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BISSELL, Richard: Difference between revisions
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BISSELL, Richard. (Dubuque, IA, June 27, 1913--Dubuque, IA, 1977). Author. Bissell will be remembered as one of this nation's premier storytellers of life on the [[MISSISSIPPI RIVER]]. His novels Stretch on the River (1950) and High Water (1954) told of diesel tows. Goodbye, Ava (1960) dealt with two houseboats anchored to a dock on the Mississippi. | BISSELL, Richard. (Dubuque, IA, June 27, 1913--Dubuque, IA, 1977). Author. Bissell will be remembered as one of this nation's premier storytellers of life on the [[MISSISSIPPI RIVER]]. His novels Stretch on the River (1950) and High Water (1954) told of diesel tows. Goodbye, Ava (1960) dealt with two houseboats anchored to a dock on the Mississippi. | ||
Bissell was the son of [[BISSELL, Frederick|Frederick BISSELL]] who owned the [[H. B. GLOVER COMPANY]], a producer of pajamas and shorts and best remembered between 1870 to 1910 as the manufacturer of Glover's Western Overalls. Bissell's literary interests were kindled by Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and encouraged by his father, editor of the Harvard College paper, the "Crimson," in 1900. Before returning to Dubuque in 1936, Richard Bissell worked for a short time as the only salesman for Edwin Land, the inventor of the photography method that grew into the huge Polaroid Corporation. | Bissell was the son of [[BISSELL, Frederick Ezekiel|Frederick Ezekiel BISSELL]] who owned the [[H. B. GLOVER COMPANY]], a producer of pajamas and shorts and best remembered between 1870 to 1910 as the manufacturer of Glover's Western Overalls. Bissell's literary interests were kindled by Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and encouraged by his father, editor of the Harvard College paper, the "Crimson," in 1900. Before returning to Dubuque in 1936, Richard Bissell worked for a short time as the only salesman for Edwin Land, the inventor of the photography method that grew into the huge Polaroid Corporation. | ||
In 1949 "Coal Queen," a story about the Monongahela River and Bissell as a pilot on an old tug, won first prize in a national true-life story contest held by the Atlantic Monthly. Stretch on the River, a fictional biography of a deckhand on a coal barge heading from St. Louis to St. Paul, firmly established him as an author after its nation-wide critical acclaim. | In 1949 "Coal Queen," a story about the Monongahela River and Bissell as a pilot on an old tug, won first prize in a national true-life story contest held by the Atlantic Monthly. Stretch on the River, a fictional biography of a deckhand on a coal barge heading from St. Louis to St. Paul, firmly established him as an author after its nation-wide critical acclaim. | ||
Revision as of 03:27, 13 August 2008
BISSELL, Richard. (Dubuque, IA, June 27, 1913--Dubuque, IA, 1977). Author. Bissell will be remembered as one of this nation's premier storytellers of life on the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. His novels Stretch on the River (1950) and High Water (1954) told of diesel tows. Goodbye, Ava (1960) dealt with two houseboats anchored to a dock on the Mississippi.
Bissell was the son of Frederick Ezekiel BISSELL who owned the H. B. GLOVER COMPANY, a producer of pajamas and shorts and best remembered between 1870 to 1910 as the manufacturer of Glover's Western Overalls. Bissell's literary interests were kindled by Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and encouraged by his father, editor of the Harvard College paper, the "Crimson," in 1900. Before returning to Dubuque in 1936, Richard Bissell worked for a short time as the only salesman for Edwin Land, the inventor of the photography method that grew into the huge Polaroid Corporation.
In 1949 "Coal Queen," a story about the Monongahela River and Bissell as a pilot on an old tug, won first prize in a national true-life story contest held by the Atlantic Monthly. Stretch on the River, a fictional biography of a deckhand on a coal barge heading from St. Louis to St. Paul, firmly established him as an author after its nation-wide critical acclaim.
Bissell's life was dramatically changed by 71/2 Cents, a light-natured story of a strike in a pajama factory, the book was based on experiences Bissell had while working in his father's manufacturing plant. The novel, a look at conflicts between labor and management, became a Book of the Month Club selection and the highly successful film "Pajama Game" (t 957) starring Eddie Foy, Jr. and Doris Day.
Bissell enjoyed his financial freedom and used it to critique many social groups. "You Can Always Tell a Harvard Man," poked fun at historical scholarship and Harvard. How Many Miles to Galena? was a take-off on travel books. My Life on the Mississippi, or Why I Am Not Mark Twain is partially autobiographical and partly commentary on Mark Twain, who Bissell believed did not know much about boys.
As an author, Bissell used experiences he had becoming a licensed pilot on the Ohio, Tennessee, Illinois, and Mississippi rivers. His work received praise from Dubuque society, eastern publishers, and those who worked on America's Rivers.