author
C. Alphonso (Charles Alphonso) Smith
1864–1924
A lively early-20th-century scholar of language and literature, he built a career around English, folklore, and the way people really speak. His work moved between the classroom, the lecture hall, and the study of American storytelling.
1 Audiobook
Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Exercise Book with Inflections, Syntax, Selections for Reading, and Glossary
by C. Alphonso (Charles Alphonso) Smith
About the author
Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1864, Charles Alphonso Smith became known as an American professor of English, dean, philologist, and folklorist. He studied at Davidson College and later earned a PhD from Johns Hopkins University, then taught at several major southern universities during a career centered on language and literature.
Smith taught at Louisiana State University and the University of North Carolina before serving as the Edgar Allan Poe Professor of English at the University of Virginia. He also helped found the Virginia Folklore Society, reflecting his strong interest in preserving regional speech, stories, and traditions.
Alongside his academic work, he wrote and edited books on English, poetry, and short fiction. His reputation rests on the range of his interests: he was not only a literary scholar, but also a careful observer of how language lives in everyday use.