As a sequel to the previous post on Writing with Fire: Thoughts on the Craft of Writing, here's a little more information about the author, Charles Allen Gramlich. He responded to my query with the following details, and has graciously given permission to quote the bulk of his response verbatim:
Gramlich is German, and means Grief and Sorrow. I always thought that was kind of cool. There are a lot of Gramlich's in southern Germany. My mom's side of the family are the Wilhelm's, which is also German, and we have relatives with family names like Verkamp, Schmidt, and Stek, also all German.
My ancestors appear to have settled originally in the St Louis area. Our direct family ancestor fought for the North in the Civil War and ended up being in battles in Arkansas. He loved the countryside so much that after the war he settled there. They were always Catholic as far as I know, and there is a pretty big German Catholic area in Central/Northwest Arkansas, at places like Subiaco and Stuttgart, although that small pool is surrounded on all sides by numerous Protestant groups. By the time I was growing up the prejudice against Catholics had diminished quite a bit but there was still some.
I started undergraduate school largely as a biology major but most of the biology faculty at Arkansas Tech University were interested in invertebrates. The only guy who was interested in the brain was in psychology so that's how I got into that area. He was also a very good teacher and that swayed me as well. I always kept a focus on biological aspects of psychology, but I certainly enjoy the breadth of the field and it is one of the most enjoyable disciplines to teach.
Today's Rune: Partnership.
Gramlich is German, and means Grief and Sorrow. I always thought that was kind of cool. There are a lot of Gramlich's in southern Germany. My mom's side of the family are the Wilhelm's, which is also German, and we have relatives with family names like Verkamp, Schmidt, and Stek, also all German.
My ancestors appear to have settled originally in the St Louis area. Our direct family ancestor fought for the North in the Civil War and ended up being in battles in Arkansas. He loved the countryside so much that after the war he settled there. They were always Catholic as far as I know, and there is a pretty big German Catholic area in Central/Northwest Arkansas, at places like Subiaco and Stuttgart, although that small pool is surrounded on all sides by numerous Protestant groups. By the time I was growing up the prejudice against Catholics had diminished quite a bit but there was still some.
I started undergraduate school largely as a biology major but most of the biology faculty at Arkansas Tech University were interested in invertebrates. The only guy who was interested in the brain was in psychology so that's how I got into that area. He was also a very good teacher and that swayed me as well. I always kept a focus on biological aspects of psychology, but I certainly enjoy the breadth of the field and it is one of the most enjoyable disciplines to teach.
Today's Rune: Partnership.
4 comments:
Erik, thanks for all the great details on Charles. I had never heard the name "Gramlich" before him. Proud to say I "know" him!
One thing that I didn't mention is that up until my siblings, no one in our direct ancestry married outside of another German immigrant family. I think that says something about the polarization that had once existed.
Thanks again for the kind words, Erik.
Very interesting.
Charles is the first Gramlich I ever came across.
Cool follow-up. I really liked Cold in the Light. Grief and sorrow is a neat last name.
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