Walter Van Tilburg Clark
Encyclopedia
Walter Van Tilburg Clark (August 3, 1909 — November 10, 1971) was an American novelist, short story writer, and educator. He ranks as one of Nevada's most distinguished literary figures of the 20th century and is known primarily for his novels, his one volume of stories, as well as his uncollected short stories. As a writer, he taught himself to use the familiar materials of the western saga to explore the human psyche and to raise deep philosophical issues.
, Clark grew up and went to college in Reno
, where his father was president of the University of Nevada
. In 1933 Clark married Barbara Frances Morse and moved to Cazenovia, New York
, where he taught high school English and began his fiction-writing career.
Clark's first published novel, The Ox-Bow Incident (1940), was successful and is often considered to be the first modern Western, without the genre usual clichés and formulaic plots. It is a tale about a lynch mob mistaking three innocent travelers for cattle rustlers. When the travelers are killed, the lynch mob finds that they were wrong. The book examines law and order as well as culpability. It was well-received and gave Clark literary acclaim that was unusual for a writer of Westerns
. In 1943 it was adapted into a movie
featuring Henry Fonda
.
Clark's short story, "The Portable Phonograph", is also well known.
He published two more novels, The City of Trembling Leaves
and The Track of the Cat, and a collection of his short stories over the next decade, which were also well-received. His short stories (such as "Hook", "The Wind And The Snow Of Winter", and "The Portable Phonograph") have been anthologized consistently as classic examples of short stories since they first began being published in national magazines during the 1940s. Two Hollywood movies were inspired by Clark's writings, and one of these (The Ox-Bow Incident
) received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
Although he continued to write prolifically after 1950, Clark published very little. He had several academic positions, serving for a time during the 1950s as a professor of creative writing at the University of Montana in Missoula, where he was noted by his students for his teaching skills and for his eccentric clothing which consisted of a blue turtleneck shirt, maroon corduroy jacket, grey slacks and blue socks which never varied throughout the term.
He returned later to Reno to serve as the writer-in-residence at the university from 1962 until his death (in Virginia City, Nevada) on November 10, 1971. He died almost two years to the day after his wife, and both died of cancer, as his biographer Jackson J. Benson noted in his biography of Clark, The Ox-Bow Man. Clark was chosen along with Robert Laxalt
to be the first writer inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame when it was established in 1988 by the Friends of the University of Nevada Libraries.
Poetry
Other
Biography
Born in East Orland, MaineOrland, Maine
Orland is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,134 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....
, Clark grew up and went to college in Reno
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
, where his father was president of the University of Nevada
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
. In 1933 Clark married Barbara Frances Morse and moved to Cazenovia, New York
Cazenovia, New York
Cazenovia is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,481 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Theophilus Cazenove, an agent of the Holland Land Company.The Town of Cazenovia has a village also named Cazenovia...
, where he taught high school English and began his fiction-writing career.
Clark's first published novel, The Ox-Bow Incident (1940), was successful and is often considered to be the first modern Western, without the genre usual clichés and formulaic plots. It is a tale about a lynch mob mistaking three innocent travelers for cattle rustlers. When the travelers are killed, the lynch mob finds that they were wrong. The book examines law and order as well as culpability. It was well-received and gave Clark literary acclaim that was unusual for a writer of Westerns
Western fiction
Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 1900s and Louis L'Amour from the mid 20th century...
. In 1943 it was adapted into a movie
The Ox-Bow Incident
The Ox-Bow Incident is a 1943 American western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes, Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan and Jane Darwell...
featuring Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
.
Clark's short story, "The Portable Phonograph", is also well known.
He published two more novels, The City of Trembling Leaves
The City of Trembling Leaves
The City of Trembling Leaves, is a novel in the semi-autobiographical genre, by Walter Van Tilburg Clark. The novel is a series of parallel narratives detailing the lives and work of a group of redacted characters named Tim Hazard, Lawrence Black, Mary Turner, Rachel Wells, Marjory Hale, "Walt", ...
and The Track of the Cat, and a collection of his short stories over the next decade, which were also well-received. His short stories (such as "Hook", "The Wind And The Snow Of Winter", and "The Portable Phonograph") have been anthologized consistently as classic examples of short stories since they first began being published in national magazines during the 1940s. Two Hollywood movies were inspired by Clark's writings, and one of these (The Ox-Bow Incident
The Ox-Bow Incident
The Ox-Bow Incident is a 1943 American western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes, Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan and Jane Darwell...
) received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
Although he continued to write prolifically after 1950, Clark published very little. He had several academic positions, serving for a time during the 1950s as a professor of creative writing at the University of Montana in Missoula, where he was noted by his students for his teaching skills and for his eccentric clothing which consisted of a blue turtleneck shirt, maroon corduroy jacket, grey slacks and blue socks which never varied throughout the term.
