Thomas Williams (November 15, 1926 – October 23, 1990) was an American
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...
.
He won one U.S.
National Book Award for Fiction
The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...
—''
The Hair of Harold Roux
''The Hair of Harold Roux'' is a 1974 novel by Thomas Williams. The novel shared the National Book Award for Fiction with Robert Stone's ''Dog Soldiers''.
Plot and Summary
"The Hair of Harold Roux" explores the craft of storytelling and its ...
Dog Soldiers
The Dog Soldiers or Dog Men (Cheyenne: ''Hotamétaneo'o'') are historically one of six Cheyenne military societies. Beginning in the late 1830s, this society evolved into a separate, militaristic band that played a dominant role in Cheyenne re ...
National Book Foundation
The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...
. Retrieved 2012-03-28. (With acceptance speech by Williams and essay by David Kirby from the Awards 61-year anniversary blog.)—and his last published novel, ''Moon Pinnace'' (1986), was a finalist for the
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".
Life and work
Born in Duluth, Minnesota in 1926, Williams and his family moved to
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
when he was a child and he spent most of his life working and writing in that state, although he attended the
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...
, the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, and studied briefly in Paris. For most of his career he taught at the
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...
, and published eight novels during his lifetime. His students included among them
Alice McDermott
Alice McDermott (born June 27, 1953) is an American writer and university professor. For her 1998 novel ''Charming Billy'' she won an American Book Award and the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction.
McDermott is Johns Hopkins University's Rich ...
and
John Irving
John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American-Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.
Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of ''The World According to G ...
. Irving wrote an introduction to a posthumous collection of Williams's collected stories, ''Leah, New Hampshire'' (1992).
Williams lived in
Durham, New Hampshire
Durham is a town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 15,490 at the 2020 census, up from 14,638 at the 2010 census.United States Census BureauU.S. Census website 2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011. D ...
and died of
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
at a hospital in
Dover, New Hampshire
Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in the New Hampshire Seacoast region and the fifth largest municipality in the state. It is the county se ...
when he was 63.
Williams is the father of writer and novelist Ann Joslin Williams who is the author of a collection of linked stories called ''The Woman in the Woods'', which won the 2005 Spokane Prize. Joslin Williams' first novel ''Down From Cascom Mountain'', was published in 2011. Like her father, she attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and (as of 2011) is a professor at the University of New Hampshire.
Reception and legacy
Because he'd received one of the major US book awards in 1975 and because he was admired as a university writing instructor (as some of his former students can attest), Thomas Williams was a figure of some regard during the 1970s and 1980s when it seems his reputation had reached its peak. Today, Williams continues to be remembered and admired among many writers and students of the craft, but into the 21st century he remains all but unknown to the general reading public. All of his books were out of print until 2011, when ''The Hair of Harold Roux'' was reissued, sparking a renewed interest in his work.
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
, who had earlier dedicated his 1993 story collection ''
Nightmares & Dreamscapes
''Nightmares & Dreamscapes'' is a short story collection by American author Stephen King, published in 1993.
Stories
Dedication
King dedicated this collection of stories to Thomas Williams, a writing instructor who taught for many years at t ...
'' to Williams, said in a 2011 interview that ''The Hair of Harold Roux'' has remained, over the years, one of his favorite books, and one he returns to "again and again."
Selected bibliography
;Fiction
*''Ceremony of Love''. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill (1955)
*''Town Burning''. New York: Macmillan (1959)
**(reissue: paperback). Anchor Books, 1988.
*''The Night of Trees''. New York: Macmillan (1961)
**(reissue: paperback). Ampersand Press & Small Press Distribution (1989). Introduction by John Irving.
*''A High New House''. New York: Dial Press (1963) – Williams received the "Dial Press Fellowship Award for Fiction" for this collection of short stories
*''Whipple's Castle: An American Novel''. New York: Random House (1968)
**(reissue: paperback). Anchor Books, 1988.
*''The Hair of Harold Roux''. New York: Random House (1974)
*''Tsuga's Children''. New York: Random House (1977)
*''The Followed Man''. New York, NY: Richard Marek (1978)
*''Moon Pinnace''. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company (1986)
**(reissue: paperback). Anchor Books, 1988.
;Posthumous publications
*''Leah, New Hampshire: The Collected Stories of Thomas Williams''. New York: William Morrow and Company (1992)
**(Trade Paperback). Graywolf Press, 1993. Introduction by John Irving.
*''The Hair of Harold Roux''. Bloomsbury USA (2011; reissue) with an Introduction by
Andre Dubus III
Andre Dubus III (born September 11, 1959) is an American novelist and short story writer. He is a member of the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Early life and education
Born in Oceanside, California, to Patricia (née Lowe) a ...
, Afterword by Ann Joslin Williams.
Further reading
*''Gun People'' (Doubleday Books, 1st Edition, 1985. ) – includes a profile of Williams where he discusses his interest in hunting and its relevance to his writings.