Alfred Kern
Encyclopedia
Alfred Kern was an American
novelist and professor
.
He served as the Frederick F. Seely Professor of English at Allegheny College
in Meadville
, Pennsylvania
, from the 1950s until his retirement in the mid-1980s.
During the 1979–1980 academic year, Kern was Distinguished Visiting Professor of English at the United States Air Force Academy
in Colorado Springs, Colorado
, which inspired several articles relating the arts to the military. These were published in the USAF journals.
During the 1980s, he also experimented with writing poetry using computers with an Allegheny College colleague, James Sheridan. According to a family member, he lived in Pittsburgh after retiring from Allegheny for about 10 years (apx 1987–1996), where he is still remembered (see "Sunday Forum: The Greed Trap" by Tom O'Boyle, 11-16-2008 Pittsburgh Post Gazette).
Born Alfred Cohen August 8, 1924, in Alliance, Ohio
, he legally changed his name in 1946. During World War II
he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces (1942–46) and graduated from Allegheny College (1948) and New York University
(1954). He died June 2, 2009 in Wilmington, North Carolina(http://www.legacy.com/NYTimes/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=128033028).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist and professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
.
He served as the Frederick F. Seely Professor of English at Allegheny College
Allegheny College
Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the town of Meadville. Founded in 1815, the college has about 2,100 undergraduate students.-Early history:...
in Meadville
Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, from the 1950s until his retirement in the mid-1980s.
During the 1979–1980 academic year, Kern was Distinguished Visiting Professor of English at the United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, which inspired several articles relating the arts to the military. These were published in the USAF journals.
During the 1980s, he also experimented with writing poetry using computers with an Allegheny College colleague, James Sheridan. According to a family member, he lived in Pittsburgh after retiring from Allegheny for about 10 years (apx 1987–1996), where he is still remembered (see "Sunday Forum: The Greed Trap" by Tom O'Boyle, 11-16-2008 Pittsburgh Post Gazette).
Born Alfred Cohen August 8, 1924, in Alliance, Ohio
Alliance, Ohio
Alliance is a city in Stark and Mahoning counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 22,322 at the 2010 census. Alliance's nickname is "The Carnation City", and the city is home to the University of Mount Union....
, he legally changed his name in 1946. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces (1942–46) and graduated from Allegheny College (1948) and New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
(1954). He died June 2, 2009 in Wilmington, North Carolina(http://www.legacy.com/NYTimes/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=128033028).
Books
- The Width of WatersThe Width of WatersThe Width of Waters is a novel by the American writer Alfred Kern.The story is set in 1953 in Buchanan, Pennsylvania...
, novel (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1959). - Made in U.S.A.Made in U.S.A. (novel)Made in U.S.A. is a novel by the American writer Alfred Kern.The story is set in the 1960s in Braden, Pennsylvania, a fictional mill town north of Pittsburgh. Protagonist Steve Hamner is a successful trade unionist for the fictional United Ore and Metal Workers, AFL-CIO...
, novel (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1966). - The Trial of Martin RossThe Trial of Martin RossThe Trial of Martin Ross is a novel by the American writer Alfred Kern.It is set in the late 1960s over Thanksgiving weekend in Buchanan, Pennsylvania . Martin Ross and his wife Janet celebrate the holiday alone and for the first time without their three children, now grown...
, novel (New York: W.W. Norton, 1971).
Articles and papers
- "Hang the Enola Gay", published in War, Literature, & the Arts: An International Journal of the Humanities Vol. 7, No. 1 [Spring/Summer 1995], USAF Academy. Anthologized in Understanding the literature of World War II by James H. Meredith, Greenwodd Publishing Group, 1999, ISBN 0313304173, 9780313394170
- "Waiting for Euripides", published in Journal of Professional Military Ethics, USAF Academy, April 1980. Anthologized in Military Ethics: Reflections on Principles, edited by Maham M. Wakin, James Kempf. DIANE Publishing, 1994, ISBN 0788113119, 9780788113116
- "Humanities at the Hanoi Hilton",War, Literature, & the Arts: An International Journal of the Humanities, USAF Academy. Vol 10, No. 2 Fall/Winter 1998 (see www.wlajournal.com/backissues.htm)
- "Barcelona", A Poem, War, Literature, & the Arts: An International Journal of the Humanities, USAF Academy. Vol 1, No 2 1989–1990
- From "Vows and Infidelities", fiction, War, Literature, & the Arts: An International Journal of the Humanities, USAF Academy. Vol 7, No. 2 Fall/Winter 1995
- "About Literary Wars" War, Literature, & the Arts: An International Journal of the Humanities, USAF Academy. Vol 16, Nos.1&2 2005 Double Issue
- Basic Writing: The Student as Programmer, Paper presented at the 1986 ADE Summer Seminar at the USAF Academy. Referenced by Robert E. Cummings in Coding with power: Toward a rhetoric of computer coding and composition, published in Computers and Composition Volume 23, issue 4 2006 pp 430–443
- "GOTO Poetry", published in Perspectives in Computing #3, pp 44–52 1983. Cited in The Quest for Meaning by Louis Marinoff (p. 74), in Mind Versus Computer: Were Dreyfus and Winograd Right? By Matja Gams, Marcin Paprzycki, Xindong Wu, Penn State Press, 1997 ISBN 4274901815, 9784274901812
Sources
- Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2002. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000053569.