Lawrence I. Berkove Papers

Lawrence (Larry) Berkove was born in Rochester, New York, on January 8, 1930, and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. Berkove began college as a Forestry major at the University of Montana. His summer jobs included working for the Forest Service, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and in steel mills. In 1953, he volunteered for a three year stint in the U.S. Army, serving as a Special Agent for the Counter Intelligence Corps in Korea.

After leaving the Army, Berkove received his Ph.D from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962, teaching at Skidmore College, Depaul University, and Colorado College before taking a teaching position at the University of Michigan Dearborn in 1964 where he taught until his retirement in 2003. In 1974, he was promoted to Professor of Humanities. He specialized in American Literature of the 19th Century and was an internationally recognized expert on Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Jack London, and authors of the Sagebrush School. Berkove was a prolific scholar, writing throughout his career and into retirement. He authored nearly 200 publications, including 14 books. In 1982-1983, Dr. Berkove Rikkyo University in Tokyo, Japan, invited him to be a visiting professor; in 1992, he was a Distinguished Fullbright Lecturer in South Korea. He served in leadership roles in a number of academic organizations, including as President of the Michigan College English Association, President of the Jack London Society, and President of the Mark Twain Circle of America.

Berkove died in Michigan on May 19, 2018.

[Note adapted from Larry Berkove's obiturary, accessed October 19, 2022.]