Paul Hendrickson

Paul Hendrickson (born April 29, 1944) is an American author, journalist, and professor. He is a senior lecturer and member of the Department of English at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a former member of the writing staff at the Washington Post.

He has been honored with two writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), as well as fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Lyndhurst Foundation, and Alicia Patterson Foundation. In 2003, he received the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Chicago Tribunes Heartland Prize for Sons of Mississippi: A Story of Race and Its Legacy. In 2012, he was honored with a second Heartland Prize for Hemingway's Boat: Everything He Loved in Life, and Lost, 1934-1961. It was also a New York Times bestseller and finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 2019, Hendrickson published a book about Frank Lloyd Wright, supported through a fellowship with the NEA, entitled Plagued by Fire: The Dreams and Furies of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Personal background Paul Joseph Hendrickson was born on April 29, 1944, in Fresno, California. He is the son of Joseph Paul and Rita Bernice (née Kyne) Hendrickson. He was raised in Kankakee and Wheaton, Illinois. From age 14 to 21, Hendrickson attended Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity Catholic seminary in Alabama, intent on preparing for the priesthood. He attended St. Louis University, earning a Bachelor's degree in English in 1967. He also earned a Master's degree in 1968 in English, with a concentration in American literature from Pennsylvania State University.

On September 13, 1969, Hendrickson married Sunday Barbagallo. The marriage ended in divorce in February 1974. On March 10, 1979, he married Cecilia Moffatt, a nurse. Together, they have two grown sons, John and Matthew. Hendrickson and his wife live in Havertown, Pennsylvania.

Hendrickson donated his papers to the libraries of the College of William & Mary in 2024.

Professional background

Journalism Following his 1968 graduation from Pennsylvania State University, Hendrickson began his journalism career, serving as a publicist, writer, and producer on staff at WPSX-TV in University Park, Pennsylvania. In 1971, he joined the reporting team of the travel magazine Holiday, based out of Indianapolis, Indiana. After two years, he signed on as a reporter for the Detroit Free Press broadsheet newspaper of Detroit, Michigan. In 1974, he began reporting for the National Observer in Washington, D.C., remaining on staff through 1977, when the publication ceased. The work was named a finalist for the National Book Award and recognized as a New York Times Notable Book, while Salon.com ranked it as the Nonfiction Book of the Year.

Sons of Mississippi: A Story of Race and Its Legacy

Sons of Mississippi deals with seven white sheriffs photographed by Charles Moore in Oxford, Mississippi, on September 27, 1962. The first part of the book examines each of the sheriffs individually, in relation to their families and their home counties, and in the context of the segregated ("totalitarian") society of the time in Mississippi. The second part focuses on James Meredith, the first black student at the University of Mississippi. When he was admitted, the sheriffs were convened to deal with issues at the university. In the third segment, Hendrickson discusses the descendants of these sheriffs.

While researching and writing the book, Hendrickson was financially supported through fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts. Published in 2003, the book received the Chicago Tribune's Heartland Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

According to Allan Massie in The Wall Street Journal, Hendrickson spent at least 30 years contemplating the life of Hemingway, prior to writing his book. He spent time researching the life of Hemingway by reading biographies and articles written about the author. He also discussed the subject's life with Hemingway's sons and some of his grandchildren, friends, and associates. Massie surmised that Hendrickson most likely knows more about Hemingway than anyone living today or during Hemingway's lifetime. In their "Best Nonfiction of 2011" roundup, the Wall Street Journal named the work the best biography of 2011, additionally stating that in Hendrickson's book, "Hemingway has never seemed so vivid or his work so heroic."

The work was a New York Times bestseller. It was on bestseller lists around the US, while the UK edition reached No. 3 on the London bestseller list. It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, while The Chicago Tribune honored it with the 2012 Heartland Prize. , the work has gone to seven printings in hardcover. Howell Raines of The Washington Post in his review of the work stated that "in the academic field of Hemingway studies, the book will stand as an indispensable document". Olivia Laing of The Guardian states that Hendrickson is "a miraculously lovely writer." In her review of Hemingway's Boat, she reflects on his style of writing as "twists and turns through time, moving sensitively between the books and life. He understands too the deep allure the ocean held for Hemingway". 1992: National Book Critics Circle Award for Looking For The Light: The Hidden Life and Art of Marion Post Wolcott – finalist 1996: New York Times Notable Book for The Living and the Dead: Robert McNamara and Five Lives of a Lost War 2003: National Book Critics Circle Award for Sons of Mississippi: A Story of Race and Its Legacy – winner 2003: Southern Book Critics Circle Award for Sons of Mississippi: A Story of Race and Its Legacy – finalist 2003: Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Sons of Mississippi: A Story of Race and Its Legacy – winner 2012: Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Nonfiction for Hemingway's Boat: Everything He Loved in Life, and Lost, 1934-1961 – winner

Teaching honors 2005: Provost's Award for Distinguished Teaching from the University of Pennsylvania

Published works Books Hendrickson, Paul (1983). Seminary: A Search, New York: Simon & Schuster, 330 pages. Hendrickson, Paul (1992). Looking For The Light: The Hidden Life and Art of Marion Post Wolcott, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 297 pages. Hendrickson, Paul (1996). The Living and the Dead: Robert McNamara and Five Lives of a Lost War, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 427 pages. Hendrickson, Paul (2003). Sons of Mississippi: A Story of Race and Its Legacy, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 368 pages. Hendrickson, Paul (2004). Bound for Glory: America in Color, 1939-43, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 192 pages. Hendrickson, Paul (2011). Hemingway's Boat: Everything He Loved in Life, and Lost, 1934-1961, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 544 pages. Hendrickson, Paul (2019). Plagued by Fire: The Dreams and Furies of Frank Lloyd Wright, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 624 pages.

Selected articles

Hendrickson, Paul (July 1991). "It's Been a Wonderful Life: Jimmy Stewart", LIFE, page 66.