Walter Van Tilburg Clark (August 3, 1909 – November 10, 1971) was an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and educator. He ranks as one of Nevada's most distinguished literary figures of the 20th century, and was the first inductee into the 'Nevada Writers Hall of Fame' in 1988, together with Robert Laxalt, Clark's mentee and Nevada's other heralded twentieth century author. Two of Clark's novels, The Ox-Bow Incident and The Track of the Cat, were made into films. As a writer, Clark taught himself to use the familiar materials of the western saga to explore the human psyche and to raise deep philosophical issues.
Clark was born in East Orland, Maine, but grew up in Reno, Nevada and graduated from Reno High School in 1926. Clark went to college at the University of Nevada, Reno where his father Walter Ernest Clark was President. 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 usual clichés and formulaic plots of the genre.[2] The novel is a story about a lynch mob mistaking three innocent travelers for cattle rustlers suspected of murder. After the travelers are hanged, the lynch mob finds that they killed the wrong suspects. The novel's themes include an examination of frontier law and order, as well as culpability. The novel was well-received, gave Clark literary acclaim that was unusual for a writer of Westerns, and in 1943 was adapted into a movie starring Henry Fonda and Harry Morgan.
Over the next decade, Clark published two more novels: The City of Trembling Leaves (1945) and The Track of the Cat (1949). In 1950, a collection of short stories, The Watchful Gods and Other Stories, was released. Since they began appearing in national magazines during the 1940s, Clark's short stories gained national recognition and earned the O. Henry Prize five times, in quick succession, between 1941 and 1945.[3] After this initial success in the short story format, some of these stories (notably "Hook" and "The Wind And The Snow Of Winter") have been repeatedly anthologized as classic examples of the genre.[1][4] Clark's short story, "The Portable Phonograph" - a poignant depiction of survivors in the aftermath of a war (and not a nuclear war as some claim, since it was written in 1941) - is also well known. Two Hollywood films were inspired by Clark's writings, and one of these (The Ox-Bow Incident) received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. The other film was Track of the Cat, based on Clark's novel The Track of the Cat. (Note that the film's title drops the definite article used in the novel's title).
Although he continued to write more sporadically after 1950, Clark published no more fiction works during the remaining two decades of his life. Thereafter, Clark devoted his creative energies to teaching and lecturing. From 1954 to 1956, he was 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. Clark began teaching at a writer's workshop at San Francisco State University during the summer of 1955, moving to San Francisco in 1956 after he was hired there full-time to establish a formal Creative Writing Program.[5] He remained there until 1962.[1]
Clark would return to Reno to serve as the writer-in-residence at the university from 1962 until his death from cancer in Virginia City, Nevada, on November 10, 1971, at aged 62.[6] He spent the last ten years of his life editing The Journals of Alfred Doten. He died almost two years after the death of his wife Barbara (Frances Morse) Clark. Both of them died of cancer, as Clark's biographer Jackson J. Benson noted in his biography of Clark, The Ox-Bow Man.[7] Clark was chosen, along with Robert Laxalt, to be the first writer inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame[8] when it was established in 1988 by the Friends of the University of Nevada Libraries.[9]
Books by Clarkedit
Fiction
The Ox-Bow Incident, Random House (New York, NY), 1940; published with an introduction by Clifton Fadiman, Heritage, 1942; published with an afterword by W. P. Webb, Armed Services Edition, 1943, New American Library (New York, NY), 1960; reprinted, Modern Library Paperback Classics (New York, NY), 2001.
The City of Trembling Leaves, Random House (New York, NY), 1945; published as Tim Hazard, Kimber (England), Armed Services Edition, 1946; 1951(an abridged version). Reprinted as part of the Western Literature Series, University of Nevada Press (Reno, NV), 1991, 2003. With a "Foreword" by Robert Laxalt.
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 Stories, 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[10]
Poetry
Christmas Comes to Hjalsen (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. Online edition username and password: doten
Walter Van Tilburg Clark: Critiques, edited by Charlton Laird; 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
Notesedit
Referencesedit
^ abc"Walter Van Tilburg Clark - ONE: Online Nevada Encyclopedia". Nevada Humanities.
^"Biography - Clark, Walter Van Tilburg (1909-1971)", Contemporary Authors (Biography), Thomson Gale, 2004.
^ by Michael Engelmann, accessed 08 November 2014 via web.archive.org.
^"SF State Magazine Spring 2007: The Ox-Bow Man at SF State, Walter Van Tilburg Clark - SF State Magazine".
^"Walter Van Tilburg Clark Dies; Wrote 'The Ox‐Bow Incident'". NY Times. The New York Times Company. 12 November 1971. p. 50. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
^Benson, Jackson J. (2004). The Ox-Bow Man: A Biography of Walter Van Tilburg Clark. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press.
^. Archived from the original on 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
^"Ann Ronald - ONE: Online Nevada Encyclopedia". Nevada Humanities.
Further readingedit
Contemporary Literary Criticism, Volume 28, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1984.
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.
Shafton, Anthony, The Nevada They Knew: Robert Caples and Walter Van Tilburg Clark, Fonthill Media (Charleston, SC), 2017.
Stegner, Wallace, 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.
External linksedit
Walter Van Tilburg Clark Papers, NC527, University of Nevada, Reno, Special Collections and University Archives.
