Waters Edward Turpin

Waters Edward Turpin (April 9, 1910–November 19, 1968) was an American novelist, professor, playwright, and textbook author.[1][2][3] He gained prominence during the later half of the Harlem Renaissance, and was known for his work in African-American literary history.[1][4] Turpin published three novels.[5]

Waters Edward Turpin
BornApril 9, 1910
Oxford, Maryland, U.S.
DiedNovember 19, 1968
Resting placeBaltimore National Cemetery
Other namesWaters Turpin
Alma materMorgan State College,
Teachers College, Columbia University
Occupation(s)Professor, novelist, playwright, textbook author
Known forAuthor of African-American literary history
MovementHarlem Renaissance

Early life and education

Waters Edward Turpin was born on April 9, 1910, in Oxford, Maryland.[6] He was an only child to African American parents Simon and Mary Rebecca (née Waters) Turpin.[6] His grandfather, Captain Jack Waters may have been the first black-owned waterman’s business in Oxford.[7] He was raised with the early oral histories dating back to slave ships.[7] Novelist Edna Ferber employed his mother, and she had encouraged him to explore writing at a young age.[1][7]

He graduated with an A.B. degree from Morgan State College (now Morgan State University); and an A.M. degree (1932) and EdD (1960) from Teachers College, Columbia University.[6]

He was married to Jean Fisher Turpin and they had two children.[1]

Career

His early career started in 1935 as an English teacher at Storer College, but left to finish his doctorate degree.[6] From 1940 until 1950, he taught at Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania.[8] In 1950, he joined the English department at his alma mater Morgan State College, where his wife Jean also taught.[6]

His book These Low Grounds (1937), is about four generations of African-Americans living in eastern Maryland.[6][9] Author Richard Wright wrote a book review on These Low Grounds (1937) published in the New Masses magazine (dated October 5, 1937), in which he believed the book to be the first of its kind, an African American fictional saga encompassing slavery and it's impact.[10][11] Wright also felt the beginning portion of the book intimately portrayed Southern African Americans, based on his first hand knowledge; but then in the second half of the book he portrayed Northern African Americans in a poor fashion.[10] These Low Grounds (1937) was compared in a few book reviews to the Zora Neale Hurston novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), because they were released at the same period.[10][12]

His novel O Canaan! (1939), is about African American migratory farmers during the Great Depression.[6] The Rootless (1957) is a novel that focuses on the history of slavery in Maryland during the 18th century.[6]

Death and legacy

Turpin died on November 19, 1968.[1][6]

In 1977, author Nick Aaron Ford wrote about Turpin posthumously, and his admiration for his work.[13] The Waters Edward Turpin Collection (1949–1968) is located at Morgan State University in Baltimore. West Virginia University's Storer College Digital Collection contains photographs of Turpin while he was teaching at Storer. In 1983, Morgan State University initiated the Nick Aaron Ford and Waters Edward Turpin Symposium on African-American Literature.[14]

Publications

Novels
  • Turpin, Waters Edward (1937). These Low Grounds. New York City, NY: Harper & Brother.[7][9][12][11]
  • O Canaan! (1939)[15]
  • The Rootless (1957)

Textbooks
  • Basic Skills for Better Writing (1959), co-author
  • Extending Horizons: Selected Readings for Cultural Enrichment (1969), co-editor[1]

References
  1. Reid, Margaret Ann. "Waters Turpin". Oxford Reference. However, Turpin's novels are what gained him recognition in African American literary history.
  2. Lucy, Robin (2007-01-01). "Flying Home: Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, and the Black Folk during World War II". Journal of American Folklore. 120 (477): 257–283. doi:10.2307/20487555. ISSN 0021-8715. JSTOR 20487555.
  3. Review for the Two-year Period ... Julius Rosenwald Fund. The Fund. October 11, 1940. p. 26.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. Driscoll, Anne K. "Turpin, Waters E." Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  5. Metzger, Linda (1989). Black Writers: A Selection of Sketches from Contemporary Authors. Gale Research. pp. 554–555. ISBN 978-0-8103-2772-6.
  6. Reid, Margaret Ann (2002-01-01), Andrews, William L; Foster, Frances Smith; Harris, Trudier (eds.), "Turpin, Waters", The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780195138832.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-513883-2, retrieved 2023-01-09
  7. "These Low Grounds". Water's Edge Museum.
  8. Fund, Julius Rosenwald (October 11, 1940). "Review for the Two-year Period ..." The Fund – via Google Books.
  9. Chiarappa, Michael J. (2018). "Working the Delaware Estuary: African American Cultural Landscapes and the Contours of Environmental Experience". Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum. 25 (1): 64–91. doi:10.5749/buildland.25.1.0064. ISSN 1934-6832. S2CID 165584596.
  10. Wright, Richard (October 5, 1937). "Between Laughing and Tears" (PDF). New Masses. pp. 22–25.
  11. Reilly, John M. (June 1972). "Richard Wright's Apprenticeship". Journal of Black Studies. 2 (4): 439–460. doi:10.1177/002193477200200403. ISSN 0021-9347. S2CID 141107480.
  12. "Books: Negropings". Time (magazine). Vol. 30, no. 12. September 20, 1937. ISSN 0040-781X.
  13. Ford, Nick Aaron (1977). "Waters Turpin: I Knew Him Well". CLA Journal. 21 (1): 1–18. JSTOR 44329321 – via JSTOR.
  14. "Nick Aaron Ford and Waters Edward Turpin Symposium on African-American Literature". Morgan.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  15. Reich, Steven A. (March 2009). "The Great Migration and the Literary Imagination". Journal of the Historical Society. 9 (1): 87–128. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5923.2008.01259.x.
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