Don Noble is an Alabama writer and literary critic. He is host of the long-running Alabama Public Television author interview program Bookmark, the book reviewer for Alabama Public Radio, and a professor emeritus of English at the University of Alabama.[1]

Don Noble
Don Noble in 2022
Don Noble in 2022
Born(1941-12-11)December 11, 1941
Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
Occupationjournalist, essayist, literary critic
EducationUniversity at Albany, SUNY
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
SpouseJennifer Horne

Education and career

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Noble earned bachelor’s and master’s in English at University at Albany, SUNY. He then earned a doctorate in Southern literature at the UNC Chapel Hill. He relocated to Tuscaloosa in 1969 and taught American literature at the University of Alabama until 2001.[2]

In addition to his teaching career, Noble is the author of numerous works of literary criticism, including books about Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, John Steinbeck, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. He has also edited anthologies of fiction, including one with his wife Jennifer Horne, a past Poet Laureate of Alabama.[3] In 2023, he began a podcast titled "Alabama Aloud" that presents humorous short fiction by writers from the state.[4]

Noble has served on the boards of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the Alabama Writers’ Forum, and the Alabama School for the Fine Arts.[5]

Awards

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His awards include a regional Emmy for Achievement in Screenwriting with Brent Davis for a documentary on Alabama writer William Bradford Huie. Noble was the recipient of the 2000 Eugene Current-Garcia Award,[6] the 2013 Wayne Greenhaw Service Award from the Alabama Humanities Alliance,[7] and the 2017 Governor’s Arts Award given by the Alabama State Council on the Arts.[8]

Personal life

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Horne is married to poet and writer Jennifer Horne, a former Poet Laureate of Alabama.[9] They live in Cottondale, Alabama.[10]

Published works

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  • Noble (Ed.), Don (2004). Climbing Mt. Cheaha: Emerging Alabama Writers. Livingston: Livingston Press. ISBN 9781931982399.
  • Noble (Ed.), Don with Jennifer Horne (2017). Belles' Letters 2: Contemporary Stories by Alabama Women. Livingston: Livingston Press. ISBN 9781604891836.
  • Noble (Ed.), Don (2008). A State of Laughter: Comic Fiction from Alabama. Livingston: Livingston Press. ISBN 9781604890044.
  • Noble (Ed.), Don (2009). Zelda and Scott/Scott and Zelda: New Essays on the Fitzgeralds’ Life, Work and Times. Albany: Whitston Publishing Co. ISBN 9780878755165.
  • Noble, Don (2009). Critical Insights: To Kill a Mockingbird. Amenia: Salem Press. ISBN 9781587656187.
  • Noble (Ed.), Don (2009). Alabama Noir. Brooklyn: Akashic Books. ISBN 9781617758089.
  • Noble, Don (2010). Critical Insights: John Steinbeck. Amenia: Salem Press. ISBN 9781587657030.
  • Noble, Don (2010). Critical Insights: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Amenia: Salem Press. ISBN 9781587656934.

References

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  1. ^ "Don Noble: Host, Book Reviews". www.apr.org. Alabama Public Radio. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  2. ^ Smith, Jamon. "APR's 'Bookmark' Host Named Winner of Governor's Arts Award". news.ua.edu. University of Alabama. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  3. ^ "Meet Don Noble, 2019 Conference Faculty". alabamawriterscooperative.org. Alabama Writers' Cooperative. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  4. ^ Weed, Savanah. "Troy Public Radio launches new podcast featuring Don Noble, Alabama writers". Today.Troy.edu. Troy University. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  5. ^ Vickrey, Lenore (July 29, 2019). "Alabama People: Don Noble". Alabama Living Magazine. Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  6. ^ "Meet Don Noble, 2019 Conference Faculty". alabamawriterscooperative.org. Alabama Writers' Cooperative. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  7. ^ "Wayne Greenhaw Service to the Humanities Award". AlabamaHumanities.org. Alabama Humanities Alliance. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  8. ^ Smith 2017
  9. ^ Stefanescu, Alina. "A conversation with Alabama State Poet Laureate, Jennifer Horne". AlabamaWritersCooperative.org. Alabama Writers' Cooperative. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  10. ^ "Author Listing: Jennifer Horne". www.alabamawritersforum.org/. Alabama Writers Forum. Retrieved December 26, 2023.