Dan Wakefield (born May 21, 1932) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

novelist, journalist and screenwriter. His best-selling novels, ''Going All the Way'' (1970) and ''Starting Over'' (1973), were made into feature films. He wrote the screenplay for ''

Going All the Way ''Going All the Way'' is a 1997 American comedy-drama film directed by Mark Pellington, in his feature film directorial debut. The film was written by Dan Wakefield, based on his 1970 novel and stars Jeremy Davies, Ben Affleck, Rachel Weisz, Amy ...

'', which starred

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS education ...

Rachel Weisz Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970 ) is an English actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a BAFTA Award. Weisz began acting in British stage and television in the ...

and

Rose McGowan Rósa Arianna "Rose" McGowan (born September 5, 1973) is an American actress. After her film debut in a brief role in the comedy '' Encino Man'' (1992), McGowan achieved wider recognition for her performance in the dark comedy ''The Doom Generat ...

. He created the NBC prime time television series ''

James at 15 ''James at 15'' (later ''James at 16'') is an American drama series that aired on NBC during the 1977–1978 season. The series was preceded by the 1977 made-for-TV movie ''James at 15'', which aired on Monday September 5, 1977, and was intended ...

'' (1977–78) and was story editor of the series (1977). His other notable works include ''Island in the City: The World of Spanish Harlem'' (1959), a pioneering journalistic account of a Puerto Rican neighborhood in New York, and the memoir ''New York in the Fifties'' (2001), produced as a documentary film by Betsy Blankenbaker. His memoir, ''Returning: A Spiritual Journey'' (1988), was called by

Bill Moyers Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers, June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Counci ...

"one of the most important memoirs of the spirit I have ever read". He edited and wrote the Introduction to ''Kurt Vonnegut Letters'' (2012). Wakefield received The Bernard DeVoto Fellowship at The Bread Loaf Writer Conference in 1958, a Nieman Fellowship in Journalism (1963–64) and a Rockefeller Grant in Writing, 1968. Wakefield retired as writer in residence at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

(1995–2009), where he received The Faculty Award for Mentorship. He moved back to his home town of Indianapolis in 2011.

Early life and education

Dan Wakefield was born in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...

, where his family lived in the

Broad Ripple Broad(s) or The Broad(s) may refer to: People * A slang term for a woman. * Broad (surname), a surname Places * Broad Peak, on the border between Pakistan and China, the 12th highest mountain on Earth * The Broads, a network of mostly nav ...

neighborhood. He went to Public School #80 and

Shortridge High School Shortridge High School is a public high school located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Shortridge is the home of the International Baccalaureate and arts and humanities programs of the Indianapolis Public Schools district.(IPS). Originall ...

, where he began his writing career as a sports columnist for the school newspaper, ''The Shortridge Daily Echo'', and was the school's sports correspondent for ''

The Indianapolis Star ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the '' Indiana ...

''. He worked summers during college in ''The Star'' sports department and as a general assignment reporter for ''

The Grand Rapids Press ''The Grand Rapids Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is the largest of the eight Booth newspapers. It is sold for $1.50 daily and $7.99 on Sunday. AccuWeather provides weather content to the ''Grand Rapids ...

''. He left Indianapolis in 1952 for New York City, where he graduated from Columbia College, with a B.A. with Honors in English, after having studied with the literary critics

Mark Van Doren Mark Van Doren (June 13, 1894 – December 10, 1972) was an American poet, writer and critic. He was a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thi ...

and

Lionel Trilling Lionel Mordecai Trilling (July 4, 1905 – November 5, 1975) was an American literary critic, short story writer, essayist, and teacher. He was one of the leading U.S. critics of the 20th century who analyzed the contemporary cultural, social, ...

, as well as the sociologist

C. Wright Mills Charles Wright Mills (August 28, 1916 – March 20, 1962) was an American sociologist, and a professor of sociology at Columbia University from 1946 until his death in 1962. Mills published widely in both popular and intellectual journals, and ...

Career

He worked as a reporter after college on ''The

Princeton Packet The ''Princeton Packet'' is a weekly newspaper serving the Princeton, New Jersey area. The company traces its lineage to 1786. Packet Media, LLC. is the publisher of 5 community newspapers, a weekly arts and entertainment supplement and a series o ...

'', New Jersey's oldest weekly, and left to become a research assistant for the sociologist C. Wright Mills, his professor at Columbia. His research duties left him time to begin his career as a freelance journalist, covering the

Emmett Till Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941August 28, 1955) was a 14-year-old African Americans, African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and Lynching in the United States, lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a whi ...

murder trial in Mississippi for ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...

'' magazine, and continued to write for them from Israel in 1956, becoming a staff writer for the magazine on his return the same year. He also published in periodicals such as ''Dissent'', ''

Commonweal Commonweal or common weal may refer to: * Common good, what is shared and beneficial for members of a given community * Common Weal, a Scottish think tank and advocacy group * ''Commonweal'' (magazine), an American lay-Catholic-oriented magazin ...

