursuits, including his interests in Pragmatism and Progressivism.

● Career

DeVoto began his career as a professor of English literature at Northwestern University, where he taught courses on American literature and creative writing, and later moved to Harvard University, where he became a prominent figure in the English department, alongside other notable scholars such as Perry Miller and F.O. Matthiessen. He was also a prolific writer, contributing to various publications, including The New Republic, The Nation, and The Atlantic Monthly, and writing about topics such as politics, culture, and history, often drawing on the ideas of Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and other influential thinkers. DeVoto's work as a journalist and critic allowed him to engage with a wide range of topics, from film criticism to book reviews, and he became known for his insightful and often provocative commentary, which was influenced by his interests in Theodore Dreiser, Upton Sinclair, and other muckraker writers.

● Major Works

DeVoto's most notable works include The Year of Decision: 1846, a historical account of the Mexican-American War and its impact on the United States, which drew on the ideas of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Jackson Turner, and other notable historians. He also wrote Across the Wide Missouri, a Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the American fur trade, which explored the lives of trappers and explorers such as Kit Carson, John Jacob Astor, and Meriwether Lewis. DeVoto's fiction works, such as Mountain Time and The Crooked Mile, often explored themes of identity, community, and social justice, and were influenced by his interests in Regionalism and Realism, as well as the works of William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and other notable authors. His writing often drew on his knowledge of geography, anthropology, and sociology, and he was particularly interested in the American Southwest, the Great Plains, and other regions of the United States.

● Awards and Legacy

DeVoto's work was widely recognized and acclaimed during his lifetime, and he received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Across the Wide Missouri and the National Book Award for The Course of Empire. He was also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Philosophical Society, and his work continues to be studied by scholars of American history and American literature, including those at University of California, Berkeley, University of Chicago, and Columbia University. DeVoto's legacy extends beyond his own writing, as he played a significant role in shaping the field of American studies and influencing generations of historians, writers, and intellectuals, including Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Richard Hofstadter, and C. Vann Woodward. His work has also been recognized by organizations such as the National Park Service, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution, which have all acknowledged his contributions to the field of American history and American culture.

● Personal Life

DeVoto was married to Avis DeVoto, a writer and editor in her own right, and the couple had two children together, Gordon DeVoto and Mark DeVoto. The family lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where DeVoto was a prominent figure in the local literary and intellectual community, and he was known for his friendships with other notable writers and thinkers, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Dorothy Parker, and Reinhold Niebuhr. DeVoto was also an avid outdoorsman and loved to hike and camp in the Rocky Mountains and other regions of the American West, and he was a strong advocate for conservation and environmental protection, drawing on the ideas of John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and other notable environmentalists. Throughout his life, DeVoto remained committed to his work as a writer, historian, and intellectual, and his contributions to American literature and American history continue to be celebrated and studied by scholars and readers today, including those at University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and other institutions around the world.