American Art: Biographies

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. The Oxford Companion to American Literature Further reading

Edward Gorey

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Edward Gorey 1925–2000, American illustrator and writer, b. Chicago, grad Harvard. He lived and worked in New York City and Cape Cod until 1986 when he moved permanently to the Cape. Gorey is celebrated for his more than 100 small volumes of gothic fables, meticulously hand-lettered and intricately illustrated, most of them in verse. His works are remarkable combinations of the eccentric, the witty, and the macabre and are illustrated lavishly and with superb technique in dark and abundant Edwardian detail. Odd, mysterious, cool, oblique, and very funny, Gorey's works have a completely unique appeal. Many of his early books, published in small editions, have become collector's items; they include The Unstrung Harp (1953) and The Object-Lesson (1958). His later single works include The Awdrey-Gore Legacy (1972), a spoof on English murder mysteries; The Lavender Leotard (1973), concerning ballet; Amphigorey (1975); Amphigorey Too (1980); Amphigorey Also (1983); and The Eclectic Abecedarium (1985).

Bibliography: See the interviews in Ascending Peculiarity: Edward Gorey on Edward Gorey (2001), ed. by K. Wilkin.

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Gorey, Edward (St. John)

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | | Copyright

Gorey, Edward [St. John] (1925–2000), after graduation from Harvard began publishing his numerous hand‐lettered books, whose brief cryptic narratives and morbidly comic pen‐and‐ink illustrations are marked by a fey Gothic humor that has created a cult for works bearing such titles as The Unstrung Harp (1953), The Hapless Child (1961), The Broken Spoke (1976), The Doubtful Guest (1978), and The Raging Tide (1987). Amphigorey (1972) is a collection of 15 of his small books.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Gorey, Edward (St. John)." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Gorey, Edward (St. John)." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-GoreyEdwardStJohn.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Gorey, Edward (St. John)." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-GoreyEdwardStJohn.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Ascending Peculiarity: Edward Gorey on Edward Gorey. (Book & Video Gift-Picks... Magazine article from: Dance Magazine; 12/1/2001
	An Exchange of Letters, Packages, Moonstones and Mailbox... Magazine article from: Dance Magazine; 7/1/2000
	Books: Strange goings-on in a Gorey old world; The Gashlycrumb Tinies and The... Newspaper article from: The Birmingham Post (England); 5/29/1999