Edward Poage McClanahan (October 5, 1932 – November 27, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, and professor.

Biography

McClanahan was born in Brooksville,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

on October 5, 1932, to Edward Leroy and Jessie (Poage) McClanahan. He attended school there and later in nearby

Maysville, Kentucky Maysville is a home rule-class city in Mason County, Kentucky, United States and is the seat of Mason County. The population was 8,782 as of 2019, making it the 51st-largest city in Kentucky by population. Maysville is on the Ohio River, north ...

, where the family relocated in 1948. McClanahan attended

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

for one year before leaving for

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

, where he received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in English in 1955. He briefly attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

's graduate English program during the 1955–1956 academic year, where he studied under

Richard Scowcroft Richard Scowcroft (June 26, 1916 – October 8, 2001) was an American writer and teacher of writers long associated with Stanford University, where he co-founded the creative-writing program with, and ultimately succeeded, Wallace Stegner as dire ...

and

Malcolm Cowley Malcolm Cowley (August 24, 1898 – March 27, 1989) was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, ''Blue Juniata'' (1929), his lyrical memoir, ''Exile's Return ...

; after failing to acclimate to the program, he received an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in English from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

in 1958. From 1958 to 1962, McClanahan taught

first-year composition First-year composition (sometimes known as first-year writing, freshman composition or freshman writing) is an introductory core curriculum writing course in US colleges and universities. This course focuses on improving students' abilities to wr ...

and a

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

course previously taught by

Bernard Malamud Bernard Malamud (April 26, 1914 – March 18, 1986) was an American novelist and short story writer. Along with Saul Bellow, Joseph Heller, and Philip Roth, he was one of the best known American Jewish authors of the 20th century. His baseba ...

as an instructor at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

. He received a Stegner Fellowship in Stanford University's non-degree creative writing program for the 1962–1963 academic year. Immediately thereafter, he was selected for a Jones Lectureship by program director

Wallace Stegner Wallace Earle Stegner (February 18, 1909 – April 13, 1993) was an American novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and historian, often called "The Dean of Western Writers". He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and the U.S. National Book ...

. During his time at Stanford—where he was also known by his hippie moniker "Captain Kentucky"—McClanahan became good friends with fellow program alumni

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

(through their mutual friendships with

Wendell Berry Wendell Erdman Berry (born August 5, 1934) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. Closely identified with rural Kentucky, Berry developed many of his agrarian themes in the early essays of ...

Gurney Norman Gurney Norman (born 1937) is an American writer, documentarian, and professor. Biography Gurney Norman was born in Grundy, Virginia, in 1937. He grew up in the southern Appalachian Mountains and was raised alternately by his maternal grandparen ...

, and Robert Stone. As an active member of Kesey's band of

Merry Pranksters The Merry Pranksters were comrades and followers of American author Ken Kesey in 1964. Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters lived communally at Kesey's homes in California and Oregon, and are noted for the sociological significance of a lengthy roa ...

, McClanahan introduced Stone to Kesey's circle. His memoir, ''Famous People I Have Known'', humorously recollects many of his Prankster experiences, and

Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

's bestseller, ''

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test ''The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test'' is a 1968 nonfiction book by Tom Wolfe. The book is a popular example of the New Journalism literary style. Wolfe presents a firsthand account of the experiences of Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters, ...

'', gave it worldwide notoriety. In 1968, he signed the "

Writers and Editors War Tax Protest Tax resistance, the practice of refusing to pay taxes that are considered unjust, has probably existed ever since rulers began imposing taxes on their subjects. It has been suggested that tax resistance played a significant role in the collapse of ...

" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War."Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" January 30, 1968 ''New York Post'' McClanahan served as a Jones Lecturer until 1972. He later taught at the University of Kentucky (deputizing for Wendell Berry during the 1972–1973 academic year), the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

(1973–1976) and

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern K ...

