William H. Pritchard

William H. Pritchard (born 1932) is an American literary critic and the Henry Clay Folger Professor of English, Emeritus, at Amherst College.

Early life and education
William Harrison Pritchard, Jr., was born in 1932, the son of William H. Pritchard and Marion (LaGrange) Pritchard of Johnson City, New York. A graduate of Johnson City High School at age 16, he earned an A.B. in philosophy at Amherst College in 1953, and an M.A. (1956) and a Ph.D. in English (1960) at Harvard University, with the dissertation, The uses of nature; a study of Robert Frost's poetry.

Pritchard and Marietta Perl wed in August, 1957, in the Harvard University Chapel.

Career
Pritchard began teaching at Amherst in 1958. His academic interests include American and British 20th century fiction, poetry and literary criticism.

Awards, honors

 * National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship (1977-78, 1986)
 * Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship (1973-1974)
 * American Council of Learned Societies Junior Fellowship (1963-64); Fellowship (1977-78)
 * Henry Clay Folger Professor of English (1984)

Scholarly and Professional Activities

 * American Academy of Arts & Sciences (elected 2004)
 * Association of Literary Scholars and Critics