Dan Wakefield
Encyclopedia
Dan Wakefield is an American
novelist, journalist and screenwriter. His best-selling novels, Going All the Way
(1970) and Starting Over (1973) were made into feature films. Amongst his other notable works include Island in the City: The World of Spanish Harlem (1959), the pioneering survey of Spanish Harlem
, a Puerto Rican settlement in New York
and New York in the Fifties (1992), based on the Beat Generation
in Greenwich Village
, which led to a documentary film in 2001.
Presently, he is Writer in Residence at Florida International University
in Miami.
, Indiana
, where his family lived in the Broad Ripple Village
area.
He studied at Shortridge High School
, where he was an Eagle Scout
, and began his writing career as a columnist on the school newspaper, The Shortridge Daily Echo. He also served as sports correspondent for The Indianapolis Star
. The school is mentioned in his novel Going All The Way (1970).
He left Indianapolis in 1952 for New York City
, where he graduated from Columbia College, with B.A. (English) in 1955, after studying the class of noted Professor of English, Mark Van Doren
.
, Harpers
, The Atlantic Monthly
, and GQ, he also worked as staff writer with The Nation for several years. Here he came in touch with several Beat Generation
writers like Jack Kerouac
and Allen Ginsberg
, before settling in Boston; his subsequent memoir, New York in the 50s (1992), about this period became the basis of a documentary film by the same name in 2001, by Betsy Blankenbaker. By the 1960s, he had published two notable books, Island in the City: The World of Spanish Harlem (1959), an account of life in Puerto Rican Harlem, and Revolt in the South (1961), a collection of his reports on the civil rights movement
, and according to the New York Times, he was "acknowledged to be one of the country's most perceptive and sensitive independent commentator-reporters".
Amongst his notable, non-fiction works include, All Her Children: The Making of a Soap Opera, and Supernation at Peace and War, which first appeared as the entire issue of The March, 1968 Atlantic Monthly
He also created James at 15
, a TV series aired on NBC
(1977–1978).
Over the past two decades, he has taught fiction writing at several universities, including Boston University, the University of Massachusetts Boston, Emerson College, and The Iowa Writers Workshop.
His recent book, The Story of Your Life: Writing a Spiritual Autobiography, is an extension of the workshops he leads that advises people in getting touch with their spiritual lives by writing about their own life experiences.
, Boston
. Subsequently, he took a writing course, by church's minister, Carl Scove, titled “Religious Autobiography”, which lead to the piece, Returning to Church published in New York Times Magazine, and later his book Returning: A Spiritual Journey.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist, journalist and screenwriter. His best-selling novels, Going All the Way
Going All the Way
Going All the Way is a 1997 film directed by Mark Pellington. The film was written by Dan Wakefield, based on his 1970 novel. It won an award at the Sundance Film Festival.-Plot:...
(1970) and Starting Over (1973) were made into feature films. Amongst his other notable works include Island in the City: The World of Spanish Harlem (1959), the pioneering survey of Spanish Harlem
Spanish Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem and El Barrio, is a section of Harlem in the northeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. East Harlem is one of the largest predominantly Latino communities in New York City. It includes the area formerly known as Italian Harlem, in which...
, a Puerto Rican settlement in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and New York in the Fifties (1992), based on the Beat Generation
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, which led to a documentary film in 2001.
Presently, he is Writer in Residence at Florida International University
Florida International University
Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...
in Miami.
Early life and education
Dan Wakefield was born in IndianapolisIndianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, where his family lived in the Broad Ripple Village
Broad Ripple Village, Indianapolis
Broad Ripple Village is one of six areas designated as cultural districts in Indianapolis, Indiana. Located about six miles north of Downtown Indianapolis, Broad Ripple was established in 1837 as an independent municipality and annexed to the city of Indianapolis in 1922...
area.
He studied at Shortridge High School
Shortridge High School
Shortridge High School is a public high school located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Opened in 1864, it is the oldest free, public high school in the state...
, where he was an Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
, and began his writing career as a columnist on the school newspaper, The Shortridge Daily Echo. He also served as sports correspondent for The Indianapolis Star
The Indianapolis Star
The Indianapolis Star is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903. It has won the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting twice, in 1975 and 1991. It is currently owned by the Gannett Company.-History:...
. The school is mentioned in his novel Going All The Way (1970).
