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Bernard Evslin
Bernard Evslin
Born	April 4, 1922; New Rochelle, New York, US
Died	June 4, 1993 (aged 71); Kauai, Hawaii, US
Occupation	author

Bernard Evslin (April 4, 1922 – June 4, 1993) was an American author best known for his adaptations of Greek mythology.

Biography

Bernard Evslin was born in New Rochelle, New York, April 4, 1922, and went on to attend Rutgers University.^[1]

Evslin spent the first part of his career as a playwright and screenwriter. His comedy, The Geranium Hat, opened on Broadway in 1959 and was generally well received, although his later play, Step on a Crack only held one performance before closing at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, despite starring Rita Hayworth.^[2] Evslin also wrote the screenplay for A.k.a. Cassius Clay and co-wrote the screenplay for Journey Back to Oz.^[3] In the 1960s, he switched gears to novels and short stories, the best-known of which is "Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths" which has been translated into multiple languages and sold over ten million copies across the globe. Evslin went on to author over seventy titles overall, almost half of which were geared at young adults.^[1]

Evslin won many awards for his writing, including the National Education Association Award in 1961, National Education Award nomination in 1975, best television documentary on an Educational Theme Award, and the Washington Irving Children's Book Choice Award from the Westchester Library Association for his book Hercules in 1968.^[1]^[2]

He was married to author and teacher Dorothy Evslin, with whom he co-wrote two of his mythology books, The Greek Gods and Heroes & Monsters of Greek Myth alongside Ned Hoopes. Together, they had four children: Lee, who resides in Hawaii, and Tom, the former Chief Technology Officer of the State of Vermont and CEO of ITXC corporation, who lives in Seattle, as well as two daughters, Pamela and Janet.^[2]^[4]

Death

Evslin died of cardiac arrest while in his swimming pool on June 4, 1993, in Kauai, Hawaii, at the age of 71.^[2]

Additional works

Evslin's Monsters of Mythology series, published between 1987 and 1991, retold many stories from ancient mythology, often by altering the plot of the stories.

The titles include:

The Adventures of Ulysses
Anteus
Amycus
The Calydonian Boar
Cerberus
The Chimaera
The Cyclopes
Drabne of Dole
The Dragon of Boetia
Fafnir
Fenris
The Furies
Geryon
Harpalyce
Hecate
The Hydra
Ladon
Medusa
The Minotaur
The Nemean Lion
Pig's Ploughman
Procrustes
Scylla and Charybdis
The Sirens
The Spear-Birds
The Sphinx

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Bernard Evslin. "Bernard Evslin". Openroadmedia.com. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Bernard Evslin, Writer And Mythologist, 77".
^ "Bernard Evslin". IMDb.
^ "Fractals of Change". blog.tomevslin.com.

Bernard Evslin (1922-1993) was an American writer who became famous from his younger adaptations of the ancient myths of Greece and Ancient Rome. His texts made these timeless stories understandable to the younger generation, which was perfect for learning as well as reading adventures without leaving significant learning behind. Evslin became a writer after the Second World War, during which his wide world view developed and later affected the style of his writings. The Adventures of Ulysses (1961) is Evslin’s primary literary work, in which he retold Homer's Odyssey. This work proved his mastery of mythological adaptations and was the beginning of a series of similar books. Through his deft use of clear, captivating prose, he revived the legendary journey of Ulysses, weaving a story of adventure and lessons of honor. Thanks to these alterations, the myth became less complex and more attractive to young pupils who were allowed to follow most of the main themes. As his next achievements, he wrote other books like The Trojan War (1963) and The Gods Who Live in the Sky (1975), where the allegorical events like heroism, divine interference, and the essence of humankind are further implicated. Evslin’s writing is characterized by its graphic illustration and clearest language, thus, the imaginary themes become moving for modern readers. He was commended for his recurrent use of characters and morals in the myths, which made his pieces popular among the learners. Symbolic of this is the fact that he managed to narrow it down to few words while describing those old stories yet these themes were received easily by the audience. Later in life, Evslin lived in the Bahamas and kept writing as well as thinking about mythology concerning its relation to the contemporary lifestyle. His memory remains alive due to his children's stories and the mark left by his reworkings of myths that still linger.