Robert Bechtold Heilman was born in Philadelphia on July 18, 1906, to Edgar James Heilman, a Lutheran minister, and Mary Alice Bechtold Heilman. He grew up in Elizabethville and Easton, Pennsylvania, and attended Easton High School and Lafayette University. Even at an early age, Heilman was a gifted scholar, writer, and lecturer, giving both the salutatory speech at his high school commencement and the valedictory speech upon reception of his bachelor's degree in English in 1927. From 1922 to 1926 he was a student reporter for the
Heilman taught at Ohio University from 1928 to 1930, and at the University of Maine from 1931 to 1935, but his first major appointment was at Louisiana State University, where he taught from 1935 to 1947. While at LSU he developed professional and personal relationships with a number of prominent southern writers and critics, many of whom were involved in the "New American Criticism" movement. He maintained these connections throughout his life. In 1948 Heilman joined the University of Washington faculty, as chair of the English department, with five other outside appointments, including the famed poet Theodore Roethke. Roethke initially distrusted Heilman, but in time they became close friends and Heilman became one of Roethke's staunchest defenders, vouching for his character and teaching on several occasions. Heilman's most notable defense of Roethke came in the form of a persuasive letter (found in box 4, folder 26) to UW Vice President Frederick Thieme at a time when state legislators were questioning the decision to give Roethke unpaid leave during his bouts of manic depression.
Under Heilman's leadership, the English department grew in national stature and many of its faculty, including Roethke, Andrew Hilen, Arnold Stein, James W. Hall, and David Wagoner, contributed prominently to the field. Heilman brought in new faculty from over 30 graduate schools and helped UW graduates find employment in at least that many other institutions. Heilman led the English department until 1971, when he turned 65, the mandatory retirement age for department chairs. He retired from teaching and became a professor emeritus at the UW in 1976 at age 70. In 1977 he spent a year as the Arnold Professor at Whitman College.
Heilman engaged in scholarly research and writing throughout his administrative career and after his retirement. He served on the editorial boards of numerous publications, including
Heilman's academic interests included 18th- and 19th-century English and American literature and William Shakespeare. He was also a lifelong sports fan and occasionally wrote about football and baseball. Heilman produced ten volumes of critical works and essays on topics including Shakespeare, dramatic forms, fiction, and the American South. He edited 12 volumes and wrote or co-wrote four textbooks on fiction and drama. Heilman sometimes wrote poetry, most notably two light-verse retirement tributes: "The Charliad," for UW president Charles E. Odegaard, and "Sol-iloquy," for UW history professor and administrator Solomon Katz.
Heilman was an active member of Phi Beta Kappa, writing reviews for
Robert Heilman continued to write reviews and essays and to give lectures and speeches after his retirement. He also maintained active correspondence with family and colleagues. A collection of his essays titled
Consists of two accessions containing correspondence, speeches and writings, lecture notes, minutes, committee files, photographs, newsletters, books, posters, programs, reports, and awards, 1907-2004 (bulk 1928-2004). Consists chiefly of personal correspondence as well as letters from his years as chairman of the University of Washington Dept. of English. Also included are records relating to his activities in Phi Beta Kappa. Correspondents include Theodore Roethke, Sewannee Review editor George Core, Eric Voegelin, Cleanth Brooks, Norton Girault, Solomon Katz, Glenn Leggett, Robert Penn Warren, Kenneth Burke, John Sisk, Allen Tate, and William Carlos Williams. There is also a large amount of correspondence between Heilman and his family, especially his son Champlin B. "Pete" Heilman.
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The majority of the Robert Heilman personal papers consists of his correspondence (1934-2001), both personal and as chairman of the University of Washington English department. This correspondence includes letters to and from writers, editors, and administrators of other English departments, as well as Heilman's friends and colleagues. The most notable or prolific correspondents include: Theodore Roethke,
Heilman's writings and lectures, both published and unpublished, make up the other large portion of his personal papers. Speeches and writings range from his high school salutatory and college valedictory speeches and early short stories, poetry, and schoolwork, to lecture notes, scholarly essays, and the manuscript for his book,
Heilman kept a careful record of his donations to the UW Archives and included annotated inventories with each donation. Heilman's lists (located in box 10, folders 25-27) include notes and brief biographical information about his correspondents.
The two most substantial subgroups document the UW English department under Heilman's chairmanship (1948-1971) and Heilman's involvement with the scholarly organization Phi Beta Kappa. The English Department subgroup includes minutes of executive committee meetings and departmental correspondence, as well as several subject series that document important events or controversies. The Phi Beta Kappa subgroup is primarily made up of scripts for lectures Heilman gave as a visiting scholar, correspondence, and his book reviews for
Heilman portrait digitized for Web-accessible finding aid housed in Box 16/14. N. Netzel, 9/25/2003.