He left Indianapolis in 1952 for New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he graduated from Columbia College, with B.A. (English) in 1955, after studying the class of noted Professor of English, Mark Van Doren
Mark Van Doren
Mark Van Doren was an American poet, writer and a critic, apart from being a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thinkers including Thomas Merton, Robert Lax, John Berryman, and Beat Generation...
.
Career
He started his career as freelance journalist in New York, writing for The New York Times MagazineThe New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
, Harpers
Harpers
The Harpers are a fictional and semi-secret organization in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the role playing game Dungeons & Dragons...
, The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,...
, and GQ, he also worked as staff writer with The Nation for several years. Here he came in touch with several Beat Generation
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
writers like Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
and Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
, before settling in Boston; his subsequent memoir, New York in the 50s (1992), about this period became the basis of a documentary film by the same name in 2001, by Betsy Blankenbaker. By the 1960s, he had published two notable books, Island in the City: The World of Spanish Harlem (1959), an account of life in Puerto Rican Harlem, and Revolt in the South (1961), a collection of his reports on the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, and according to the New York Times, he was "acknowledged to be one of the country's most perceptive and sensitive independent commentator-reporters".
Amongst his notable, non-fiction works include, All Her Children: The Making of a Soap Opera, and Supernation at Peace and War, which first appeared as the entire issue of The March, 1968 Atlantic Monthly
He also created James at 15
James at 15
James at 15 is an American drama series that aired on NBC in the 1977-1978 season. The series was preceded by the 1977 made-for-TV movie James at 15, intended as a pilot for the series...
, a TV series aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
(1977–1978).
Over the past two decades, he has taught fiction writing at several universities, including Boston University, the University of Massachusetts Boston, Emerson College, and The Iowa Writers Workshop.
His recent book, The Story of Your Life: Writing a Spiritual Autobiography, is an extension of the workshops he leads that advises people in getting touch with their spiritual lives by writing about their own life experiences.
Personal life
Dan became an atheist in college, and did not return to church until 1980 when he went to a Christmas Eve service at King's ChapelKing's Chapel
King's Chapel is "an independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association" that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in what was formerly called "Stone Chapel", an 18th century...
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Subsequently, he took a writing course, by church's minister, Carl Scove, titled “Religious Autobiography”, which lead to the piece, Returning to Church published in New York Times Magazine, and later his book Returning: A Spiritual Journey.
Awards
- Nieman FellowshipNieman FellowshipThe Nieman Fellowship is an award given to mid-career journalists by The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. This award allows winners time to reflect on their careers and focus on honing their skills....
in Journalism - Bernard DeVotoBernard DeVotoBernard Augustine DeVoto was an American historian and author who specialized in the history of the American West.- Life and work :He was born in Ogden, Utah...
Fellowship - RockefellerRockefeller FoundationThe Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
Grant for Creative Arts - National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Grant
Books
- Island in the City (1959)
- Revolt in the South (1962)
- The Addict: An Anthology (1963)
- Between The Lines (1965)
- Supernation at Peace and War (1968)
- Going All The Way (1970)
- Starting Over (1973)
- All Her Children: The Making of a Soap Opera (1975)
- Home Free (1977)
- Under The Apple Tree (1982)
- Selling Out (1985)
- Returning: A Spiritual Journey (1988)
- The Story of Your Life: Writing a Spiritual Autobiography, (Beacon Press), (1990)
- New York in the Fifties (1992)
- Expect a Miracle (1995)
- Creating from the Spirit (1996)
- How Do We Know When It's God? (1999)
- Releasing the Creative Spirit (SkyLight Paths Pub.), (2001)
- Spiritually Incorrect: Finding God in All the Wrong Places, (SkyLight Paths), (2003)
- The Hijacking of Jesus: How the Religious Right Distorts Christianity and Promotes Prejudice and Hate (Nation Books), (2006)
Movies and Television
- Creator/Consultant, "James at 15James at 15James at 15 is an American drama series that aired on NBC in the 1977-1978 season. The series was preceded by the 1977 made-for-TV movie James at 15, intended as a pilot for the series...
" (1977) - Writer/Co-Producer, The Seduction of Miss Leona (1980)
- Writer, Starting Over (1980)
- Writer, Going All The Way
External links
- Dan Wakefield, website
- Dan Wakefield articles at The NationThe NationThe Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...