He returned later to Reno to serve as the writer-in-residence at the university from 1962 until his death (in Virginia City, Nevada) on November 10, 1971. He died almost two years to the day after his wife, and both died of cancer, as his biographer Jackson J. Benson noted in his biography of Clark, The Ox-Bow Man. Clark was chosen along with Robert Laxalt
Robert Laxalt
Robert Laxalt was a Basque-American writer from Nevada.-Biography:Sweet Promised Land , Laxalt's first and possibly best-known book, was based on the history of his father, Dominique, and his return to the homeland after forty-seven years as an immigrant sheepherder in Nevada...
to be the first writer inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame when it was established in 1988 by the Friends of the University of Nevada Libraries.
Books by Clark
Fiction- The Ox-Bow Incident, Random House (New York, NY), 1940, published with an introduction by Clifton FadimanClifton FadimanClifton P. "Kip" Fadiman was an American intellectual, author, editor, radio and television personality.-Literary career:...
, Heritage, 1942, published with an afterword by W. P. Webb, New American Library (New York, NY), 1960, reprinted, Modern Library Paperback Classics (New York, NY), 2001. - The City of Trembling LeavesThe City of Trembling LeavesThe City of Trembling Leaves, is a novel in the semi-autobiographical genre, by Walter Van Tilburg Clark. The novel is a series of parallel narratives detailing the lives and work of a group of redacted characters named Tim Hazard, Lawrence Black, Mary Turner, Rachel Wells, Marjory Hale, "Walt", ...
, Random House (New York, NY), 1945; published as Tim Hazard, Kimber (England), 1951. Reprinted as part of the Western Literature Series, University of Nevada Press (Reno, NV), 1991, 2003. With a "Foreword" by Robert LaxaltRobert LaxaltRobert Laxalt was a Basque-American writer from Nevada.-Biography:Sweet Promised Land , Laxalt's first and possibly best-known book, was based on the history of his father, Dominique, and his return to the homeland after forty-seven years as an immigrant sheepherder in Nevada...
. - The Track of the Cat, Random House (New York, NY), 1949, reprinted, University of Nevada Press (Reno, NV), 1993, 2003, with an "Afterword" by Walter Van Tilburg Clark.
- The Watchful Gods and Other StoriesThe Watchful Gods and Other StoriesThe Watchful Gods and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by Walter Van Tilburg Clark published in 1950. Clark is best known for his first novel, the classic Western The Ox-Bow Incident and the classic short story "The Portable Phonograph" which is included in this collection.The...
, Random House (New York, NY), 1950. (contains "Hook," "The Wind and the Snow of Winter," "The Rapids," "The Anonymous," "The Buck in the Hills," "Why Don't You Look Where You're Going?," "The Indian Well," "The Fish Who Could Close His Eyes," "The Portable Phonograph," and "The Watchful Gods"). Reprinted, University of Nevada Press (Reno, NV), 2004. With a "Foreword" by Ann Ronald.
Poetry
- Christmas Comes to Hialsen (1930)
- "Dawn, Washoe Valley; Big Dusk; Pyramid Lake" (1932)
- Ten Women in Gale's House: And Shorter Poems (1932)
- "To a Friend with New Shoes" (1934)
Other
- (Author of foreword) Robert Cole Caples: A Retrospective Exhibition, 1927-63 (catalog), [Reno, NV], 1964.
- (Editor) The Journals of Alfred Doten, 1849-1903, three volumes, University of Nevada Press (Reno, NV), 1973.
- Walter Van Tilburg Clark: Critiques, edited by Charlton LairdCharlton LairdCharlton Grant Laird was an American linguist, lexicographer, novelist, and essayist. Laird created the 1971 edition of the Webster's New World Thesaurus that became the standardized edition still used today...
; University of Nevada Press (Reno, NV), 1983. In this volume, some of Clark's works were collected and grouped with essays about Clark and his writings
Further readings about the author
- Contemporary Literary Criticism, Volume 28, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1984.
- Benson, Jackson J., The Ox-Bow Man: A Biography of Walter Van Tilburg Clark, University of Nevada Press (Reno, NV), 2004.
- Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 9: "American Novelists, 1910-1945", Gale (Detroit, MI), 1981.
- Lee, L. L., Walter Van Tilburg Clark, Boise State College (Boise, ID), 1973.
- Lindroth, James R., Clark's The Ox-Bow Incident: A Critical Commentary, Monarch Press (New York, NY), 1966.
- Stegner, WallaceWallace StegnerWallace Earle Stegner was an American historian, novelist, short story writer, and environmentalist, often called "The Dean of Western Writers"...
, One Way to Spell Man, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1982, pp. 124-35. - Twentieth-Century Western Writers, St. James Press (Chicago, IL), 1991.
- Westbrook, Max, Walter Van Tilburg Clark, Twayne (New York, NY), 1969.