Paul Horgan
Encyclopedia
Paul Horgan was an American
author
of fiction and non-fiction, most of which was set in the Southwestern United States
. He was the recipient of two Pulitzer prize
s in History. "The New York Times Review of Books said of him, in 1989: "With the exception of Wallace Stegner
, no living American has so distinguished himself in both fiction and history."
Born in Buffalo, New York
, in 1903, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico
in 1915.
He later attended New Mexico Military Institute
in Roswell
where he formed a lifelong friendship with fellow classmate and future artist Peter Hurd
. He later served as the school's librarian for a number of years.
Horgan enrolled in the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York in 1923. He learned that the Russian tenor Vladimir Rosing
was starting an opera department at the school. Horgan had loved Rosing's records and he wanted to be part of this new venture. He noticed no one had been assigned to design the sets, and although he had never done set design he somehow convinced Rosing to give him a chance to prove himself. The fledgling company evolved within a three years into a professional organization: the American Opera Company
.
Horgan first came to prominence when he won the Harper Prize in 1933 for The Fault of Angels, one of his books not set in the Southwest, but drawn instead from his experiences in Rochester. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship
in 1947. He twice won the Pulitzer Prize
for History, first in 1955 with Great River: The Rio Grande in North American History (Wesleyan University Press
) (also Bancroft Prize
for History) and then once again in 1976 with Lamy of Santa Fe (Wesleyan University Press). Both these books broke new ground in New Mexican history. Great River is considered a classic in the historical literature of the American southwest. It is especially noteworthy as the first attempt to describe, for a general audience, the pueblo culture of the Anasazi, as well as the colonial Spanish experience in New Mexico. Horgan's description of the Anglo-Americans who entered and eventually conquered Texas and New Mexico is also regarded as one of the most accurate narratives of southwestern history during this time period.
Horgan served as president of the American Catholic Historical Association, an association based at The Catholic University of America
. In 1960 Robert Franklin Gish exalted Horgan's contributions in the monograph Paul Horgan: Yankee Plainsman and a few other works.
Horgan had a long academic relationship with Wesleyan University
in Middletown, Connecticut
. He served there as a Fellow, Center for Advanced Studies (now the Center for Humanities), 1959-1960, 1961-1962, 1967-1968, 1968-1969; Director, CAS, 1962-1967; adjunct professor of English, 1961-1971; Professor Emeritus and permanent author-in-residence, 1971-1995. The author Charles Barber
served as a personal assistant to Horgan when Barber was in college. Horgan died in 1995. He published 40 books and received 19 honorary degrees from universities in the United States.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of fiction and non-fiction, most of which was set in the Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
. He was the recipient of two Pulitzer prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
s in History. "The New York Times Review of Books said of him, in 1989: "With the exception of Wallace Stegner
Wallace Stegner
Wallace Earle Stegner was an American historian, novelist, short story writer, and environmentalist, often called "The Dean of Western Writers"...
, no living American has so distinguished himself in both fiction and history."
Born in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, in 1903, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
in 1915.
He later attended New Mexico Military Institute
New Mexico Military Institute
New Mexico Military Institute is a state-supported educational institution. NMMI is located in Roswell, New Mexico, United States. It is sometimes referred to as the West Point of the West and it is the only state-supported military college located in the western United States. NMMI includes a...
in Roswell
Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County in the southeastern quarter of the state of New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,366 at the 2010 census. It is a center for irrigation farming, dairying, ranching, manufacturing, distribution, and petroleum production. It is also...
where he formed a lifelong friendship with fellow classmate and future artist Peter Hurd
Peter Hurd
Peter Hurd was an American artist, born Harold Hurd, Jr., in Roswell, New Mexico.Nicknamed "Pete" by his parents, he later legally changed his name to Peter.-Life:...
. He later served as the school's librarian for a number of years.
