Bernard Wolfe (

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, August 28, 1915 –

Calabasas, California Calabasas (, ; Spanish language in California, Spanish for "winter squash, squashes") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States.Bryn Mawr’s summer College of Women Trade Unionists. He moved to New York and between 1936 and 1938 contributed to

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

journals, such as ''The Militant'' and ''The New International''. In New York City the

American Committee for the Defense of Leon Trotsky The American Committee for the Defense of Leon Trotsky was a pseudo-judicial process set up by :American Trotskyists, American Trotskyists as a front organization following the first of the Moscow Trials. It had no powers of subpoena, nor official ...

was looking for an English-speaking secretary to assist

Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

in Mexico. Wolfe’s friend

Arthur Mizener Arthur Moore Mizener (September 3, 1907February 15, 1988) was an American professor of English, literary critic, and biographer. After graduating from Princeton, Mizener obtained his master's degree from Harvard. From 1951 until his retirement in ...

, a professor at Yale, provided funds, and in 1937 Wolfe travelled to Mexico, where he worked for eight months as Trotsky’s bodyguard and secretary, acting as the liaison between Trotsky and the John Dewey Commission investigation into the Moscow Trials. Between 1937 and 1939 Wolfe occasionally worked in the Merchant Marines.Geduld In 1939 he moved to

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

, where he eventually drifted away from the Trotskyist movement and met Anais Nin and

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

. Through them he found employment writing pornographic novels (11 in 11 months) for the private collection of Roy Melisander Johnson, an Oklahoma oil millionaire. He credited his pornographic output with teaching him to write to specified lengths while facing deadlines: "I acquired the work discipline of a professional writer, capable of a solid daily output." In 1941 he was the assistant night editor for Paramount Newsreel for a few weeks. In 1943 and 1944 he wrote war-related science articles for ''Popular Science Monthly'' and ''Mechanix Illustrated''. He eventually became the editor of the latter magazine. In 1946 he collaborated with the jazz musician

Mezz Mezzrow Milton Mesirow (November 9, 1899 – August 5, 1972), better known as Mezz Mezzrow, was an American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist from Chicago, Illinois. He is remembered for organizing and financing recording sessions with Tommy Ladnier ...

in writing Mezzrow's autobiography, ''Really the Blues''. The book was a popular success, introducing the mass audience to aspects of black culture. It received a flattering notice in Billy Rose's syndicated column in October of that year and in 1947 Wolfe was hired as

ghost writer A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literature, literary or journalism, journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and pol ...

for

Billy Rose Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman, lyricist and columnist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainm ...

’s syndicated column. Wolfe worked on a further study of "negro" culture in America, which was never published, but excerpts were published in American magazines in 1949 and 1950, translated for

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

’s ''

Les Temps modernes ''Les Temps Modernes'' () was a French journal, founded by Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Its first issue was published in October 1945. It was named after the 1936 film by Charlie Chaplin. ''Les Temps Moderne ...

'' and quoted by

Frantz Fanon Frantz Omar Fanon (, ; ; 20 July 1925 – 6 December 1961) was a French West Indian psychiatrist, political philosopher, and Marxist from the French colony of Martinique (today a French department). His works have become influential in the ...

. In 1950 he had psychoanalysis with Dr.

Edmund Bergler Edmund Bergler ( ; ; July 20, 1899 – February 6, 1962) was an Austrian-born American psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst whose books covered such topics as childhood development, mid-life crises, loveless marriages, gambling, self-defeating behaviors, ...

. Wolfe would return in his fiction to Bergler’s idea of "psychic masochism". Bergler's ideas of frigidity and the importance of the vaginal orgasm recur in Wolfe's presentation of female sexuality. In 1951 he published a short story, "Self-Portrait", in ''Galaxy''. Its themes of

cybernetics Cybernetics is the transdisciplinary study of circular causal processes such as feedback and recursion, where the effects of a system's actions (its outputs) return as inputs to that system, influencing subsequent action. It is concerned with ...

, artificial limbs and prostheses, computerised warfare, masochism and voluntary amputeeism would all be expanded upon in his first published novel, ''Limbo'' (1952). Because the novel was set in the then-distant future of 1990, the original British edition is entitled ''Limbo '90''. The publisher claimed that Wolfe had written "the first book of science-fiction to project the present-day concept of '

' to its logical conclusion".

