Helen Bevington
Bevington (Smith; 1906 – March 16, 2001) was an American poet, prose writer, and educator. Her most noted book, Charley Smith's Girl (1965), was "banned by the library in the small town of Worcester, N.Y, where she grew up, because the book tells of her minister father's having been divorced by her mother for affairs that he was carrying on with younger female parishioners."
Also recorded as Helen Smith Bevington
Helen Bevington
- Name
- Helen E.
- Birth Name
- Helen Elizabeth Smith
- Born
- 1906
- Birthplace
- Afton, New York, U.S.
- Died
- 16 March 2001
- Place of death
- Chicago, U.S.
- Occupation
- Poet; essayist; diarist; educator
- Education
- University of Chicago; Columbia University
- Awards
- Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry (1956); North Carolina Award for Literature (1973); Mayflower Cup (1974)
- Full name
- Helen Smith.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Fields
- essay.
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wikidata · Q5701885 · wikipedia · Helen Bevington
In this article
Biography
Biography
Helen Bevington studied at Columbia University and University of Chicago. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is essay. Employment is recorded with Duke University and Bedford Academy High School. Distinctions recorded are North Carolina Award for Literature and North Carolina Award.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Helen E. Bevington • Birth Name — Helen Elizabeth Smith • Born — 1906 • Birthplace — Afton, New York, U.S. • Died — 16 March 2001 • Place of death — Chicago, U.S. • Occupation — Poet; essayist; diarist; educator • Education — University of Chicago; Columbia University • Notable Works — Charley Smith's Girl (1965) • Awards — Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry (1956); North Carolina Award for Literature (1973); Mayflower Cup (1974)
Life and works
Life and works
Born Helen E. Smith in Afton, New York, Bevington was reared in Worcester, New York, where her father was a Methodist minister. She attended the University of Chicago and earned a degree in philosophy. She proceeded to write a thesis about Thoreau, earning a master's degree in English from Columbia University. On June 1, 1928, she married Merle M. Bevington, son of reverend M. W. Bevington. The couple travelled abroad, returning in 1929 in response to the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Both Bevingtons taught English at Duke University starting in the 1940s, Helen retiring in 1976. They had two sons: the elder, David Bevington, was a pre-eminent Shakespeare scholar until his death in 2019; the second son, Philip, died in the 1980s. In addition to her 12 books of poetry and essays, Bevington's work appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker and The American Scholar. Bevington was a poet, a diarist, and an essayist. She was also a winner of the Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry (1956) and the Mayflower Cup (1974) both given by the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association; and the North Carolina Award for Literature (1973). Charley Smith's Girl (1965) was runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize. Helen Bevington died on March 16, 2001, in Chicago.
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Afton.
Birth place
Chicago.
Death place
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Helen Bevington, revision 1372216066 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.James Janega. Helen Smith Bevington, 94. Chicago Tribune. March 24, 2001.
- 2.Brad Bigelow. A Book and A Love Affair, by Helen Bevington. Neglected Books Page. January 27, 2013.
- 3.Hornell Girl Marries New York Resident. Democrat and Chronicle. 16. 1928-06-04.
- 4.Doreen Carvajal. Helen Bevington, 94, Wry Author, Professor and Tireless Tourist. New York Times. March 22, 2001.
- 5.Geoffrey Mock. Helen Bevington, Professor Emerita, Dies. DukeToday. March 23, 2001.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 12
- Dr. Johnson’s Waterfall, and Other Poems. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1946
- Nineteen Million Elephants, and Other Poems. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1950
- A Change of Sky, and Other Poems. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1956
- When Found, Make a Verse of. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1961
- Charley Smith’s Girl: A Memoir. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965
- A Book & A Love Affair. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968
- The House Was Quiet and the World Was Calm. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1971
- Beautiful Lofty People. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974
- Along Came the Witch: A Journal in the 1960s. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976.
- The Journey Is Everything: A Journal of the Seventies. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1983
- The World and the Bo Tree. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1991
- The Third and Only Way: Reflections on Staying Alive. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1996
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 24 August 2026.
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