Carl Carmer

Disciplines: Literature
Disciplines: Literature
Residencies: 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1948
Carl Carmer (1893–1975) was an American author of nonfiction books, memoirs, and novels, many of which focused on Americana such as myths, folklore, and tales. His most famous book, Stars Fell on Alabama (1934), was an autobiographical story of the time he spent living in Alabama. His true love, however, were the environs of upstate New York, from which he drew material for Listen For a Lonesome Drum, Dark Trees to the Wind, and Genesee Fever. Carmer was born in Cortland, NY, and attended Hamilton College. After earning an M.A. from Harvard, he taught English at Syracuse and at the University of Rochester. Service in World War I as a gunnery officer interrupted his academic career and then in 1921 he was appointed associate professor of English at Tuscaloosa. Carmer was president of the Author's Guild of the Author's League of America, president of the Poetry Society of America, a director of the American Civil Liberties Union, and head of the American Center of P.E.N., the international society of writers and editors. He was editor of Rivers of America and a frequent lecturer. He was considered one of America's most popular writers during the 1940s and 1950s.