A Calendar of Back East Birthdays

Bernard DeVoto

January 11 marks the birthday of writer, conservationist, and westerner Bernard DeVoto. He’s rendered here in conversation with fellow writers at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference by artist Atalaya Magdalena. There’s no westerner I can think of who was more back East than DeVoto! That’s one reason why I chose for the chapters I wrote about him and his connections to Wallace Stegner to occupy the very center of Back East.

Meridel LeSueur

February 22 marks the birthday of writer, activist, stuntwoman, and midwesterner Meridel LeSueur. She’s shown here with writers Audre Lorde and Adrienne Rich. Blacklisted in the 1950s, LeSueur supported herself and her children by teaching writing classes, writing children’s literature, and working as a chauffeur. In these troubled times, we can take inspiration from her advice: ​“Write it down as it is happening.” LeSueur led a radio show in the 1970s with support from folk musician Pete Seeger. I intend to further research that endeavor of hers soon. I admire her willingness to try new things and speak her mind throughout her life. She had great courage.

Ricardo Sánchez

March 29 marks the birthday of activist, poet, and Texan Ricardo Sánchez. He is rendered here by artist Atalaya Magdalena. Of Sánchez’s many quotable lines, my favorite is one he shared with his graduate committee at Union Graduate School: ​“Yale is alienating as hell for a Chicano from the barrio, yet it is an experience we must master if we are ever to liberate ourselves.” Sánchez’s unusual graduate education has inspired me to research Union’s program more deeply. Some artists struggle to find formal education that allows them to fully explore their art. While Union was imperfect, I think it came closer than any other education program could have in meeting Sánchez where he was and helping him get where he was trying to go as a poet and teacher.

Horace Cayton Jr.

April 12 marks the birthday of writer, community organizer, and Seattlite Horace Cayton Jr. Co-author of the Chicago classic Black Metropolis, Cayton first headed ​“back East” to Chicago to study sociology. In addition to his advocacy for Black people in the city, he played a pivotal role in helping Japanese Americans forcibly relocated to Chicago during World War II. My favorite portrait of Cayton is in the novel Her First American by Lore Segal, a fictionalized account of Segal’s relationship with Cayton during his years living in New York City.