Manly Wade Wellman
Manly Wade Wellman was an influential American writer known for his celebration of Appalachian folklore and his exploration of American history. Born in Kamundango, Portuguese West Africa, in 1903, he moved to the United States at the age of six. Wellman pursued higher education, earning a B.S. from Wichita State University and a B. Litt. from Columbia University. He began his career as a newspaper reporter before becoming a prolific freelance writer, especially during the Great Depression.
Wellman's writing often featured supernatural heroes and horror themes reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft, as well as narratives inspired by Native American lore and the Civil War. His most notable creation, Silver John, is a mountain man who embodies an unassuming Christianity and becomes a balladeer in the Appalachian region. Throughout his career, Wellman received several accolades, including World Fantasy Awards and a Pulitzer Prize nomination. He also imparted his knowledge through teaching creative-writing classes, earning the affectionate nickname "the Old Captain" from his students. Wellman passed away in 1986, leaving behind a rich legacy in American literature.
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Subject Terms
Manly Wade Wellman
Writer
- Born: May 21, 1903
- Birthplace: Kamundongo, Portuguese West Africa (now Angola)
- Died: April 5, 1986
- Place of death: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Biography
Manly Wade Wellman was born in Kamundango, Portuguese West Africa (present-day Angola). Despite his place of birth, he was an unmistakably American writer, whose works celebrate the folklore of the Appalachian region and the events and byways of American history.
When Wellman was born, his father, Frederick Creighton Wellman, was stationed in Africa as head of a mission hospital. The family moved back to the United States when Manly was six. He attended the Municipal University of Wichita in Kansas (now Wichita State University) as an undergraduate, earning a B.S. in 1926. The next year he went on to obtain a B. Litt. from Columbia University, but returned to Wichita, where he worked as a reporter and columnist for the Wichita Beacon and the Wichita Eagle. He married Frances Obrist in 1930; the couple had one son, Wade.
Although the Great Depression was underway, Wellman left the paper to become a freelance writer. Amazingly prolific, he managed to succeed and make a living at this craft for the next half century. Living in New York City during the next decade in order to be near publishers, Wellman picked up on the popular theme of heroes with supernatural abilities who fight criminals. Wellman also wrote horror stories reminiscent of H. P. Lovecraft’s during this period, and other stories drawing upon Native American lore or Civil War events.
In 1946, Wellman moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It was a happy meeting of man and locale. Almost at once, he began writing tales based on Appalachian lore and settings. Silver John, his most famous character, is an Appalachian mountain man who wanders the area as a balladeer. Possessed of an unassuming Christianity and a variety of skills, Silver John is the central figure of several of Wellman’s novels, including The Old Gods Waken.
Along with his long list of fantasy tales, Wellman wrote several substantial books in American history, as well as some children’s books. His honors include a World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1980, one for Best Collection in 1975 for Worse Things Waiting, and a nomination for Best Short Story of 1976 for his “The Ghastly Priest Doth Reign.” His “Nine Yards of Other Cloth,” a Silver John story, was nominated for a Hugo award in 1959. His Rebel Boast: First at Bethel, Last at Appomattox, was a nominee for a Pulitzer Prize in 1958. Wellman sometimes taught creative-writing classes at Ebon College and at the University of North Carolina. To his students, he emphasized the need to persist; they nicknamed him the Old Captain. He died in 1986.