Nationality American Children Peter La Farge | Role Writer Name Oliver Farge | |
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Occupation Novelist, anthropologist Died August 2, 1963, Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States Parents Christopher Grant La Farge Books Laughing Boy, The enemy gods, Behind the mountains, The mother ditch =, Raw Material Similar People Peter La Farge, John La Farge, Angie Debo | ||
Education Harvard University (1929) | ||
American Writer and Anthropologist: Oliver La Farge Interview
Oliver Hazard Perry La Farge II (December 19, 1901 – August 2, 1963) was an American writer and anthropologist. In 1925 he explored early Olmec sites in Mexico, and later studied additional sites in Central America and the American Southwest. In addition to more than 15 scholarly works, mostly on Native Americans, he wrote several novels, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Laughing Boy (1929). In addition, La Farge's short stories were published in The New Yorker and Esquire magazines. His more notable works, both fiction and non-fiction, focus on Native American culture. He spent much of his adult life championing American Indian rights. He was president of the Association on American Indian Affairs for several years.
Contents
- American Writer and Anthropologist Oliver La Farge Interview
- Note on laughing boy by oliver la farge
- Early life and education
- Career
- Marriage and family
- Legacy and honors
- Non fiction
- Fiction and personal
- References
Note on laughing boy by oliver la farge
Early life and education
Oliver La Farge was born in New York City but grew up in Newport, Rhode Island. He was the son of Christopher Grant La Farge, a noted Beaux-Arts architect, and Florence Bayard Lockwood. His older brother was the novelist Christopher La Farge. La Farge and his paternal uncle, architect Oliver H. P. La Farge, were both named for a great-great-grandfather, Oliver Hazard Perry.
La Farge received both his Bachelor of Arts degree (1924) and his master's degree (1929) from Harvard University.
Career
La Farge worked as a writer and an anthropologist. In 1925, he traveled with the Danish archeologist Frans Blom, who taught at Tulane University, to what is now known as the Olmec heartland. He (re)discovered San Martin Pajapan Monument 1 and, more importantly, the ruins of La Venta, one of the major Olmec centers.. While on scientific expeditions to Central America and the American Southwest, La Farge discovered two previously unknown languages: .
During World War II, he served with the U.S. Air Transport Command, leaving the service with the rank of major. He participated in the Battle for Greenland, commanded by Colonel Bernt Balchen. Balchen, together with Corey Ford and La Farge, wrote War Below Zero: The Battle for Greenland (1944) about the actions to defend Greenland.
La Farge devoted considerable study to Native American peoples and issues, especially after moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1933. He became a champion for American Indian rights and was president of the Association on American Indian Affairs for several years.
Marriage and family
La Farge married heiress Wanden Matthews and had two children with her: a son, Oliver Albee La Farge (b. 1931), and a daughter, Povy. They moved to Santa Fe in 1933, but Wanden disliked the area and they eventually divorced in 1937. Their son Oliver Albee became estranged from his father and changed his name to Peter La Farge. He moved to New York City, where he became a folksinger in Greenwich Village, performing in the 1950s and 1960s.
La Farge married a second time, to Consuelo Otile Baca, with whom he had a son, John Pendaries "Pen" La Farge. La Farge's non-fiction book, Behind the Mountains (1956), is based on his memories of Consuelo's family, Baca family of New Mexico who were ranchers in northern New Mexico. He wrote a regular column for the Santa Fe newspaper, The New Mexican. Some of his columns were collected and published as The Man With the Calabash Pipe (1966).
La Farge died in Santa Fe in 1963, at the age of 61.