Perkins, Barbara
July 9, 1933 -
Place of Birth: St. Benedict, PA
Place of Principle Residence: Ann Arbor, MI
Biography:
Barbara M. Perkins was born to Gladys Patterson and George Miller in St. Benedict, PA. She earned her AB in 1956 at Baldwin-Wallace College, her MA at Kent State University in 1959, and her PhD in 1972 at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1964 she married her husband, George, and the two moved to Edinburgh in 1966 where she worked on her dissertation at the National Library of Scotland under a Danforth Fellowship with her newborn baby, Laura, in tow. Perkins has taught or lectured at Cleveland Public Schools, Baldwin-Wallace College, the University of Pennsylvania, Fairleigh Dickinson University, the University of Newcastle, Perkins University, and the University of Toledo. In addition she has served as the director of writing improvement at Eastern Michigan University and as managing editor for the Journal of Narrative Technique. While she has co-authored books with her husband, Perkins also has penned essays and reviews in publications including the Western Humanities Review, American Literature, The Journal of Narrative Technique, The World Book Encyclopedia, and Choice. Perkins is actively involved in the Ann Arbor Community, including managing political campaigns, and having chaired the Program Committee for the Board of HelpSource, a Washtenaw County service organization. She currently lives in Ann Arbor, MI with her husband and has three children: Laura, Suzanne, and Alison.
Selected Works:
- American Tradition in Literature (with George Perkins) (1999)
- Kaleidoscope: Stories of the American Experience (with George Perkins) (1993)
- “History of Harper’s Monthly Magazine,” in American Literary Magazines: the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (1986)
Awards:
- 1994 Award established in her and her husband’s name by the Society for the Study of Narrative Literature
- 1966-67 Danforth Faculty Fellowship (for study at the U. of Edinburgh and National Library of Scotland)
- 1963-64 U of Pennsylvania Teaching Fellowship
Critical Reception:
Perkins is a respected author and writer, and has won several awards and academic honors like the Danforth Faculty Fellowship and the University of Pennsylvania Teaching Fellowship. She has lectured widely, including at Peking University.
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work:
Perkins is actively involved in the Ann Arbor Community, including managing political campaigns. Currently she lives and writes at her home in Ann Arbor, MI.