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Happy 80th, Ned Hoopes! (Co-writer of "Heroes & Monsters of Greek Myth," 1967)
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Lenona
May 22, 2012, 4:36:45 PM5/22/12
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Born in Safford, Arizona, he now lives in NYC.
Bernard Evslin (1922-1993) and Evslin's wife Dorothy (1923-2010) were
his co-writers. "The Greek Gods" and "Heroes & Monsters of Greek Myth"
were both illustrated in ink by William Hunter, in a very memorable
liquid-metallic style. BTW, Bernard Evslin wrote more than 30
retellings from (mostly) Greek mythology.
http://openlibrary.org/works/OL15141250W/The_Greek_gods
(book cover)
In part because of the illustrations, I have enough nostalgic feeling
for the two books above to keep them in my collection. Even so, I'm
very glad I read Edith Hamilton's "Mythology" first (at age 11), and I
suspect most well-read parents would prefer their kids did the same -
assuming the kids don't get their mythology retellings from some
writer who's far younger and completely different in style. To
understand why Hamilton is preferable to E,E & H (even though I've
known at least two female academics who considered her to be a hack),
one only has to read the myth of Phaethon in "The Greek Gods."
Pages 68-69 (in this version, Phaethon has passed out while trying to
find his father's palace and Apollo's "sun hawks" have seen him and
are ordered to bring him there):
"The sun hawk seized the softly glowing rug at the foot of the throne
and flew away with it. She summoned three of her companions, and they
each took a corner of the rug. They flew over a desert and a mountain
and a wood andcame to the field where Phaethon lay. They flew down
among the howling of wolves, among burning eyes set in acircle about
the unconscious boy. They pushed him onto the rug, and each took a
corner in her beak, and flew away.
"Phaethon felt himself being lifted into the air. The cold wind of his
going revived him, and he sat up. People below saw a boy sitting with
folded arms on a carpet rushing through the cold, bright moonlight far
above their heads. It was too dark, though, to see the birds, and that
is why we hear tales of flying carpets even to this day."
And on page 70, just after Phaethon make his rash request of Apollo:
"Apollo's roar of anger shattered every crystal goblet in the great
castle."
And that sort of flippancy and purple prose come up again and again.
Even so, I can't help enjoying certain scenes as an adult, such as one
in "Heroes & Monsters of Greek Myth" - it's a scene (completely
fabricated by the authors?) with Atalanta that you will NEVER
anticipate, whether or not you've ever heard of the myth! It's on page
76.
And, at the end of that book, they have an index of sorts with
interesting bits such as this:
" 'Procrustes-bed' is a phrase meaning any difficult situation which
cannot be changed but to which man must adapt himself. It comes from
the uncomfortable hospitality offered by the innkeeper Procrustes, who
bolted guests to the bed. If they were too short, he stretched them;
if too long, he chopped off their legs to fit. However, Theseus made
him lie in his own bed.
" 'Psyche' is perhaps the most misused word in the language. In Greek
it meant 'soul' and was personified in myth by a beautiful princess,
beloved of Eros himself, who lost her husband and her sense of herself
through mistrust but regained both when she dropped her suspicions and
took on the risks that love brings. In English, however, the word has
come to mean the entire mental apparatus and has given birth to a host
of words like psychotic, psychology, psychoanalysis, etc."
Also: "Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek myths" is the two books
combined.
From "Contemporary Authors":
"Education: Brigham Young University, B.A., 1956, M.A., 1957;
Northwestern University, M.A., 1958, Ph.D., 1967.
"Special lecturer, Evanston Township High School, 1959-62; Hofstra
University, Hempstead, NY, insturctor, 1962-63; Hunter College, New
York, NY, lecturer in School of General Studies, and instructor,
Hunter College High School, 1963-68; Pace University, New York, NY,
associate professor of English, 1968--. Master teacher, Master of Arts
Program, Harvard University, summer, 1962, Yale University, summer,
1963. Television host for "The Reading Room," Columbia Broadcasting
System network show for children; narrator of poetry records for
Macmillan, and children's stories records for Weston Studios. Former
member of editorial board, Laurel Leaf and Mayflower libraries, Dell
Publishing Co."
WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:
•(Editor with Diane W. Wilbur) The Lighter Side, Scholastic Book
Services, 1964.
•(Editor with Richard S. Beal) Search for Perspective, Holt, 1965.
•(Editor) Harte of the West: 17 Stories by Bret Harte, Dell, 1966.
•(Editor with Richard Corbin) Incredible Tales by Saki, Dell, 1966.
•(Editor with R. Corbin) Surprises: 20 Stories by O. Henry, Dell,
1966.
•(Editor) The Wonderful World of Horses, Dell, 1966.
•(Editor) Edge of Awareness: 25 Contemporary Essays, Laurel, 1966.
(With Evslin and Evslin) The Greek Gods, Scholastic Book Services,
1966.
•(Editor) Famous Devil Stories, Laurel, 1967.
•(Retelling of Arabian Night), Alibi and the Thieves, and Other
Stories, Mayflower Book, 1967.
