Around New England

Eugenics Sympathizer Up for Removal from Vermont Literary Award

June 25, 2017

Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1879-1958) was a prolific Vermont author and social activist, and a state award in her name is given to a children’s book author every year. But some are pointing out that she supported eugenics in the 1920s and 1930s and that her works have unflattering portrayals of French Canadians, Indians, and others she apparently considered as lesser peoples, and they say her name should be taken off the award.