David Pringle David Pringle (born 1 March 1950) is a Scottish science fiction editor and critic. Pringle served as the editor of '' Foundation'', an academic journal, from 1980 to 1986, during which time he became one of the prime movers of the collective whi ...

selected ''Limbo'' for inclusion in his book '' Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels''.

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist and short-story writer, satirist and essayist known for psychologically provocative works of fiction that explore the relations between human psychology, technology, s ...

praised Wolfe's "lucid intelligence" and claimed ''Limbo'' helped encourage him to start writing fiction. Boucher and McComas, however, received the novel poorly, calling it "pretentious hodgepodge" and describing its theme as "a symbolically interesting idea . . . never developed with consistent or convincing details." P. Schuyler Miller gave ''Limbo'' a mixed review, describing it as a "colossus of a novel" while faulting its "endless talk." During the 90's,

Katherine Hayles Nancy Katherine Hayles (born 1943) is an American literary critic, most notable for her contribution to the fields of literature and science, electronic literature, and American literature. Her scholarship primarily focuses on the "relations ...

revisited Wolfe's novel for the study of the concept of posthuman, dedicating chapter five of her book to analyse and comment the influence of cybernetics in Wolfe's thought. Hayles however highlights some misogynist positions that can be perceived in Limbo's reading. More recently, analysis of ''Limbo'' has proven slightly more sympathetic to the novel, citing its relevance to the debate around computer control and the influence of machines on daily life; however, criticisms around the novel's contentious politics and misogyny remain. His novel ''The Late Risers, Their Masquerade'' (1954), the title of which plays on

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...

’s ''The Confidence-man: His Masquerade'', is about the hustlers, actors and drug dealers who people late-night New York City. In 1955 and 1956 he wrote a number of television plays, some of which drew upon his experiences with Trotsky and as a ghost writer. His 1956 teleplay ''Five Who Shook the Mighty'', a dramatization of the trial of five Romanians who had captured the Romanian Communist legation in Switzerland, was the subject of protests by the Romanian embassy but was given a special award by the

Crusade for Freedom The Crusade for Freedom was an American propaganda campaign operating from 1950–1960. Its public goal was to raise funds for Radio Free Europe; it also served to conceal the CIA's funding of Radio Free Europe and to generate domestic support f ...

. He wrote a monthly column in 1957 for ''Nugget'', a men's magazine. His third novel, ''In Deep'' (1957), is a thriller featuring espionage, socialist hipsters and decades-old Communist vendettas played out in Cuba. ''The Great Prince Died'' (later republished as ''Trotsky Dead'') (1959) was a

roman a clef Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

about the events surrounding the assassination of Trotsky (called Victor Rostov in the novel). The book was well received by critics and reviewers, though many expressed doubts about the mixture of fact and fiction in the book. Trotskyites were highly critical of the book, particularly of Wolfe's theme that Trotsky's guilt about the

Kronstadt rebellion The Kronstadt rebellion () was a 1921 insurrection of Soviet sailors, Marines, naval infantry, and civilians against the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik government in the Russian port city of Kronstadt. Located on Kotlin Island in the Gulf of Finland, ...

was transformed into a masochistic death wish. A partial dramatization of ''The Great Prince Died'' on Turnley Walker's 1959 book program ''First Meeting'' was instrumental in bringing Wolfe to live in California. ''The Magic of Their Singing'' (1961) is another novel about New York City's counterculture, as university graduate Hoyt Fairliss explores the world of the beats and nonconformists. In 1960 he began publishing stories in

Playboy magazine ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefn ...

, which paid him a retainer for a first option on his short work. In 1961 it was announced that Wolfe was writing an (unproduced) screenplay for

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles co ...

about

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the ''Playboy ...

and ''Playboy'' magazine. In 1963 it was announced that Wolfe was writing the (unproduced) screenplay adaptation of Henry Miller's ''Tropic of Cancer''. ''Come On Out, Daddy'' was published in 1963, an expansion of bitter stories recently published in ''Playboy'' and ''Cavalier'' (as Andrew Foxe) about Gordon Rengs, a novelist and screenwriter, and his tawdry adventures in Hollywood. A short story collection, ''Move Up, Dress Up, Drink Up, Burn Up'' was published in 1968. In the late 1960s he taught at UCLA. Harlan Ellison solicited two stories ("The Girl with Rapid Eye Movements", about Gordon Rengs and the

generation gap A generation gap or generational gap is a difference of opinions and outlooks between one generation and another. These differences may relate to beliefs, politics, language, work, demographics and values. The differences between generations can ...

