His wide-ranging work, including books, speeches and regular appearances on NPR, celebrated cowpokes, feed lots and life on the range.
Category: Writing and Writers
James Rado, Co-Creator of the Musical ‘Hair,’ Is Dead at 90
Working with his fellow writer and actor Gerome Ragni and the composer Galt MacDermot, he jolted Broadway into the Age of Aquarius.
George Lamming, Who Chronicled the End of Colonialism, Dies at 94
Born in Barbados, he was among the last of a generation of writers who traced the Caribbean’s transition to independence.
Claude Rutault, Master of the Painted Word, Is Dead at 80
His paintings were actually instructions for making paintings. One of his signature “protocols” was to paint a canvas the same color as the wall on
A.B. Yehoshua, Israeli Writer, Dies at 85
In 11 novels, three short-story collections and four plays, he tackled a variety of narrative forms and delved into knotty and uncommon subjects.
John Merriman, Eminent Historian of France, Is Dead at 75
An indefatigable researcher, he wrote books about terrorists, anarchists, leftists and ordinary people and spent a lot of time in France’s archives.
Peter Lamborn Wilson, Advocate of ‘Poetic Terrorism,’ Dies at 76
His concept of a “temporary autonomous zone” became an inspiration for protests like Occupy Wall Street and for gatherings like Burning Man.
Jim Murphy, Who Wrote Vivid Histories for the Young, Dies at 74
His books on the Chicago fire, an 18th-century plague and wars drew on first-person accounts to re-create dramatic times.
Marvin Josephson, Who Scored Big Deals for Stars, Dies at 95
He started small as a talent agent in 1955, with an unknown kiddie TV performer who would soon become Captain Kangaroo.
Walter Abish, Daring Writer Who Pondered Germany, Dies at 90
In provocative, sometimes linguistically playful experimental fiction, a Vienna-born American traced the complex interplay of modern Germany and its Nazi past.
Kenny Moore, Marathoner and Track Writer, Dies at 78
A three-time All-American, he began a long career at Sports Illustrated while still competing. A former top editor there said, “He was a guy with
Dervla Murphy, Irish Travel Writer Who Preferred Her Bike, Dies at 90
A curious, intrepid loner, she famously went from Dunkirk through Europe and then to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India — mostly on two wheels.
Morton L. Janklow, Agent for Best-Selling Authors, Dies at 91
A bold, risk-taking negotiator, he numbered among his clients Danielle Steel, Judith Krantz, three presidents and Pope John Paul II.
Roger Angell, Who Wrote About Baseball With Passion, Dies at 101
In elegantly winding articles for The New Yorker loaded with inventive imagery, he wrote more like a fan than a sports journalist.
Suzi Gablik, Art Critic Who Took Modernism to Task, Dies at 87
As a collage artist and reviewer, she was an it-girl of avant-garde art. But she turned on that world in 1984 with her salvo of
Robert Goolrick Dies at 73; Became a Successful Novelist Late in Life
Being fired as an advertising executive freed him to write a blistering memoir about his Southern family and an erotic novel that became a best
Elspeth Barker, Author of a Beloved if Unsung Novel, Dies at 81
Her “O Caledonia,” a Gothic coming-of-age story set in Scotland, has been called “one of the best least-known novels of the 20th century.”
Katsumoto Saotome, Who Preserved Stories of Tokyo Firebombing, Dies at 90
He compiled six books of survivors’ recollections of the 1945 attack. He also founded (without government support) a memorial museum.
Larry Woiwode, Who Wrote of Family, Faith and Rural Life, Dies at 80
Raised in North Dakota and rural Illinois, he was a literary star in New York City in the 1970s. But he left the limelight to
Henry Scott Stokes Dies at 83; Opened Japan to English Speakers
A biographer of the nationalist novelist Yukio Mishima, he was Tokyo bureau chief for three major newspapers and, afterward, was no stranger to controversy.