Edward Dahlberg

Edward Dahlberg (July 22, 1900 – February 27, 1977) was an American novelist, essayist and autobiographer.

Edward Dahlberg was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Elizabeth Dahlberg. Together, mother and son led a vagabond existence until 1905 when she operated the Star Lady Barbershop in Kansas City. Edward was sent to a Catholic Orphanage in Kansas City at the age of six for one year. In April 1912, Dahlberg was sent to the Jewish Orphan Asylum in Cleveland, Ohio where he lived until 1917. He eventually attended the University of California, Berkeley (1922–23) and Columbia University (B.S. in philosophy. 1925).

Dahlberg enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War I. He lost the use of an eye after being struck with a rifle butt. World War I. In the late 1920s, Dahlberg became part of the expatriate group of American writers living in Paris. His first novel, Bottom Dogs, was based on his childhood experiences at the orphanage and his travels in the American West; it was published in London with an introduction by D.H. Lawrence. With his advance money, Dahlberg returned to New York City and resided in Greenwich Village. He visited Germany in 1933 where he wrote anti-Nazi articles for the London Times and counseled many German intellectuals, Jews, communists and anarchists to flee Germany or they would be murdered by Hitler. His public denunciation of Hitler had consequences. Edward was attacked by a burly Nazi Storm Trooper in a Berlin Cafe. The Nazi was a young butcher's apprentice. To the surprise of the onlookers and the young Nazi, Edward fought the large Storm Trooper and did not yield until the German Police broke up the fight. Edward was a seasoned street fighter and the Nazi was not. This attack on an American Citizen and journalist writing for the London Times was front page news around the world. It was an attack on the freedom of the press. Hitler sent a personal note of apology to Edward and the Storm Trooper was arrested. Edward felt the Storm Trooper had suffered enough humiliation and did not press charges. In 1934 he published the first American anti-Nazi novel, Those Who Perish. From the 1940s onwards, Dahlberg made his living as an author and also taught at various colleges and universities. From 1944-1948 he taught at Boston University. In 1948, he taught briefly at the experimental Black Mountain College. He was replaced on the staff by his friend and fellow author, Charles Olson.

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