Musician and writer John Erskine was born in New York City on October
5, 1879. As a child he had a strong interest in music, taking piano
lessons for many years; for a time he was being taught by noted
composer Edward MacDowell.
Erskine graduated from Columbia University in 1900 and received his PhD
in 1903. He was an English instructor at Amherst College and became an
Associate Professor there. In 1909 he accepted a position on the
faculty at his alma mater, Columbia, and became a full professor there
in 1916. He was at Columbia for 28 years and gained a reputation as a
highly respected and influential teacher; among his students were
future authors Mark Van Doren,
Clifton Fadiman,
Rexford Tugwell and
Mortimer J. Adler.
Erskine also kept up his interest in music, often performing at private
functions and on occasion at public concerts. He was a trustee at the
prestigious Juilliard School of Music from 1927 and was president of
the institution from 1928 to 1937. He also published numerous books,
mainly scholarly studies and poetry volumes. He surprised many with his
1928 novel "The Private Life of Helen of Troy", his humorous version of
the classic legend set in the contemporary Jazz Age. It was hugely
successful, being translated into 16 languages and even turned into a
film
(Das Liebesleben der schönen Helena (1927)).
In 1937 he retired from academic life and took up writing full-time. He
published a variety of non-fiction works, two biographies (of
Walt Whitman and American
revolutionary figure Patrick Henry) and three volumes of memoirs.
He died in New York City on June 2, 1951.