•(With Evslin and Evslin) Heroes and Monsters of Greek Myth,
Scholastic Book Services, 1967.
•(Editor) Stories to Enjoy, Macmillan, 1967, new edition, 1974.
•(Editor) Ideas in Motion, Holt, 1969.
•(Editor) Who Am I?, Dell, 1969.
•(Editor) Great Television Plays, Laurel, Volume I, 1969, Volume II
(with Pat Gordon), 1975.
Lenona.
P.S. Bernard Evslin wrote a 234-page book: "Gods, Demigods & Demons:
An Encylopedia of Greek Mythology" that's especially helpful because
it includes pronunciations, which so many encyclopedias don't. Even
so, if you want a book that's both accessible and would even be useful
to a professor of Greek, check out "Who's Who in Classical Mythology"
by M. Grant and J. Hazel - that one will even tell you the name of
Hercules and Omphale's son, plus the name of a man who loved Narcissus
- in vain, of course. (His name was Ameinias.)
Bernard Evslin (1922-1993) and Evslin's wife Dorothy (1923-2010) were
his co-writers. "The Greek Gods" and "Heroes & Monsters of Greek Myth"
were both illustrated in ink by William Hunter, in a very memorable
liquid-metallic style. BTW, Bernard Evslin wrote more than 30
retellings from (mostly) Greek mythology.
http://openlibrary.org/works/OL15141250W/The_Greek_gods
(book cover)
In part because of the illustrations, I have enough nostalgic feeling
for the two books above to keep them in my collection. Even so, I'm
very glad I read Edith Hamilton's "Mythology" first (at age 11), and I
suspect most well-read parents would prefer their kids did the same -
assuming the kids don't get their mythology retellings from some
writer who's far younger and completely different in style. To
understand why Hamilton is preferable to E,E & H (even though I've
known at least two female academics who considered her to be a hack),
one only has to read the myth of Phaethon in "The Greek Gods."
Pages 68-69 (in this version, Phaethon has passed out while trying to
find his father's palace and Apollo's "sun hawks" have seen him and
are ordered to bring him there):
"The sun hawk seized the softly glowing rug at the foot of the throne
and flew away with it. She summoned three of her companions, and they
each took a corner of the rug. They flew over a desert and a mountain
and a wood andcame to the field where Phaethon lay. They flew down
among the howling of wolves, among burning eyes set in acircle about
the unconscious boy. They pushed him onto the rug, and each took a
corner in her beak, and flew away.
"Phaethon felt himself being lifted into the air. The cold wind of his
going revived him, and he sat up. People below saw a boy sitting with
folded arms on a carpet rushing through the cold, bright moonlight far
above their heads. It was too dark, though, to see the birds, and that
is why we hear tales of flying carpets even to this day."
And on page 70, just after Phaethon make his rash request of Apollo:
"Apollo's roar of anger shattered every crystal goblet in the great
castle."
And that sort of flippancy and purple prose come up again and again.
Even so, I can't help enjoying certain scenes as an adult, such as one
in "Heroes & Monsters of Greek Myth" - it's a scene (completely
fabricated by the authors?) with Atalanta that you will NEVER
anticipate, whether or not you've ever heard of the myth! It's on page
76.
And, at the end of that book, they have an index of sorts with
interesting bits such as this:
" 'Procrustes-bed' is a phrase meaning any difficult situation which
cannot be changed but to which man must adapt himself. It comes from
the uncomfortable hospitality offered by the innkeeper Procrustes, who
bolted guests to the bed. If they were too short, he stretched them;
if too long, he chopped off their legs to fit. However, Theseus made
him lie in his own bed.
" 'Psyche' is perhaps the most misused word in the language. In Greek
it meant 'soul' and was personified in myth by a beautiful princess,
beloved of Eros himself, who lost her husband and her sense of herself
through mistrust but regained both when she dropped her suspicions and
took on the risks that love brings. In English, however, the word has
come to mean the entire mental apparatus and has given birth to a host
of words like psychotic, psychology, psychoanalysis, etc."
Also: "Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek myths" is the two books
combined.
From "Contemporary Authors":
"Education: Brigham Young University, B.A., 1956, M.A., 1957;
Northwestern University, M.A., 1958, Ph.D., 1967.
"Special lecturer, Evanston Township High School, 1959-62; Hofstra
University, Hempstead, NY, insturctor, 1962-63; Hunter College, New
York, NY, lecturer in School of General Studies, and instructor,
Hunter College High School, 1963-68; Pace University, New York, NY,
associate professor of English, 1968--. Master teacher, Master of Arts
Program, Harvard University, summer, 1962, Yale University, summer,
1963. Television host for "The Reading Room," Columbia Broadcasting
System network show for children; narrator of poetry records for
Macmillan, and children's stories records for Weston Studios. Former
member of editorial board, Laurel Leaf and Mayflower libraries, Dell
Publishing Co."
WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:
•(Editor with Diane W. Wilbur) The Lighter Side, Scholastic Book
Services, 1964.
•(Editor with Richard S. Beal) Search for Perspective, Holt, 1965.