) to appear in his 1972 science fiction anthology, ''Again, Dangerous Visions''. Wolfe wrote an autobiography, ''Memoirs of a Not Altogether Shy Pornographer'' (1972), the title of which alludes to

Kenneth Patchen Kenneth Patchen (December 13, 1911January 8, 1972) was an American poet and novelist. He experimented with different forms of writing and incorporated painting, drawing, and jazz music into his works, which have been compared with those of Will ...

’s ''Memoirs of a Shy Pornographer''. His novel ''Logan’s Gone'' (1974), a return to the character of Gordon Rengs, features contemporary politics with campus protests and Vietnam veterans. In 1974 Wolfe signed a seven-book contract with a recently formed Los Angeles publisher, Wollstonecraft Inc. Unfortunately the publisher suffered financial troubles, and Wolfe published no books after this. It remains uncertain whether several books may or may not have been printed, particularly because of variant titles used in a 1974 ''Publishers Weekly'' article. ''The Great Prince Died'' was republished with emendations as ''Trotsky Dead''. A novel entitled ''Full Disclosure'' and advertised to appear in 1975 as an “international suspense novel highlighting moral conflicts among the men who hold the keys to government secrets” may be the

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revol ...

–inspired novel ''Lies'', whose publication corresponds with Wollstonecraft's 1975 schedule, about an undercover government agent whose marriage falters as does his faith in the work he does. ''Julie: The Life and Times of John Garfield'' (or ''Body and Soul: The Life and Death of John Garfield''), a biography of the actor by Wolfe and Edward Medard was advertised in several trade journals throughout 1975 and 1977 but its publication is uncertain. A novel, ''Blood Money'', and a collection of essays and reviews, ''Men Not Quite Without Women'', were never published. In 1975 he collaborated with

Michael Blankfort Michael Seymour Blankfort (December 10, 1907 – July 13, 1982) was an American screenwriter, writer of books and playwright. He served as a front for the blacklisted Albert Maltz on the Academy Award-nominated screenplay of '' Broken Arrow (19 ...

on a play, ''Karl and Arthur'', about

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he s ...

. Throughout the 1970s articles and profiles noted a lengthy novel that Wolfe was writing about the

Delano grape strike The Delano grape strike was a labor strike organized by the United Farm Workers, Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), a predominantly Filipino and AFL-CIO-sponsored labor organization, against table grape growers in Delano, Californ ...

. In 1969 Wolfe had conducted a series of UCLA lectures on the

proletarian novel Proletarian literature refers here to the literature created by left-wing writers mainly for the class-conscious proletariat. Though the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' states that because it "is essentially an intended device of revolution", it is t ...

, and the Delano grape strike had been employed as background in several of the stories in ''Move Up, Dress Up, Drink Up, Burn Up''. Wolfe married the actress Dolores Michaels in Los Angeles on June 30, 1960.California Marriage Index, 1960-1985. - California Department of Health Services Office of Health Information and Research. - Vital Statistics Section. The marriage was her second and his first. The remained married until his death on October 27, 1985, and his death certificate lists Michaels as spouse at death. They had twin daughters, Jordan M. and Miranda I., born in Los Angeles on July 23, 1970. Wolfe died of a heart attack at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital.

Selected works

Non-fiction

* ''How to Get a Job in the Aircraft Industry'' (1943) * ''Plastics: What Everyone Should Know'' (1945) (ghost written by

Raymond Rosenthal Raymond B. Rosenthal (December 19, 1914 – July 24, 1995) was an American translator, best known for translating the Italian works of Primo Levi into the English language. He died of lung cancer. He also translated works by Pietro Aretino, Aldo ...

) * ''Really the Blues'', with

(1946) * ''Hypnotism Comes of Age'' (1949) (ghost written by

)

Fiction

Novels

* ''

Limbo The unofficial term Limbo (, or , referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition in medieval Catholic theology, of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. However, it has become the gene ...

'' (1952) (originally published in the UK as ''Limbo '90'') * ''The Late Risers, Their Masquerade'' (1954) (reprinted as ''Everything Happens at Night'') * ''In Deep'' (1957) * ''The Great Prince Died'' (reprinted in revised form as ''Trotsky Dead'') (1959) * ''The Magic of Their Singing'' (1961) * ''Come On Out, Daddy '' (1963) * ''Logan's Gone'' (1974) * ''Lies'' (1975)

Short fiction

* "Self Portrait", ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edi ...

'' 1951 * "The Never Ending Penny", ''

Playboy Magazine ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefn ...

