Younghill Kang

Bio

(1903-1972) Author. Born in Korea, Younghill Kang came to the United States in 1922. He lived in Manhattan and taught at New York University, met Thomas Wolfe who introduced him to Maxwell Perkins. This meeting led to Scribner’s publication of Mr. Kang’s first novel “The Grass Roof” (1931). He then wrote a sequel, “East Goes West: The Making of an Oriental Yankee” (1937). Mr. Kang was the winner of French Prix Halpence Hamirsky in 1937 and two Guggenheim Awards for Creative Literature. He adapted “The Grass Roof” as “The Happy Grove” for children. In 1939, Illinois congressman Kent E. Keller introduced a bill to the United States House of Representatives (HR 7127) to have New York University professor Younghill Kang naturalized as a United States citizen. Included with the bill was a collection of statements on Mr. Kang’s behalf compiled by the Committee on Citizenship for Younghill Kang that involved such notable literary and civic leaders as Malcolm Cowley, Pearl S. Buck, Lewis Mumford, Maxwell Perkins, and Charles Scribner.