The Devil at Park Church

This chapter discusses Max Eastman’s upbringing in Elmira, NY, as the son of two progressive Congregationalist ministers and specifically the influence of his mother, Annis Ford Eastman, and of his sister, Crystal Eastman. Other formative factors in Eastman’s childhood and youth include his sexual awakening, the time spent with his family in the alternative community of Glenora, NY, and his schooling at Mercersburg Academy, Pennsylvania, where, despite a tendency toward melancholy inherited from his mother, he excels academically.