•(Editor) Harte of the West: 17 Stories by Bret Harte, Dell, 1966.
•(Editor with Richard Corbin) Incredible Tales by Saki, Dell, 1966.
•(Editor with R. Corbin) Surprises: 20 Stories by O. Henry, Dell,
1966.
•(Editor) The Wonderful World of Horses, Dell, 1966.
•(Editor) Edge of Awareness: 25 Contemporary Essays, Laurel, 1966.
(With Evslin and Evslin) The Greek Gods, Scholastic Book Services,
1966.
•(Editor) Famous Devil Stories, Laurel, 1967.
•(Retelling of Arabian Night), Alibi and the Thieves, and Other
Stories, Mayflower Book, 1967.
•(With Evslin and Evslin) Heroes and Monsters of Greek Myth,
Scholastic Book Services, 1967.
•(Editor) Stories to Enjoy, Macmillan, 1967, new edition, 1974.
•(Editor) Ideas in Motion, Holt, 1969.
•(Editor) Who Am I?, Dell, 1969.
•(Editor) Great Television Plays, Laurel, Volume I, 1969, Volume II
(with Pat Gordon), 1975.
Lenona.
P.S. Bernard Evslin wrote a 234-page book: "Gods, Demigods & Demons:
An Encylopedia of Greek Mythology" that's especially helpful because
it includes pronunciations, which so many encyclopedias don't. Even
so, if you want a book that's both accessible and would even be useful
to a professor of Greek, check out "Who's Who in Classical Mythology"
by M. Grant and J. Hazel - that one will even tell you the name of
Hercules and Omphale's son, plus the name of a man who loved Narcissus
- in vain, of course. (His name was Ameinias.)
Lenona
May 22, 2012, 5:06:53 PM5/22/12
to
More covers:
http://www.librarything.com/author/hoopesnede
(to see individual book covers, click on the titles)
http://www.librarything.com/author/hoopesnede
(to see individual book covers, click on the titles)
neb...@gmail.com
Feb 17, 2017, 2:38:33 PM2/17/17
to
neb...@gmail.com
Feb 17, 2017, 2:42:26 PM2/17/17
to
On Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 2:36:45 PM UTC-6, Lenona wrote:
I have inherited three decollages created by Ned Hoopes and dated 1969. Unfortunately, I do not know anything about Mr. Hoopes, other than his being an author. Will you please send me information about him and how I might contact him, so he knows where his art has landed? Thank you very much.
leno...@yahoo.com
Feb 22, 2017, 3:01:08 PM2/22/17
to
On Friday, February 17, 2017 at 2:42:26 PM UTC-5, neb...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> I have inherited three decollages created by Ned Hoopes and dated 1969. Unfortunately, I do not know anything about Mr. Hoopes, other than his being an author. Will you please send me information about him and how I might contact him, so he knows where his art has landed? Thank you very much.
Well, one source says he lives on Third Avenue in Manhattan (near Gramercy Park). Check a directory to be sure.
>
> I have inherited three decollages created by Ned Hoopes and dated 1969. Unfortunately, I do not know anything about Mr. Hoopes, other than his being an author. Will you please send me information about him and how I might contact him, so he knows where his art has landed? Thank you very much.
Trouble is, relatively recently, I found two tiny sources that say he died in 1984, at age 51 or 52. I can't find more than that, so I wonder. Sorry I don't know more than that.
Lenona.
neb...@gmail.com
Apr 1, 2018, 12:45:48 PM4/1/18
to
Leona, thank you so much for getting back to me. I apologize for responding late, as today is the first day for me to see your response. I’m hoping Mr. Hoopes is still with us and will do more research the next time I’m in NYC. Any chance you knew Malcolm Crawford or Castle Campbell? Two very, very dear people. Again, thank you!
leno...@yahoo.com
Apr 2, 2018, 5:33:24 PM4/2/18
to
On Sunday, April 1, 2018 at 12:45:48 PM UTC-4, neb...@gmail.com wrote:
> Leona, thank you so much for getting back to me. I apologize for responding late, as today is the first day for me to see your response. I’m hoping Mr. Hoopes is still with us and will do more research the next time I’m in NYC. Any chance you knew Malcolm Crawford or Castle Campbell? Two very, very dear people. Again, thank you!
Do let me know WHAT you find out, one way or another. (Obviously, if he's alive, he'd likely want to make sure that no misinformation is being spread!)
> Leona, thank you so much for getting back to me. I apologize for responding late, as today is the first day for me to see your response. I’m hoping Mr. Hoopes is still with us and will do more research the next time I’m in NYC. Any chance you knew Malcolm Crawford or Castle Campbell? Two very, very dear people. Again, thank you!
No, I don't know those other names.
Lenona.
leno...@yahoo.com
Aug 5, 2018, 2:22:06 PM8/5/18
to
Well, unfortunately, this seems to confirm he's no longer with us.
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KW86-GPG/Ned-Edward-Hoopes.html
It says he died 9 days before turning 52. All the family details match.
(But then, I should remind everyone that Familysearch HAS made mistakes. Though I don't remember any cases where it made any premature claims of someone's death.)
Lenona.
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