(1979–1980) in a visiting lectureship that was to segue into a

tenure-track Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

position. Much to his surprise, he was released from his contract "at the last minute" in favor of an affirmative action candidate. He credited NKU and the sequence of events with giving him the opportunity to finish the long-gestating ''The Natural Man'', which was completely rewritten from first to third person. Following Kesey's death in 2001, McClanahan edited ''Spit in the Ocean #7: All About Kesey'', a collection of stories, poems, and essays about Kesey. ''Spit in the Ocean #7'' was the last volume of a literary magazine Kesey himself conceived in 1973 and thereafter sporadically self-published. Each ''Spit in the Ocean'' volume featured a different theme and editor; the last Kesey-published edition, ''Spit in the Ocean #6'', had been released over 20 years before, in 1981. McClanahan married Katherine Andrews in 1957 and they had three children: Jess, who predeceased him, Kristin and Caitlin. In 1975, he married Cia White (daughter of journalist and writer William S. White) and they had two children: Annie June and William. McClanahan resided in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, with his third wife, Hilda. He had four grandchildren: Gray, Jessie, Rose, and Lucy. He was active in Kentucky literary circles and could occasionally be seen, in full "Captain Kentucky" regalia, guest-lecturing to University of Kentucky creative writing workshops. ''Horsefeathers: Stories from Room 241'', an anthology of stories edited by McClanahan and Scotty Adkins compiled from a creative writing class taught by McClanahan at the University of Kentucky in 2009, was released by Wind Publications in 2011. He died on November 27, 2021, at the age of 89.Ed McClanahan, one of Ky’s Fab Five authors and its own Merry Prankster, dies at 89
''

Lexington Herald-Leader The ''Lexington Herald-Leader'' is a newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and based in Lexington, Kentucky. According to the ''1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook'', the paid circulation of the ''Herald-Leader'' is the second large ...

'', Linda Blackford, November 27, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.

Writing

McClanahan was a writer since the mid-1950s with short stories, essays, and reviews in such magazines as ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'', and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''. In 1972 and 1974, he received ''Playboys award for nonfiction. He was known for his rollicking, good-naturedly crude humor and a creatively extensive vocabulary. Along with contemporary authors Wendell Berry,

James Baker Hall James Baker Hall (April 14, 1935 – June 25, 2009) was an American poet, novelist, photographer and teacher. Biography James Baker Hall was born in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1935. He was raised in a southern family of means and social standing, ...

Bobbie Ann Mason Bobbie Ann Mason (born May 1, 1940) is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and literary critic from Kentucky. Her memoir was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Early life and education A child of Wilburn and Christina Mason, Bobb ...

and fellow Prankster

, McClanahan was considered a member of the "Fab Five" group of Kentucky writers. Initially conceived in 1961, ''The Natural Man'' was finally published in 1983 to great acclaim.

Publications

* ''One Lord, One Faith, One Cornbread'', Fred Nelson & Ed McClanahan (eds.) (Garden City, NY: Anchor Books), 1975. * ''The Natural Man'' (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux), 1983. * ''Famous People I Have Known'' (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux), 1985. * ''A Congress of Wonders'' (Washington, DC: Counterpoint), 1996. * ''My Vita, If You Will: The Uncollected Ed McClanahan'' (Washington, DC: Counterpoint), 1998. * ''Fondelle, or, The Whore with a Heart of Gold: A Report from the Field'' (Monterey, KY: Larkspur Press), 2002. * ''A Foreign Correspondence'' (Tucson: Sylph Publications), 2002. * ''Spit in the Ocean #7: All About Ken Kesey'' (New York: Penguin Books), 2003. * ''O The Clear Moment'' (Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint), 2008. * ''Not Even Immortality Lasts Forever: Mostly True Stories'' (Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint), 2020.

Notes

References

* Bartholomew, W. E. ''Ed McClanahan: A Descriptive Bibliography, 1954-2000'' (Tucson: Sylph Publications), 1999. * "Edward Poage McClanahan", ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia'', John E. Kleber (ed.) (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky), 1992. * Sigelman, Lee. "Solitary, Poor, Nasty, Brutish--and Tall?: Man and Society in ''The Natural Man''", ''Journal of Kentucky Studies'' (September 1985): 198-212.

External links

McClanahan's websiteAuthor Ed McClanahan Revisits The Past With ‘Not Even Immortality Lasts Forever’
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClanahan, Ed 1932 births 2021 deaths American short story writers American essayists American tax resisters Oregon State University faculty Miami University alumni People from Brooksville, Kentucky Writers from Lexington, Kentucky People from Maysville, Kentucky University of Kentucky alumni