Publisher's page for Charlton Laird's Critiques at University of Nevada Press
Articles in Western American Literature
December 15, 2023
walter, tilburg, clark, august, 1909, november, 1971, american, novelist, short, story, writer, poet, educator, ranks, nevada, most, distinguished, literary, figures, 20th, century, first, inductee, into, nevada, writers, hall, fame, 1988, together, with, robe. Walter Van Tilburg Clark August 3 1909 November 10 1971 was an American novelist short story writer poet and educator He ranks as one of Nevada s most distinguished literary figures of the 20th century and was the first inductee into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 1988 together with Robert Laxalt Clark s mentee and Nevada s other heralded twentieth century author Two of Clark s novels The Ox Bow Incident and The Track of the Cat were made into films As a writer Clark taught himself to use the familiar materials of the western saga to explore the human psyche and to raise deep philosophical issues Walter Van Tilburg ClarkBorn 1909 08 03 August 3 1909East Orland Maine USDiedNovember 10 1971 1971 11 10 aged 62 Virginia City Nevada USOccupationWriter college teacherGenresNovel short storyYears active1932 1971Notable worksThe Ox Bow Incident The Watchful Gods and Other StoriesNotable awardsO Henry Prize Nevada Writer s Hall of FameSpouseBarbara Frances Morse d 1969 ChildrenRobert Morse son Barbara Anne daughter 1 Contents 1 Biography 2 Books by Clark 3 Notes 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksBiography editClark was born in East Orland Maine but grew up in Reno Nevada and graduated from Reno High School in 1926 Clark went to college at the University of Nevada Reno where his father Walter Ernest Clark was President 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 usual cliches and formulaic plots of the genre 2 The novel is a story about a lynch mob mistaking three innocent travelers for cattle rustlers suspected of murder After the travelers are hanged the lynch mob finds that they killed the wrong suspects The novel s themes include an examination of frontier law and order as well as culpability The novel was well received gave Clark literary acclaim that was unusual for a writer of Westerns and in 1943 was adapted into a movie starring Henry Fonda and Harry Morgan Over the next decade Clark published two more novels The City of Trembling Leaves 1945 and The Track of the Cat 1949 In 1950 a collection of short stories The Watchful Gods and Other Stories was released Since they began appearing in national magazines during the 1940s Clark s short stories gained national recognition and earned the O Henry Prize five times in quick succession between 1941 and 1945 3 After this initial success in the short story format some of these stories notably Hook and The Wind And The Snow Of Winter have been repeatedly anthologized as classic examples of the genre 1 4 Clark s short story The Portable Phonograph a poignant depiction of survivors in the aftermath of a war and not a nuclear war as some claim since it was written in 1941 is also well known Two Hollywood films were inspired by Clark s writings and one of these The Ox Bow Incident received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture The other film was Track of the Cat based on Clark s novel The Track of the Cat Note that the film s title drops the definite article used in the novel s title Although he continued to write more sporadically after 1950 Clark published no more fiction works during the remaining two decades of his life Thereafter Clark devoted his creative energies to teaching and lecturing From 1954 to 1956 he was 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 Clark began teaching at a writer s workshop at San Francisco State University during the summer of 1955 moving to San Francisco in 1956 after he was hired there full time to establish a formal Creative Writing Program 5 He remained there until 1962 1 Clark would return to Reno to serve as the writer in residence at the university from 1962 until his death from cancer in Virginia City Nevada on November 10 1971 at aged 62 6 He spent the last ten years of his life editing The Journals of Alfred Doten He died almost two years after the death of his wife Barbara Frances Morse Clark Both of them died of cancer as Clark s biographer Jackson J Benson noted in his biography of Clark The Ox Bow Man 7 Clark was chosen along with Robert Laxalt to be the first writer inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame 8 when it was established in 1988 by the Friends of the University of Nevada Libraries 9 Books by Clark editFiction The Ox Bow Incident Random House New York NY 1940 published with an introduction by Clifton Fadiman Heritage 1942 published with an afterword by W P Webb Armed Services Edition 1943 New American Library New York NY 1960 reprinted Modern Library Paperback Classics New York NY 2001 The City of Trembling Leaves Random House New York NY 1945 published as Tim Hazard Kimber England Armed Services Edition 1946 1951 an abridged version Reprinted as part of the Western Literature Series University of Nevada Press Reno NV 1991 2003 With a Foreword by Robert Laxalt 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 Stories 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 10 Poetry Christmas Comes to Hjalsen 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 Online edition username and password doten Walter Van Tilburg Clark Critiques edited by Charlton Laird 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 writingsNotes editReferences edit a b c Walter Van Tilburg Clark ONE Online Nevada Encyclopedia Nevada Humanities Biography Clark Walter Van Tilburg 1909 1971 Contemporary Authors Biography Thomson Gale 2004 Walter Van Tilburg Clark Biography Walter Van Tilburg Clark The reason for the Nevada author s sudden silence is still shrouded in mystery by Michael Engelmann accessed 08 November 2014 via web archive org SF State Magazine Spring 2007 The Ox Bow Man at SF State Walter Van Tilburg Clark SF State Magazine Walter Van Tilburg Clark Dies Wrote The Ox Bow Incident NY Times The New York Times Company 12 November 1971 p 50 Retrieved 24 January 2019 Benson Jackson J 2004 The Ox Bow Man A Biography of Walter Van Tilburg Clark Reno NV University of Nevada Press Archived 2016 09 11 at the Wayback Machine Nevada Writers Hall of Fame UNR Library Archived from the original on 2016 04 21 Retrieved 2015 02 20 Ann Ronald ONE Online Nevada Encyclopedia Nevada Humanities Further reading editContemporary Literary Criticism Volume 28 Gale Detroit MI 1984 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 Shafton Anthony The Nevada They Knew Robert Caples and Walter Van Tilburg Clark Fonthill Media Charleston SC 2017 Stegner Wallace 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 External links editWalter Van Tilburg Clark Papers NC527 University of Nevada Reno Special Collections and University Archives Publisher s page for Charlton Laird s Critiques at University of Nevada Press Articles in Western American Literature Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Walter Van Tilburg Clark amp oldid 1184562611, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