Horgan enrolled in the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York in 1923. He learned that the Russian tenor Vladimir Rosing
Vladimir Rosing
Vladimir Sergeyevich Rosing , aka Val Rosing, was a Russian-born operatic tenor and stage director who spent most of his professional career in England and the United States...
was starting an opera department at the school. Horgan had loved Rosing's records and he wanted to be part of this new venture. He noticed no one had been assigned to design the sets, and although he had never done set design he somehow convinced Rosing to give him a chance to prove himself. The fledgling company evolved within a three years into a professional organization: the American Opera Company
American Opera Company
The American Opera Company was the name of four different opera companies active in the United States. The first company was a short-lived opera company founded in New York City in February, 1886 that lasted only one season...
.
Horgan first came to prominence when he won the Harper Prize in 1933 for The Fault of Angels, one of his books not set in the Southwest, but drawn instead from his experiences in Rochester. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 1947. He twice won the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for History, first in 1955 with Great River: The Rio Grande in North American History (Wesleyan University Press
Wesleyan University Press
Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The Press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist...
) (also Bancroft Prize
Bancroft Prize
The Bancroft Prize is awarded each year by the trustees of Columbia University for books about diplomacy or the history of the Americas. It was established in 1948 by a bequest from Frederic Bancroft...
for History) and then once again in 1976 with Lamy of Santa Fe (Wesleyan University Press). Both these books broke new ground in New Mexican history. Great River is considered a classic in the historical literature of the American southwest. It is especially noteworthy as the first attempt to describe, for a general audience, the pueblo culture of the Anasazi, as well as the colonial Spanish experience in New Mexico. Horgan's description of the Anglo-Americans who entered and eventually conquered Texas and New Mexico is also regarded as one of the most accurate narratives of southwestern history during this time period.
Horgan served as president of the American Catholic Historical Association, an association based at The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
. In 1960 Robert Franklin Gish exalted Horgan's contributions in the monograph Paul Horgan: Yankee Plainsman and a few other works.
Horgan had a long academic relationship with Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
in Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
. He served there as a Fellow, Center for Advanced Studies (now the Center for Humanities), 1959-1960, 1961-1962, 1967-1968, 1968-1969; Director, CAS, 1962-1967; adjunct professor of English, 1961-1971; Professor Emeritus and permanent author-in-residence, 1971-1995. The author Charles Barber
Charles Barber (author)
Charles Barber is an author who writes frequently about mental health and psychiatry.-Education and Influences:Barber attended Harvard University, where he studied with and was greatly influenced by the psychiatrist and writer Robert Coles...
served as a personal assistant to Horgan when Barber was in college. Horgan died in 1995. He published 40 books and received 19 honorary degrees from universities in the United States.
Fiction
- No Quarter Given
- The Habit of Empire
- A Lamp on the Plains
- Give Me Possession
- Memories of the Future
- The Return of the Weed
- Figures in a Landscape
- The Devil in the Desert
- One Red Rose for Christmas
- The Saintmaker's Christmas Eve
- To The Mountains
- Humble Powers
- Toby and the Nighttime
- The Peach Stone: Stories from Four Decades
- Main Line West, 1936
- Far from Cibola, 1936
- The Common Heart, 1942
- A Distant TrumpetA Distant TrumpetA Distant Trumpet is a 1964 American Western film, the last directed by Raoul Walsh. It stars Troy Donahue, Suzanne Pleshette and Diane McBain....
, 1951 - Things as They Are, 1951
- Everything to Live For, 1968
- Whitewater, 1969
- The Thin Mountain Air, 1977
Nonfiction
- Great River: the Rio Grande in North American History, 1954
- Men of Arms
- From the Royal City
- New Mexico's Own Chronicle (with Maurice Garland Fulton)
- The Centuries of Santa Fe
- Rome Eternal
- Citizen of New Salem, 1961
- Conquistadors in North American History
- Peter Hurd: A Portrait Sketch from Life
- Songs After Lincoln
- The Heroic Triad, 1954
- Approaches to Writing
- Encounters with Stravinsky / A Personal Record
- Josiah Gregg And His Vision Of The Early West, 1979
- Lamy of Santa Fe