Earlham Notable Alumni
Edwin Way Teale - Class of 1922
Naturalist, Author, and Pulitzer Prize Winner for Nature Writing
Edwin Way Teale as an Earlham student
Sargasso 1922
Edwin Way Teale with his book, Journey Into Summer.
Earlham College Archives
A sign honoring Edwin's life and accomplishments at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons License
“Time is the river. We are the islands. Time washes around us and flows away and with it flow fragments of our lives. So, little by little, each island shrinks….But where, who can say, down the long stream of time, are our eroded days deposited?” - Edwin Way Teale in his book Journey Through Summer
Overview
- Born: June 2, 1899, in Joliet, Illinois
- Died: October 18, 1980, in Norwich, Connecticut
- Area of Study While at Earlham: English Literature
- Spouse: Nellie Imogene Teale (née Donovan)
- Major Accomplishments: Only Pulitzer Prize winner for nature writing, received honorary degree from Indiana University in 1970, and authored many works, some of which helped inspire Rachel Carson's Silent Spring
Biography
Edwin Way Teale (born Edwin Alfred Teale, which he changed at the age of twelve to be "more distinguished") was disenchanted with his hometown Joliet's industrial nature, and instead found joy in visits to his grandparents' homestead at the Indiana Dunes, for which his later book, Dune Boy, was named. It is also said that he first declared himself a naturalist at the age of nine, as his love for nature had already been well-established at that point.
In 1918, Edwin began his time at Earlham as an English literature major, participating in a plethora of activities including, but not limited to: student council, track team, glee club, Spanish club, Ionian debate team, and Sargasso (Earlham's yearbook) staff. He graduated in 1922 and married fellow classmate and self-described "partner naturalist" Nellie Imogene Donovan. The couple's son and only child, David, was born in 1925 as Edwin attended graduate school for English Literature at Columbia University.
Edwin's job at Popular Science magazine helped him hone both writing and photography skills from 1928 to 1941, which helped popularize his first critically-acclaimed book, Grassroot Jungles. As he left his job at Popular Science to become a freelancer, Edwin's career continued to flourish. Even when he and his wife lost their son, David, in World War II, they attributed their survival through the difficult mourning period to their love for nature.
After another period of publishing more books, Edwin and Nellie embarked on the first of many journeys that would later become a well-loved series—The American Seasons—documenting the changing and progression of the seasons across the American continent. This included titles like Autumn Across America and Journey Through Summer, as well as his Pulitzer-Prize winning Wandering Through Winter.
Edwin passed away in 1980, leaving behind a legacy of passion for nature, conservation, and appreciation for life. Some of his works can be found here in Lilly Library.
