John Oliver Killens (1980)

Novelist, playwright, essayist, teacher, activist, and world traveler John Oliver Killens’ life, in its commitment to principles and its dedication to the writer’s craft, has been an inspiration to a generation of creative artists. “Life is a short walk,” he mused, “There is so little time and so much living to achieve.” His publications—the novels Youngblood, And Then We Heard the Thunder, The Cotillion; essays in Black Man’s Burden; a biography of Denmark Vesey; a novelization of the Russian novelist Alexander Pushkin’s life; and a script for the film Odds Against Tomorrow—indicate Killens’ breadth and his grasp of the importance of history to a vision of the future.