Dorothy M. Johnson
Dorothy M. Johnson was an influential American writer known for her compelling narratives set in the American West, particularly highlighting the experiences of women and Native Americans. Born on December 19, 1905, in McGregor, Iowa, she moved to Montana as a child and eventually pursued a degree in English at the University of Montana. Throughout her career, Johnson worked as a journalist and editor, making significant contributions to various publications, including The Woman magazine and the Whitefish Pilot newspaper.
Her literary output includes fifty-two short stories and seventeen books, with a notable focus on the nineteenth-century American West. Among her well-known works are the novels "Buffalo Woman" and its sequel "All the Buffalo Returning," which delve into Lakota Indian life. Johnson's stories often celebrated the resilience and courage of individuals navigating the harsh realities of frontier life. Throughout her career, she received several accolades, including the Spur Award and recognition as Montana's First Lady of Letters. Johnson continued to write even after retiring due to health issues, leaving a lasting impact on Western literature before her passing on November 11, 1984.
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Subject Terms
Dorothy M. Johnson
Writer
- Born: December 19, 1905
- Birthplace: McGregor, Iowa
- Died: November 11, 1984
- Place of death: Missoula, Montana
Biography
Dorothy Marie Johnson was born on December 19, 1905, in McGregor, Iowa, the daughter of Lester Eugene Johnson and Louisa (née Barlow) Johnson. The family moved to Montana in 1908, and by 1912 had taken up residence in Whitefish, where Dorothy’s father died in 1915. After graduating from Whitefish High School in 1922, Johnson majored in pre-medical studies at Montana State College (now Montana State University). However, she soon switched to English at the University of Montana in Missoula, from which she graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1928. Johnson had married soldier George William Peterkin in 1927, but the couple divorced in 1930.
After graduation, Johnson worked in Washington State, Wisconsin, and New York City, where she became managing editor of (and anonymous contributor to) The Woman magazine in 1944. She returned to Whitefish in 1950 as a photographer and reporter for the Whitefish Pilot newspaper, and in 1953 moved to Missoula, where she served as Secretary-Manager of the Montana Press Association and taught journalism at the University of Montana. Poor health forced Johnson to retire in 1967, but she continued to write. She died November 11, 1984, from the effects of Parkinson’s disease and other ailments.
Johnson began her writing career as a stringer for the Kalispell Daily Inter Lake newspaper while attending high school, and published extensively in a campus literary magazine, The Frontier, at the University of Montana. At first she wrote poetry (and sold a poem to the magazine Weird Tales), but soon found herself more comfortable working in prose. Her story “Bonnie George Campbell” appeared in The Saturday Evening Post in 1930, but it was to be her last sale for eleven years.
In 1940, however, she placed four more stories with that magazine, and in 1942 published the collection Beulah Bunny Tells All. Subsequently she published in a number of popular magazines, switching to nonfiction books for young adults when the market for stories dried up. In all, she wrote fifty-two short stories and seventeen books, including two novels of Lakota Indian life, Buffalo Woman and its sequel, All the Buffalo Returning. Her most characteristic works were set in the nineteenth century American West, and celebrated the bravery and endurance of individuals, especially women and Native Americans, who managed to survive in the region’s harsh landscape. Three of her works—the novelette The Hanging Tree and two short stories—were made into motion pictures that brought her a wider audience.
Known as Montana’s First Lady of Letters, Johnson was awarded an honorary doctor of letters (Litt.D.) degree by the University of Montana, and won several awards, including the Levi Strauss Golden Saddleman Award in 1976 and the Western Heritage Wrangler Award in 1978. “Lost Sister” won the 1956 Spur Award from the Western writers of America for best story of the year, and Buffalo Woman was a runner-up for the 1977 Spur Award for best Western historical novel.