BELL CHEVIGNY

CHEVIGNY--Bell Gale. 1936-2021. Bell Gale Chevigny, 85, died on November 28, 2021 at her home in Manhattan. The cause was cancer. Bell is survived by her husband of 57 years, Paul Chevigny, their daughters Katy and Blue, and their grandchildren Josie and Simone. She was born on March 17, 1936, to Virginia and Marland Gale. She graduated from Wellesley College and earned her PhD in English Literature at Yale University. In 1957, Bell contracted polio during a trip to Mexico. She spent a year of what would have been graduate school recovering in the hospital. She spent the rest of her life disabled due to the illness. During her long career as a professor and writer, she taught at Queens College, Sarah Lawrence and SUNY Purchase. A beloved and devoted teacher, she pioneered courses in such disciplines as Women's Studies, African American Literature and Latin American Literature. It was thanks to Bell's efforts that many distinguished authors from Cuba, Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America came to the U.S. to share their work. Bell published several books, notably The Woman and the Myth: Margaret Fuller's Life and Writings (1976), a biography of Fuller, a previously unrecognized early feminist and thinker in the Trancendentalist movement, and an anthology of prison writing titled Doing Time: Prison Writing in America (1999). For several years, she chaired the Prison Writing Program at PEN America. Throughout her life, she taught in prisons, championed the cause of prisoner education, and promoted the recognition of prison writers. Bell spent summers at a family cabin on the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York. She painted numerous canvases of the landscape and helped launch a plein air painting festival there. She loved to swim in the river and spend time with her grandchildren. She was able to go there again in August with her whole family. There will be no formal memorial, though many loved ones will remember her fondly. A living memorial to celebrate her life was held for Bell's 85th birthday last spring on Zoom and attended by family, friends and former students from around the globe.