Paul Robert Spike is an American author,

editor in chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held account ...

and journalist. He is best known as the author of the 1973 memoir ''Photographs of My Father'' about the murder of his father, civil rights leader Robert W. Spike, in 1966.

Career

Spike is the author of five books. His memoir ''Photographs of My Father'' (

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

, 1973) is the most widely known; an autobiographical account of the murder of his father, civil rights leader Rev. Robert W. Spike, the book was chosen by the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

as one of its "Ten Best Books of The Year." His four other works include a collection of short stories, two political thrillers, and the cult

novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book, or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent ...

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...

's ''

Jabberwocky "Jabberwocky" is a Nonsense verse, nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' ...

'' which Spike composed under the pseudonym "Ralph Hoover". In 1997, Spike became the first American editor of the 150-year-old British humour magazine '' Punch'' which he relaunched as a weekly investigative and satirical

gadfly Gadfly most commonly refers to: * Horse fly or botfly * Gadfly (philosophy and social science), a person who upsets the status quo Gadfly may also refer to: Entertainment * ''The Gadfly'', an 1897 novel by Ethel Lilian Voynich ** ''The Gadfly'' ...

, but soon left.

Honors

In 1970 Spike received the John Train Humor Prize awarded by

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

Personal

Spike graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1970. He has a son and a daughter by author

Maureen Freely Maureen Deidre Freely (born July 1952) is an American novelist, professor, and translator. She has worked on the Warwick Writing Programme, University of Warwick, since 1996. Biography Born in Neptune, New Jersey, she is the daughter of author ...

, and a son by editor

Alexandra Shulman Alexandra Shulman (born 13 November 1957) is a British journalist. She is a former Editor-in-Chief of British ''Vogue'', and became the longest serving Editor in the history of the publication. After assuming the role in 1992, she presided ov ...

, both former wives. His brother is art historian

John Spike John Thomas Spike (born November 8, 1951, in New York City) is an American art historian, curator, and author, specializing in the Italian Renaissance and Baroque periods. He is also a contemporary art critic and past director of the Florence Bien ...

Bibliography

* ''Bad News'' (short fiction), Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1971. * ''Photographs of My Father'' (autobiography), Knopf, 1973. * ''Jabberwocky'' (as "Ralph Hoover"), Pan Books, 1976. * ''

The Night Letter ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

'' (novel), GP Putnams, 1978. * ''Last Rites'' (novel), New American Library, 1980.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spike, Paul Living people Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford American editors American male journalists Columbia College (New York) alumni People from Greenwich Village Writers from Manhattan Punch (magazine) people 1947 births