Herbert Kubly Retrospective

Sunday, April 26, marks the 100th anniversary of New Glarus author, playwright, professor, and world traveler, born on the family farm, 1.5 miles east of New Glarus.
Kubly holds the distinction of being the first Wisconsin writer to win the National Book Award, in 1956, for his first book, <i>American in Italy</i>. This award was presented to him by his good friend, then Senator John F. Kennedy.
Kubly was the first of his family to attend college, graduating from UW-Madison. While at UW-Madison he studied under Helen C. White, for whom a major library on campus is named.
After graduation, Kubly got his first job as a reporter in Pittsburgh, PA, for the <i>Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph</i>. Following his tenure at the <i>Sun-Telegraph</i>, he went to work for the <i>New York Herald Tribune</i>.
In 1944, his first play, <i>Men to the Sea</i>, was produced on Broadway. He spent the next two years as music critic for <i>Time </i>magazine. After leaving New York, he became an associate professor of speech at the University of Illinois.
He was the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship, which allowed him to spend 18 months in Italy. His National Book Award was awarded him for his writing during his time in Italy. Throughout his career he wrote 11 books, including books on Italy and Switzerland in the Time-Life world travel series.
His 1981 book, <i>Native’s Return</i>, was written based on his experiences during a year in Switzerland. That year in Switzerland gave him time to look deeply into himself. The resulting book was not greeted with enthusiasm in Switzerland. And for quite some time after publication, the book was difficult to obtain in Switzerland.
A world traveler, Herb ended his career teaching at UW-Parkside from 1969-1984, retiring back to the Kubly Family Farm until his passing on August 7, 1996.
To commemorate Herb’s life, his friends and readers are gathering at Puempel’s Olde Tavern on Sunday, April 26th, beginning at 1:00 p.m., to hold a casual retrospective reflection on Herb’s life, his writing, and sharing stories about their interactions with Herb. The public is invited to attend. All of Kubly’s books will be on display.
For further information, please call John Ochsner at (608) 862-3524 or Kim Tschudy at (608) 527-5637.