Richard H. Cracroft
Encyclopedia
Richard H. Cracroft is an emeritus professor of English at Brigham Young University
(BYU). He held the title of Nan Osmond Grass Professor in English at that university. Cracroft has been both head of BYU's English department and dean of the College of Humanities. He directed BYU's American Studies :Program (1989-1994) He directed the Center for the Study of Christian Values in Literature and edited Literature and Belief.
As a young man Cracroft served an LDS mission in the Swiss-Austrian mission.
Cracroft received his bachelors degree in English from the University of Utah in 1961; an M.A. in English in 1963. He then went on to receive his Ph.D. from the niversity of Wisconsin–Madison] in 1970 (1969).
Along with Neal Lambert, Cracroft was the editor of an anthology of Latter-day Saint literature entitled A Believing People. He also has been the president of the Association for Mormon Letters
, receiving Life-Long Membership; in 2011 he received the Petitt-Smithe Award for Outstanding Contributions to Mormon Letters. Besides writing a large number of literary essays, reviews,Cracroft wrote a short story entitled That My Soul Might See. He also wrote and edited 13 books, three of them collections of 20th century literary biographies of Western Amereican authors, and sponsored several conferences about literature and belief, among them,'"Spiritual Frontiers: Beliefs and Values in the Literary West as well as a work on Washington Irving
's Western-themed writing. Cracroft has also written articles on European literary views of the American west in the 19th century.
Cracroft is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), in which he has served as a bishop, stake president of the Provo East Stake and mission president
, among other callings. He was president of the Switzerland
Zurich
Mission
from 1986-1989.
Cracroft and his wife, the former Janice Alger, are the parents of three children.
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
(BYU). He held the title of Nan Osmond Grass Professor in English at that university. Cracroft has been both head of BYU's English department and dean of the College of Humanities. He directed BYU's American Studies :Program (1989-1994) He directed the Center for the Study of Christian Values in Literature and edited Literature and Belief.
As a young man Cracroft served an LDS mission in the Swiss-Austrian mission.
Cracroft received his bachelors degree in English from the University of Utah in 1961; an M.A. in English in 1963. He then went on to receive his Ph.D. from the niversity of Wisconsin–Madison] in 1970 (1969).
Along with Neal Lambert, Cracroft was the editor of an anthology of Latter-day Saint literature entitled A Believing People. He also has been the president of the Association for Mormon Letters
Association for Mormon Letters
The Association for Mormon Letters is a nonprofit founded in 1976 to promote quality writing "by, for, and about Mormons." The broadness of this definition of Mormon literature has led the AML to focus on a wide variety of work that has sometimes been neglected in the Mormon community...
, receiving Life-Long Membership; in 2011 he received the Petitt-Smithe Award for Outstanding Contributions to Mormon Letters. Besides writing a large number of literary essays, reviews,Cracroft wrote a short story entitled That My Soul Might See. He also wrote and edited 13 books, three of them collections of 20th century literary biographies of Western Amereican authors, and sponsored several conferences about literature and belief, among them,'"Spiritual Frontiers: Beliefs and Values in the Literary West as well as a work on Washington Irving
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
's Western-themed writing. Cracroft has also written articles on European literary views of the American west in the 19th century.
Cracroft is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), in which he has served as a bishop, stake president of the Provo East Stake and mission president
Mission president
Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . A mission president presides over a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission...
, among other callings. He was president of the Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
Mission
Mission (LDS Church)
A mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not Mormon missionaries live or proselytize in the area...
from 1986-1989.
Cracroft and his wife, the former Janice Alger, are the parents of three children.