'', 1960 * "Come Out, Daddy", ''

'' 1961 * "Marcianna and the Natural Carpaine in Papaya", ''

'' 1961 * "Anthony from Afar", ''

'' 1962 * "The Going Price For Adoration". ''

'' 1963 * "The Dot and Dash Bird", ''

'' 1964 * "Sue Me Rich", ''

'' 1964 * “How Simon Got His Bureau”, ''

'' 1966 * "The Roach Powder in the Maple Walnut", ''

'' 1966 * "The Hot Sauces of Magda", ''

'' 1968 * "One I Forgot", ''

'' 1968 * "The Bisquit Position", '' Again Dangerous Visions'' anthology 1972 * "The Girl With Rapid Eye Movements", '' Again Dangerous Visions'' anthology 1972

Note

Likely only a partial list.

Collections

* ''Move Up, Dress Up, Drink Up, Burn Up'', 1968

Translations

* ''The Plot'' (''Všeobecné spiknutí'') by

Egon Hostovský Egon Hostovský (23 April 1908 – 7 May 1973) was a Czech writer, editor and journalist. Biography Born in Hronov to a Jewish family, Hostovský studied at the gymnasium in Náchod in 1927, then took up philosophy in Prague. He briefly ...

, translated from

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

with by Alice Backer,

Doubleday Doubleday may refer to: * Doubleday (surname), including a list of people with the name Publishing imprints * Doubleday (publisher), imprint of Knopf Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House * Doubleday Canada, imprint of Penguin Random ...

, Garden City, N.Y. 1961

Teleplays

* "The Assassin" (''Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse'', 20 February 1955) (inspired by the murder of Trotsky) * "The Ghost Writer" (''Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse'' 29 May 1955) (a political speech writer despises his work) * "The Outsiders" (''Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse'', 18 September 1955) * "Hooked" (''Justice'', 15 January 1956) * "Five Who Shook the Mighty" (''Armstrong Circle Theatre'', 20 March 1956) * "Pattern of Lies" (''Justice'', 25 March 1956)

Selected non-fiction

* "Floating Fashions" (with Raymond Rosenthal, ''Cosmopolitan'', March 1947). * "Uncle Remus and the Malevolent Rabbit" (''Commentary'', July 1949) * "Ecstatic in Blackface: The Negro as a Song-and-Dance Man" (''Modern Review'', January 1950) * "War Bonds: More Delusions of Security" (as Christopher Bliss, ''The American Mercury'', April 1951) * "Are Taxes Making Liars of Us All?" (as Christopher Bliss, ''The American Mercury'', March 1952) * "Angry at What?" (''The Nation'', 1 November 1958) * "The Man Who Murdered Trotsky" (''Coronet'', July 1959) * "The 'Darks' Against the 'Lights'" (''Esquire'', April 1960) * "Manners and Morals on the Sunset Strip" (''Esquire'', August 1961) * "Swimming in Red Ink" (''Playboy'', July 1964) * Interview with Henry Miller (Playboy, September 1964) * "A Pair of Jokers and an Ace" (''Sunday Herald Tribune,'' 25 July 1965). * "The Man Called I-l-l-y-a" (''The New York Times'', October 24, 1965) * "The Step After Muscle" (''Cosmopolitan'', February 1966). * "30 Years After Stalin's Great Purge" (''The New York Times'', September 18, 1966) * "The Trouble with Harry" (''World Journal Tribune'', 26 March 1967). * "The 10 Percenters Of Hollywood" (''The New York Times'', June 18, 1967) * "Our Generation Gap: Dialogue with the Mutant Young" (''Los Angeles Times'', 6 August 1967) * "The Real-Life Death of Jim Morrison" (''Esquire'', June 1972) * "Dearth in the Evening" (''Works in Progress'' #7, 1972) * "Swiftie the Magician: Rendering the Fad of the Camelot Myth" (Los Angeles Times, 22 September 1974) * Review of ‘The Electronic Battlefield’ by Paul Dickson (''Books West Magazine'', Volume 1 #2, 1976)

References

*David Galloway "An Erratic Geography: The Novels of Bernard Wolfe," Critique: Studies in Modern Fiction, VII (Spring 1964) *John Leonard, "Whatever Happened to Bernard Wolfe?" New York magazine 22 April 1968

External links

* * (primarily under 'Wolfe, Bernard, 1915–' without '1985') * Bernard Wolfe Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, Bernard 1915 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American sailors American science fiction writers Writers from New Haven, Connecticut American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Connecticut