Clifton Adams
Clifton Adams was an American author and professional jazz drummer, born on December 1, 1919, in Comanche, Oklahoma. His experiences in World War II, where he served as a sergeant and earned five battle stars, likely influenced his writing career. After the war, he transitioned to writing, becoming known for his Western novels that vividly depicted harsh environments and complex characters. Adams's stories, set primarily in the High Plains of Colorado, Texas, and Oklahoma, feature rugged protagonists, often outlaws, who struggle against both their unforgiving surroundings and their own internal conflicts. His notable works include "Tragg's Choice" (1969) and "The Last Days of Wolf Garnett" (1970), which explore themes of survival and existential despair through realistic dialogue and well-developed characters. In addition to his serious Westerns, Adams also penned comedic tales such as "Biscuit-Shooter" (1971), showcasing a different facet of his storytelling. His contributions to literature earned him two Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America. Adams passed away on October 7, 1971, leaving behind a legacy that blends adventure and psychological depth in the Western genre.
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Clifton Adams
Writer
- Born: December 1, 1919
- Birthplace: Comanche, Oklahoma
- Died: October 7, 1971
Biography
Clifton Adams was born December 1, 1919, in Comanche, Oklahoma, to Cleveland Alexander and Julia (Hendrix) Adams. He attended the University of Oklahoma. On September 29, 1948, he married Gerry Griffith. Adams enlisted in the United States Army and was sent overseas to serve in World War II from 1942 through 1945. He achieved the rank of sergeant and earned five battle stars for his efforts and bravery in action.
Upon his return from the war, Adams worked as a professional jazz drummer. While pursuing his musical interests, Adams began writing. He was able to make a modest living working as a freelance writer from 1948 until 1971.
Adams was known best for writing Western novels containing harsh environments, and even harsher protagonists and supporting characters. His stories were primarily set in the High Plains areas of Colorado, Texas, and Oklahoma. These windswept locations, and the characters within them, were constantly at battle against the elements. The difficulties the land presented caused heavy burdens for his characters, who combated their environment as they did one another. Adams’s characters often have a defeated quality brought on by their constant fight for survival and their existential realizations that life has nothing more to offer than what they are presently given. Adams’s male characters are generally outlaws with crude and rugged personalities that have been hardened by their difficult lives and at odds with their inherent sense of justice. His female characters frequently possess fierce, cold-blooded natures hidden beneath presumably innocent exteriors.
There is a constant psychological tension in Adams’s novels which excites and intrigues the reader. His most famous novels, Tragg’s Choice (1969) and The Last Days of Wolf Garnett (1970), both offer the reader a glimpse into the violence and unforgiving nature of life on the Great Plains. The novels’ characters are well developed and are made believable by Adams’s use of simple, realistic dialogue. The protagonists in both novels are haunted and simultaneously driven by their pasts, as are many of Adams’s characters.
In addition to bitter, rugged, and at times brutal works, Adams also wrote absurd comedies, including Biscuit-Shooter (1971), The Hard Time Bunch (1973), and Hassle and the Medicine Man (1973). These comedic adventures all feature bumbling Western protagonists who find themselves in ridiculous slapstick situations.
Clifton Adams died October 7, 1971. He was a two-time recipient of the Spur Award, Western Writers of America, first for Tragg’s Choice, and again for The Last Days of Wolf Garnett. Adams’s greatest contribution to the Western genre, and literature as a whole, was his ability to create novels whose violence and impossibly desperate situations satisfied his reader’s need for adventure, while his characters’ complex psychological makeups appealed to his reader’s intellect.