William Alfred
William Alfred (August 16, 1922 – May 20, 1999) was an American playwright, poet, and professor of English literature at Harvard University.[1]
Biography
Alfred was born into an Irish family in Brooklyn, New York.[2] His father was a bricklayer and his mother was a telephone operator.[3] He graduated from St. Francis Preparatory School in 1940.[2]
Alfred was drafted in 1943, two years into his undergraduate studies at Brooklyn College.[2] He served in the Army tank corps and quartermaster's corps[3] in World War II for four years.[4] While in the army, he was taught Bulgarian at a language school and then stationed in the South Pacific, where he wrote poems for American Poet.[2] Alfred completed his B.A. from Brooklyn College in 1948 with the help of the G.I. Bill.[4][2]
He went on to Harvard, where he studied the literature of Medieval England, receiving his A.M. and Ph.D. in English in 1949 and 1954 respectively.[5][4] While at Harvard, Alfred took a creative writing course under Archibald MacLeish. There he wrote his play, Agamemnon.[6]
Alfred's plays were heavily inspired by his Irish American roots. The most influenced plays include Hogans Goat, Cry For Us All, and The Curse of an Aching Heart.[7]
He began teaching at Harvard the same year he received his doctorate and was appointed full professor in 1963.[4] In 1980, he was named Abbott Lawrence Lowell Professor of the Humanities.[4]
He retired in 1991.[3]
Personal life
Alfred was a lifelong Catholic and attended mass at Saint Paul's Church in Cambridge.[4]
His great-grandmother, Anna Maria Egan, immigrated to the United States.[6]
Alfred's play Hogan's Goat, a verse drama, helped launch Faye Dunaway's career in the 60's.[8] They maintained a close relationship and remained lifelong friends.[8]
Alfred was close friends with fellow poets Elizabeth Bishop[9] and Robert Lowell.[1]
Plays
- Agamemnon (New York, Knopf 1954)
- Hogan's Goat, a Drama in Verse (New York, Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1966)
- Cry for Us All[3] (musical adaptation of Hogan's Goat)
- The Curse of an Aching Heart (New York, Samuel French, New York, 1983)
Other works
Awards and recognition
- 1993 Harvard Medal[5]
- 1988 Signet Society Medal for Lifetime Achievement[4]
- 1957 Phi Beta Kappa Poet of Harvard University[4]
- 1954 Amy Lowell Traveling Poetry Scholar[10]
References
- Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 "William Alfred | Manuscript Collections | City University of New York (CUNY)". academicworks.cuny.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
- Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 Back to citation occurrence 2.2 Back to citation occurrence 2.3 Back to citation occurrence 2.4 Mcdonald, Gregory (2011-01-04). Souvenirs of a Blown World: Sketches for the Sixties, Writings about America, 1966-1973. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 978-1-58322-993-4.
- Back to citation occurrence 3.0 Back to citation occurrence 3.1 Back to citation occurrence 3.2 Back to citation occurrence 3.3 Back to citation occurrence 3.4 "'The Professor' William Alfred Dies at Age 76". 6 July 2008. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 Back to citation occurrence 4.2 Back to citation occurrence 4.3 Back to citation occurrence 4.4 Back to citation occurrence 4.5 Back to citation occurrence 4.6 Back to citation occurrence 4.7 "William Alfred". Harvard Gazette. 2003-04-03. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
- Back to citation occurrence 5.0 Back to citation occurrence 5.1 “Past Recipients of the Harvard Medal” Harvard Alumni Association, 2019. Retrieved from https://alumni.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/page/files/Harvard%20Medal_Past%20Recipient%20List.pdf
- Back to citation occurrence 6.0 Back to citation occurrence 6.1 LIFE. Time Inc. 1966-04-22.
- Back to citation "William Alfred | Manuscript Collections | City University of New York (CUNY)". academicworks.cuny.edu. Retrieved 2026-02-25.
- Back to citation occurrence 8.0 Back to citation occurrence 8.1 "William Alfred | Samuel French". www.samuelfrench.com. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
- Back to citation Millier, Brett C. (1992-03-15). Elizabeth Bishop: Life and the Memory of It. University of California Press. p. 432. ISBN 978-0-520-91719-4. “william alfred harvard.”
- Back to citation "Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship- List of Past Recipients". www.amylowell.org. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
External links
- The William Alfred Collection at Brooklyn College Special Collections
- Guide to William Alfred papers concerning adaptations of Agamemnon and The Scarlet Letter at Houghton Library, Harvard University
- {https://sites.google.com/view/the-friends-of-william-alfred/home The New Friends of William Alfred, A collection of photos, videos, memoirs, and external links devoted to the life and works of William Alfred.