Discipline: Literature

Alec Waugh

Discipline: Literature
MacDowell Fellowships: 1951, 1952, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1975

Alec Waugh (1898–1981) was a prolific British novelist, the elder brother of the better-known Evelyn Waugh and son of Arthur Waugh, author, literary critic, and publisher. His first book was a semi-autobiographical novel, The Loom of Youth (1917), in which he dramatized his schooldays at Sherborne School. It created a scandal because it mentioned homosexual relationships between boys. It was also a best seller. Alec Waugh was also wrote nonfiction such as In Praise of Wine & Certain Noble Spirits (1959), an amusing and discursive guide to the major wine types, and Wines and Spirits, a 1968 book of the Time-Life series “Foods of the World.” In addition to his fame as a wine and spirits connoisseur, Waugh also merits a mention in the history of reggae music. His 1955 novel Island in the Sun became a successful movie adaptation and the Harry Belafonte title track is said to have provided inspiration as well as the name for the successful Island Records record label.

Studios

Irving Fine

Alec Waugh worked in the Irving Fine studio.

Youngstown Studio was given to MacDowell by friends of Miss Myra McKeown in Youngstown, OH, where she promoted both art and music. It was renamed Irving Fine Studio in 1972 in honor of Irving Fine, a distinguished composer, conductor, and teacher who was a MacDowell Fellow during the 1940s and 1950s. The simple interior of the studio…

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