Jack Randall Crawford (1878–1968) was an American educator, novelist, playwright, and literary critic who spent a significant portion of his career teaching at the university level. Born in Washington, D.C., on April 1, 1878, Crawford eventually joined the faculty at Yale University, where he served as a professor of English. His academic background deeply influenced his literary output, which spanned multiple genres and addressed both creative and scholarly audiences.
Over the course of his writing career, Crawford authored a variety of plays, works of literary criticism, and novels, though a substantial portion of his novelistic output remained unpublished. Today, he is best remembered for his 1922 autobiographical novel, I Walked in Arden, which stands as one of his most notable creative achievements. In the realm of nonfiction and scholarship, Crawford is also well known for his 1928 guide, What to Read in English Literature, a work that reflected his professional dedication to English studies and literary education.
