Richard Milton McKenna (May 9, 1913 – November 1, 1964) was an American sailor and writer. In the late 1950s, he began writing science fiction stories, and is best known for his 1963 historical novel ''
The Sand Pebbles'', which tells the story of an American sailor serving aboard a
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-steam ...
on the Chinese
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...
in 1925.
Biography
Early life
McKenna was born in
Mountain Home, Idaho, on May 9, 1913.
[''Dictionary of North Carolina Biography'']
/ref>
Seeking more opportunities than could be found in such a rural part of the country at the height of the Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, McKenna joined the U.S. Navy in 1931 at the age of 18. He served for 22 years, including 10 years of active sea duty. He served in World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and the Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
.
He retired as a Chief Machinist's Mate.[ Because of the benefits of the GI Bill, McKenna was able to attend college at the ]University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
, located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, where he studied creative writing. He also married a librarian, Eva, whom he met at the college.
Writing career
McKenna began his writing career publishing science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
, and starting in 1958 he regularly attended the annual Milford Writer's Workshop for science fiction writers. His first science fiction story "Casey Agonistes" immediately established him as a writer to be watched when it appeared in the September 1958 issue of '' The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction''. Only six of his science fiction tales were published during his lifetime, but six more were published posthumously.
McKenna's major work was '' The Sand Pebbles'' (1963), a 597-page novel later made into the well-known 1966 film of the same title. The protagonist was an enlisted career sailor on a U.S. Navy river gunboat named the ''San Pablo'' in China during the 1920s. McKenna himself served aboard a river gunboat on the Yangtze Patrol, but about ten years after the events in his novel and of more modern construction (''San Pablo'' was an ancient gunboat seized from the Spanish in 1898). ''The Sand Pebbles'' won the $10,000 1963 Harper Prize
The Harper Novel Prize was an award presented by Harper Brothers, an American publishing company located in New York City.
The award was presented to the best novel by an "a writer who hitherto had not found a wide audience". A number of the awa ...
Novel and was chosen as a Book-of-the-Month Club selection.[ On January 7, 1963, McKenna also appeared on the television quiz program '']To Tell the Truth
''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...
''.
Death and legacy
McKenna died of a heart attack at his Chapel Hill N.C. home on November 4, 1964, at age 51.
Bibliography
Books
* '' The Sand Pebbles'' (Harper & Row, 1963)
* ''The Sons of Martha and Other Stories'' (Harper & Row, 1967)
* ''New Eyes for Old: Nonfiction Writings'', ed. Eva Grice McKenna and Shirley Graves Cochrane (J.F. Blair, 1972)
*''Casey Agonistes and Other Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories'' (Harper & Row, 1973)
* ''The Left-Handed Monkey Wrench: Stories and Essays'' (Naval Institute Press, 1984)
Stories in magazines and anthologies
* "Casey Agonistes", '' Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' (September 1958)
* "The Fishdollar Affair", ''If'' (October 1958)
* "The Night of Hoggy Darn", ''If'' (December 1958)
* "Love and Moondogs", ''If'' (February 1959)
* "Mine Own Ways", ''Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' (February 1960)
* "Hunter, Come Home", ''Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' (March 1963)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Richard
1913 births
1964 deaths
20th-century American novelists
American male short story writers
American science fiction writers
American male novelists
Nebula Award winners
People from Mountain Home, Idaho
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
Novelists from Idaho
Novelists from North Carolina
20th-century American short story writers
20th-century American male writers
United States Navy personnel of World War II
United States Navy personnel of the Korean War
United States Navy sailors