John Myers Myers
Encyclopedia
John Myers Myers was an American writer, best known for his literary
fantasy novel Silverlock
.
to study anthropology, but never completed degrees as he did not believe a diploma would make him a better writer. After extensive travel through Europe
and the United States
, Myers worked for the New York World
and San Antonio Evening News. He was also an advertising copywriter. Myers served a short term in the U.S. Army
during World War II
. In 1943, he married Charlotte Shanahan, with whom he had two daughters, Anne Caldwell Myers and Celia Myers. In 1948, he moved to Tempe, Arizona
to do research for 'The Last Chance, and stayed there as he was by that time enamored of the West. While there he worked as editorial writer for the local newspaper. Myers died October 30, 1988.
and historical fiction
of the American Old West
to epic poetry
and histories of the West. His first book, The Harp and the Blade (1941), was a historical novel set in tenth-century France. Myers' best-known work is the literary fantasy novel Silverlock
published in 1949, which had a cult following among science fiction fandom
, and was reprinted in 1966 by Ace Books
, with forewords and accolades from Poul Anderson
, Larry Niven
and Jerry Pournelle
. The novel's settings and characters, other than the protagonist, are drawn entirely from numerous other works of literature, such as the Odyssey
and Don Quixote. His last book, The Moon's Fire-Eating Daughter(1981), was a sequel to Silverlock. Myers' nonfiction works included a history of the Alamo, the first biography of Doc Holliday, a study of the vigilante movement in San Francisco, and a well researched biography of Hugh Glass
.
Literary fiction
Literary fiction is a term that came into common usage during the early 1960s. The term is principally used to distinguish "serious fiction" which is a work that claims to hold literary merit, in comparison from genre fiction and popular fiction . In broad terms, literary fiction focuses more upon...
fantasy novel Silverlock
Silverlock
Silverlock is a novel by John Myers Myers published in 1949. The novel's settings and characters, aside from the protagonist, are all drawn from history, mythology, and other works of literature....
.
Life
Myers was born in Northport, Long Island on January 11, 1906 to John Caldwell Myers and Alice MacCorry Myers and grew up in various places in New York, including New Paltz and NYC. He knew from the time he was seven that he wanted to be a writer. He attended Bard St. Stephens and then Middlebury College, but was expelled from the latter for writing unflattering verse about the faculty. He later attended the University of New MexicoUniversity of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
to study anthropology, but never completed degrees as he did not believe a diploma would make him a better writer. After extensive travel through Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Myers worked for the New York World
New York World
The New York World was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers...
and San Antonio Evening News. He was also an advertising copywriter. Myers served a short term in the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1943, he married Charlotte Shanahan, with whom he had two daughters, Anne Caldwell Myers and Celia Myers. In 1948, he moved to Tempe, Arizona
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
to do research for 'The Last Chance, and stayed there as he was by that time enamored of the West. While there he worked as editorial writer for the local newspaper. Myers died October 30, 1988.
Literary career
Myers wrote seventeen books, ranging from fantasyFantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and historical fiction
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
of the American Old West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
to epic poetry
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
and histories of the West. His first book, The Harp and the Blade (1941), was a historical novel set in tenth-century France. Myers' best-known work is the literary fantasy novel Silverlock
Silverlock
Silverlock is a novel by John Myers Myers published in 1949. The novel's settings and characters, aside from the protagonist, are all drawn from history, mythology, and other works of literature....
published in 1949, which had a cult following among science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...
, and was reprinted in 1966 by Ace Books
Ace Books
Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
, with forewords and accolades from Poul Anderson
Poul Anderson
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
, Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
and Jerry Pournelle
Jerry Pournelle
Jerry Eugene Pournelle is an American science fiction writer, essayist and journalist who contributed for many years to the computer magazine Byte and has since 1998 been maintaining his own website/blog....
. The novel's settings and characters, other than the protagonist, are drawn entirely from numerous other works of literature, such as the Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
and Don Quixote. His last book, The Moon's Fire-Eating Daughter(1981), was a sequel to Silverlock. Myers' nonfiction works included a history of the Alamo, the first biography of Doc Holliday, a study of the vigilante movement in San Francisco, and a well researched biography of Hugh Glass
Hugh Glass
Hugh Glass was an American fur trapper and frontiersman noted for his exploits in the American West during the first third of the 19th century....
.
Fantasy
- SilverlockSilverlockSilverlock is a novel by John Myers Myers published in 1949. The novel's settings and characters, aside from the protagonist, are all drawn from history, mythology, and other works of literature....
(1949), E. P. DuttonE. P. DuttonE. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. In 1986, the company was acquired by Penguin Group and split into two imprints: Dutton Penguin and Dutton Children's Books.-History:Edward Payson Dutton founded...
, reprinted by Ace BooksAce BooksAce Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
, ISBN 0441766722 - The Moon's Fire-Eating Daughter (1981), The Donning CompanyThe Donning CompanyThe Donning Company is a specialty book publisher based in Virginia Beach. It was first established in the mid-1970s to publish a pictorial history of the founders' hometown. Its imprints included Starblaze Graphics.In 1985, Donning became a wholly owned subsidiary of Walsworth Publishing Company...
, ISBN 0898650798
Historical Fiction
- The Harp and the Blade (1941), subject: medieval France
- Out on Any Limb (1942), subject: Elizabethan England
- The Wild Yazoo (1947), subject: the MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
frontier - Dead Warrior (1956), westernWestern (genre)The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
- I, Jack Swilling (1961), western
Non-Fiction
- The Alamo (1948)
- The Last Chance: Tombstone's Early Years (1950)
- Doc Holliday (1955)
- The Deaths of the Bravos (1962), Western history
- The Saga of Hugh GlassHugh GlassHugh Glass was an American fur trapper and frontiersman noted for his exploits in the American West during the first third of the 19th century....
: Pirate, Pawnee, and Mountain Man (1963), reprinted by University of Nebraska PressUniversity of Nebraska PressThe University of Nebraska Press, founded in 1941, is a publisher of scholarly and popular-press books. It is the second-largest state university press in the United States and, including private institutions, ranks among the 10 largest university presses in the United States...
, ISBN 0803208677 - San Francisco's Reign of Terror (1966)
- Print in a Wild Land (1967)
- The Westerners: A Roundup of Pioneer Reminiscences (1969)
- The Border Wardens: A History of the United States Border Patrol and Its Ceaseless Struggle to Stem the Tide of Wetbacks, Booze and Pot Across America's Wildest Boundary(1971), ISBN 0130802182