Merab Eberle
{{short description|American journalist and writer (1891–1959)}}
{{Infobox bio
|image=File:MerabEberle1959.png
|caption=Merab Eberle, from a 1959 publication
|birth_date={{birth date|1891|02|02}}
|birth_place=Mattoon, Illinois, U.S.
|death_date={{Death date and age|1959|10|31|1891|02|02}}
|death_place=Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
|burial_place=Franklin, Ohio
}}
Merab Eberle (February 2, 1891 – October 31, 1959) was an American journalist and a writer in several genres, including science fiction and children's plays.
Early life
Merab Shipley Eberle was born in Mattoon, Illinois, the daughter of Homer J. Eberle, a railroad employee, and Olive Rossman Eberle. Her paternal grandfather, Jacob Kauffman Eberle (1824–1902), was a medical doctor. She had the same three names as her paternal grandmother, Merab Shipley Eberle (1826–1888).{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20181031052536/https://ancestorville.com/products/dr-jacob-kauffman-eberle "1870s Dr. Jacob Kauffman Eberle CDV Photo, Pana, IL (Marab Shipley)"]}} Ancestorville.
Merab Eberle attended Oxford College in Ohio,Eric Leif Davin, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZoNDebTvUnsC&dq=Merab+Eberle&pg=PA380 Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction, 1926–1965] (Lexington Books 2006): 380. {{ISBN|9780739112670}} graduating with honors in 1916.[https://books.google.com/books?id=xT9JAQAAMAAJ&dq=Merab+Eberle&pg=PA96 Catalogue] (Oxford College for Women 1917): 33, 96.
Career
Plays by Eberle included The Maydew Charm (1918, a fantasy play for May Day children's events),Merab Eberle, [https://books.google.com/books?id=HL5DAQAAMAAJ The Maydew Charm] (Eldridge Entertainment House 1918). Bobby in Belgium: A Junior Red Cross Play (1918),Merab Eberle, [https://books.google.com/books?id=tOfPS2HBNUcC&q=Merab+Eberle Bobby in Belgium] (Eldridge Entertainment House 1918). Capt. Anne of the Red Cross: A Red Cross Comedy for Girls (1918),Merab Eberle, [https://archive.org/details/captanneofredcro00eber/page/n1 Capt. Anne of the Red Cross: A Red Cross Comedy for Girls] (Eldridge Entertainment House 1918). and The Spirit of Democracy: An Allegorical Pageant (1917).Merab Eberle, [https://archive.org/details/spiritofdemocrac00eber/page/n1 The Spirit of Democracy: An Allegorical Pageant] (Eldridge Entertainment House 1917).
Stories by Merab Eberle included "The Mordant" (Amazing Stories, 1930) and "The Thought Translator" (Wonder Stories, 1930).[http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/eberle_merab Merab Eberle], The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (August 11, 2018).Everett Franklin Bleiler, [https://books.google.com/books?id=KEZxhkG5eikC&dq=Merab+Eberle&pg=PA657 Science-fiction, the Early Years] (Kent State University Press 1990): 657–658. {{ISBN|9780873384162}}
She also wrote poetry,Merab Eberle, [http://inlandchorus.com/PDFs/Program-1937-D21.pdf "Prayer"] The North American Review 230(4)(October 1930): 452.{{jstor|}}Merab Eberle, "With Yesterday" The Poetry Review (1936): 371. and won a prize for her poem "Prayer" in 1930.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24975996/merab_eberle_1930/ "Herald Critic Wins Poetry Prize"] Dayton Herald (October 11, 1930): 4. via Newspapers.com{{open access}} "Prayer" later became a church hymn.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24976207/merab_eberle_1959/ "Merab Eberle, J-H Writer, Dies at 68"] Dayton Daily News (October 31, 1959): 8. via Newspapers.com{{open access}} She won another prize for a historical ballad, in 1944.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24976287/merab_eberle_1944/ "Merab Eberle Wins Award in Ballad Contest"] Dayton Herald (December 26, 1944): 6. via Newspapers.com{{open access}} A collection of her poetry, Many Doors, was published posthumously in 1961.
She was a member of the Dayton Women's Club and the Ohio Newspaper Women's Association. From 1930 to 1959,[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24975560/merab_eberle_1959/ "Merab Eberle Services Will Be Held Today"] Journal Herald (November 2, 1959): 10. via Newspapers.com{{open access}} she was a reporter, arts editor and book reviewer for The Dayton Journal Herald.R. C. Harvey, [https://books.google.com/books?id=OiBmDAAAQBAJ&dq=Merab+Eberle&pg=PA324 Meanwhile...: A Biography of Milton Caniff, Creator of Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon] (Fantagraphics Books 2007): 324. {{ISBN|9781560977827}} Among the newspaper contributors under her editorial guidance was cartoonist Milton Caniff. "She gave richly of herself, her time and talent in promoting the cause of all the arts in her long career as art, music, and book editor of the Journal Herald", recalled the Dayton Art Institute in a statement after she died. "Her distinctive style enhanced all of her writings, and her deep love, understanding, and compassion for all of the arts helped promote the cause of art in Dayton as few other people have been able to do."{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24975383/merab_eberle_1959/|title=City Art Institute Pays Tribute to Merab Eberle|work=Journal Herald|date= November 25, 1959|page=23|via=Newspapers.com{{open access}}}}
Personal life
Merab Eberle died from a heart attack in 1959, aged 68 years, in Dayton, Ohio.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/11/03/archives/miss-merab-eberle.html |title=Miss Merab Eberle|work= The New York Times|date=November 3, 1959|page=31}} She had worked late at the newspaper until a few hours before she died. Her gravesite is with her parents' graves, in Franklin, Ohio.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Find a Grave|65588320}}
- {{ISFDB name|48510}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eberle, Merab}}
Category:20th-century American women writers
Category:20th-century American newspaper editors
Category:Mass media people from Dayton, Ohio
Category:American science fiction writers