Elliott Merrick

Elliott Merrick (May 11, 1905 – April 22, 1997) was an American writer best known for his memoirs about Labrador. He was also an editor, teacher, farmer and sailor. In addition he wrote for magazines, including The New Yorker and Reader's Digest. He took a job as a teacher at the remote Grenfell Mission (a medical missionary station) at Indian Harbour, Labrador. He wrote a memoir Green Mountain Farm about farm life in northern Vermont, where he lived with his wife and children during the depression of the 1930s.

He taught English at the University of Vermont. He was an editor for the Office of War Information and worked with the merchant marine during World War II. These experiences informed his book Passing By (1947). He was later employed by the United States Forest Service in Asheville, North Carolina for 22 years, working as a science editor and publications officer. He said Merrick "looked to Thoreau for guidance", and Walden was his "bible". Merrick once said, "Nature, love it or leave it, is all we've got."

Works Source:

Fiction From This Hill Look Down (1934) Ever the Wind Blows (1936) Frost and Fire (1939) Passing By (1947) The Long Crossing and Other Labrador Stories (1992)

Nonfiction True North (1933) Northern Nurse (1942) Green Mountain Farm (1948) Cruising at Last: Sailing the East Coast (2003)