English professor wins top book award

George Hutchinson, chair of the English department at IU, was awarded the prestigious Christian Gauss Award for literary scholarship and criticism for his book, “In Search of Nella Larsen: A Biography of the Color Line.” \nThe award, presented by the Phi Beta Kappa Society, is given to only one book each year and is the highest possible accolade in this field of study. \nIn addition to the recognition, Hutchinson will be presented with $10,000 in prize money – the highest amount given for a single book award, Hutchinson said – at a Dec. 7 ceremony in Washington D.C..\n“I was overjoyed when I first heard the news,” Hutchinson said. “It is probably the most prestigious and competitive award for literary criticism. When you look down the list of past winners, it is a pantheon of great scholars.”\nHutchinson’s book was published in 2006 and is a biography of the distinguished, but socially denied, Harlem Renaissance novelist Nella Larson. \nLarson was born to a Danish mother and a black West Indian father in 1891 in Chicago. She lived during a time of tremendous hostility toward mixed-race marriages and wrote about her tough experiences as a biracial woman. While at the time she received little acknowledgment for her novels, Larson would later go on to be known as one of the greatest black writers of her generation. \nHutchinson’s work deals with the notion of the color line and its effect on American culture from the 1890s to the present.\nThe author initially wanted to write a book on interracial literature and its effect on American culture, but decided to focus on the life of Larson after he found she was misrepresented in other biographies. \n“When I started reading other biographies, I began thinking that (the authors) lacked evidence for their conclusions,” Hutchinson said. “I did some research and found that many facts were misinterpreted. Someone had to set the record straight.”\nThe book ultimately took nine years to research and write, and this time, Hutchinson made sure Larson’s life was presented accurately. \nIn order to obtain information, he traveled the world to nearly every location Larson ever visited: Denmark, New York, Chicago, Spain, France, Tuskegee University in Alabama and Fisk University in Tennessee. \n“Everywhere I went, I discovered something new,” Hutchinson said of his research. “It was a lot of fun. If you are inventive and determined, it’s amazing what you can find.” \nProfessors at IU are also now using “In Search of Nella Larson” as a teaching material for their students. \nIn the “Variations on Blackness” course offered by four different departments – American Studies, African-American Diaspora Studies, Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies – graduate students read the book as part of the class. \n“The students really loved the book because it focuses on recovering a woman’s life,” said Associate Professor Matthew Guterl, who teaches the course. “George’s book was a touchstone for our conversations about identity, color and race. It is one of the most important biographies written in the last five to ten years.”\nThe book also gained world-wide recognition from scholars. \nHutchinson served as the keynote speaker at a May 2006 conference titled “Denmark and the Black Atlantic,” organized by the English department, Germanic and Romance Studies at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. \nSam Esquith, awards coordinator for the Phi Beta Kappa Society, said Hutchinson’s book beat out more than 30 competing titles to claim the honor.\n“This book goes places previous work has not gone,” Esquith said. “For people looking at Nella Larson, it will become the new standard.”