Richard Tupper Atwater
From Illinois Authors
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[edit] General Information
Name: Richard Tupper AtwaterPen Name: Richard Atwater, Riq, Frederick Mund Atwater
Born: Dec 29, 1892 in Chicago, Illinois
Died: August 21, 1948 in Downey, Wisconsin
[edit] Illinois Connection
Atwater was born and raised in Chicago. He attended the University of Chicago, 1907-17 and graduated with an Associate in Arts in 1909 and a B.A. (honors) in Greek in 1910. He taught at the University of Chicago, was a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Evening Post (as "Riq"), and Chicago Daily News.
[edit] Biographical and Professional Information
Richard was born Frederick Mund Atwater, but had his name legally changedin 1913 to Richard Tupper Atwater.
After graduating from the University of Chicago in 1910, Atwater stayed seven years as a graduate student and teacher in Greek studies.In addition to teaching at the University, he worked with the university's drama club in a variety of ways including writing a play for them. He was also an occasional contributing columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
He left the University in 1917 and, after a stint in the Army at the end of World War I, he joined the Chicago Evening Post writing a column as Riq. His first book, Rickety Rimes of Riq in 1925, was a collection of verse from this column. Even after moving to the Chicago Daily News, Atwater still published his Riq column.
Atwater's first foray into children's books was Doris and the Trolls in 1931. He also translated the Secret History of Procopius which was published in 1927 as well as an operetta, The King's Sneezes, 1933.
It was in this period that the Atwater family took in a documentary film about the Byrd Antarctic expedition. This film left an impression on Atwater and when one of his two daughters complained about how many history books she was having to read, he set out to write a fantasy tale about penguins as a counterpoint. He completed the manuscript and it was much enjoyed by his daughters but he set it aside, not happy with it in its final form.
Tragically, Atwater suffered a stroke in 1934 and, though he survived till 1948, he never recovered sufficiently to write again. His wife, Florence Atwater, wrote a number of articles for the New Yorker and The Atlantic to help support her family. Looking for ways to make additional income she went back to Atwater's original manuscript and took it to a couple of publishers, both of whom rejected it.
Florence Atwater reviewed the script and decided to recast the story which, in its original version, was a complete fantasy. Keeping the middle of the book as her husband had written it, she rewrote the beginning and the end, counterbalancing the fantasy with a story line that accentuated the practical consequences attendant to a fantasy. This revised version, illustrated by the Robert Lawson of The Story of Ferdinand fame, received a much more positive reception from publishers and Mr. Popper's Penguins was published in 1938 to immediate acclaim. It won a 1939 Newberry Honor and has been in print ever since.
[edit] Published Works
- Rickety Rimes of Riq, Ballou, 1925
- Doris and the Trolls, Rand McNally, 1931
- The King's Sneezes, H. FitzSimons, 1933
- Mr. Popper's Penguins, Little Brown, 1938 - revised and published by his wife, Florence
[edit] Titles for Purchase and at Your Library
 | Rickety rimes of RiqISBN: b00087cr56 Release Date: 1925 |
Doris & the TrollsISBN: B000QY41UK Release Date: 1931-01-01 |
The King's Sneezes, or Max and His Music Box: A Children's OperettaISBN: B000LWX914 Release Date: 1932 |
 | Mr. Popper's PenguinsISBN: 0316058432 Release Date: 1992-11-02 |
[edit] Literary Awards
- Newbery Honor Book, American Library Association 1939 for Mr. Popper's Penguins
- Young Reader's Choice Award, Pacific Northwest Library Association, 1941 for Mr. Popper's Penguins
- Lewis Carroll Shelf Award for Mr. Popper's Penguins
[edit] External Links
Richard Tupper Atwater on WorldCat
Richard Tupper Atwater on Amazon
[edit] Editing
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Categories: Authors | Last Name A | Fiction | Children
