Sixteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

In the past 30 years, there has been little to no knew research published on the biography of poet-cum-novelist, Kenneth Fearing (1902-1961). Robert M. Ryley published the one substantial biographical article on Fearing in 1991; Ryley had originally intended to publish his research as part of a book-length biography on Fearing. Reluctantly, Ryley shelved the project after he was unable to garner interest from publishers. This current presentation will be an effort to expand on Fearing’s biography based on three sources: archive research from three libraries, portions of Ryley’s research material provided me by Ryley’s widow, and results from my previously published machine-learning project on Fearing. What I hope to elucidate in this preliminary presentation is a new perspective on the binary periods of Fearing’s life in New York City: the poetry years and the novel years. While Fearing published poetry throughout his life, my statistical research on Fearing’s poetry suggests that there was a poetic stylistic shift, beginning with the successful publication of his first novel in 1939. Using this as a starting point, I intend to demonstrate through new biographical materials that further understanding of Fearing’s personal history will illuminate his emotional and stylistic identity.