'', ''Commentary'', ''New World Writing'', ''Harpers'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''The Yoga Journal'', '' GQ'' and ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

''. On publication of his collection of articles and commentary ''Between The Lines'' (1966), ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said he was "acknowledged to be one of the country's most perceptive and sensitive independent commentator-reporters". After his year as a

Nieman Fellow The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists A Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard Universit ...

, he moved to

Beacon Hill Beacon Hill may refer to: Places Canada * Beacon Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, a neighbourhood * Beacon Hill Park, a park in Victoria, British Columbia * Beacon Hill, Saskatchewan * Beacon Hill, Montreal, a neighbourhood in Beaconsfield, Quebec United ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where he began writing for ''The Atlantic'', writing the entire issue of the magazine for March 1968, called "Supernation at Peace and War", which then was published as a book. He became a contributing editor of ''The Atlantic'' (1968-1981). He has taught writing at the

University of Massachusetts at Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Massac ...

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

The University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign, Illinois, Champai ...

Journalism School and The Iowa Writers Workshop. After publication of his memoir ''Returning'', which began as an article in ''The New York Times Magazine'', Wakefield began giving workshops on spiritual autobiography, based on the course he took at

King's Chapel King's Chapel is an American 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 i ...

, originated by The Rev. Carl Scovel. Wakefield has led these workshops at churches, monasteries, synagogues, retreat centers, health spas, adult education centers and at

Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north of ...

prison, throughout the U.S. and in Northern Ireland and Mexico. ''The Story of Your Life: Writing an Autobiography'' grew out of the workshops. His other books in this area include ''Expect a Miracle'' (1995) and ''The Hi-Jacking of Jesus'' (2010). He edited and wrote the Introduction of the letters of his friend and fellow Shortridge High School graduate

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...

(''Kurt Vonnegut Letters'') as well as a collection of Vonnegut's graduation speeches and other related pieces (''If This Isn’t Nice What Is?. . .''). In 2016, Open Road Media brought out all his five novels as well as his memoir, ''New York in the Fifties'', as ebooks.

Personal life

During college, Wakefield became an atheist and did not return to church until 1980 when he went to a Christmas Eve service at King's Chapel, a Christian church in the

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

denomination in Boston.Kurt Vonnegut, Christ-Loving Atheist
/ref> Wakefield returned to Indianapolis to speak on a panel discussion of the work of Vonnegut at the Vonnegut Library and Museum in November 2011. A month later, he moved back to Indianapolis to live, thus contradicting Vonnegut's prediction in his review of ''Going All The Way'' in ''Life'' magazine: "Having written this book, Dan Wakefield will never be able to go back to Indianapolis. He will have to watch the 500 mile race on television." After moving back, Wakefield was inducted into The Indianapolis Public Schools Hall of Fame, The Shortridge High School Hall of Fame, ''The Indy Reads'' Literacy Leaders Hall of Fame, and received a Cultural Vision Award from the news weekly, '' NUVO''.

Awards

Nieman Fellowship The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists A Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard Universit ...

in Journalism *

Bernard DeVoto Bernard Augustine DeVoto (January 11, 1897 – November 13, 1955) was an American historian, conservationist, essayist, columnist, teacher, editor, and reviewer. He was the author of a series of Pulitzer-Prize-winning popular histories of the Ame ...

Fellowship *

Rockefeller Rockefeller is a German surname, originally given to people from the village of Rockenfeld near Neuwied in the Rhineland and commonly referring to subjects associated with the Rockefeller family. It may refer to: People with the name Rockefeller f ...

Grant for Creative Arts *

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Grant

Works

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), (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 Type Media Center (formerly The Nation Institute) is a nonprofit media organization that was previously associated with ''The Nation'' magazine. It sponsors fellows, hosts forums, publishes books and investigative reporting, and awards several an ...

), (2006) * '' If This Isn't Nice, What Is?: Advice to the Young'' (

Seven Stories Press Seven Stories Press is an independent American publishing company. Based in New York City, the company was founded by Dan Simon in 1995, after establishing Four Walls Eight Windows in 1984 as an imprint at Writers and Readers, and then incorpo ...

), (2014) * Editor, ''Kurt Vonnegut Letters'' (

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

), (2012) * Editor, ''If This Isn't Nice What Is? Vonnegut's Graduation Speeches'', (

), (2013) * Editor, ''Complete Stories by Kurt Vonnegut'' (

), (2017)

Films and television

* Creator/consultant, ''

'' (1977) * Writer/co-producer, ''The Seduction of Miss Leona'' (1980) * Writer, ''

'' (1997)

References

External links

Dan Wakefield, ''Facebook'' page

Dan Wakefield, ''Twitter'' page

Dan Wakefield website

Dan Wakefield articles
at ''

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wakefield, Dan 1932 births Living people American male journalists Journalists from Indiana American male novelists American male screenwriters American spiritual writers American television writers Columbia College (New York) alumni Converts to Protestantism from atheism or agnosticism Florida International University people The Indianapolis Star people The Nation (U.S. magazine) people Nieman Fellows Writers from Indianapolis Writers from Urbana, Illinois American male television writers Screenwriters from Indiana Novelists from Indiana Novelists from Illinois Screenwriters from Illinois People from Beacon Hill, Boston Shortridge High School alumni