John McNulty (journalist)
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John Augustine McNulty (1895-1956) was an American journalist and writer. John McNulty is a major figure in the development of the genre of
literary journalism Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction or literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contra ...
.


Contribution to development of genre of literary journalism

It is the
University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...
’s Prof. Sims who credits Joseph Mitchell, John McNulty and other short piece writers at
Harold Ross Harold Wallace Ross (November 6, 1892 – December 6, 1951) was an American journalist who co-founded ''The New Yorker'' magazine in 1925 with his wife Jane Grant, and was its editor-in-chief until his death. Early life Born in a prospector's ...
’ designedly succoring
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
magazine with evolving an early 20th-century reformer news writer's practice into a separate literary genre. In his seminal work ''Literary Journalism in the 20th Century'', Norman Sims traces the roots of literary journalism to journalist reformers efforts to make their news reports so poignant as to compel others to undertake corrective social actions. The later genre of literary journalism, as stated by Sim's to have been evolved by McNulty and other short piece writers at the New Yorker magazine, is no longer conflicted between unbiased fact reporting and the enhanced portrayal of social conditions for some form of advocacy but, concentrates upon such latter portrayal, while using actual events as a creative substrate. Literary journalism does, however, still demand accurate fact reporting of its practitioners. McNulty's words are near unrivaled, at evoking in their readers’ minds, such poignant imagery, and in their readers’ hearts, such concern and affection for his very common characters.


Early life, education and career

John McNulty was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1895. John's father died during John's early childhood. He was raised by his mother, who operated a small store to support her family. John McNulty served to the rank of noncommissioned officer in the U.S. infantry in France during World War I. McNulty fought in several of the war's major battles. It was sadly at the 1918 Battle of Tardenois, also known as the
Second Battle of the Marne The Second Battle of the Marne (french: Seconde Bataille de la Marne) (15 July – 18 July 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First World War. The attack failed wh ...
, the decisive Allied victory that lead to the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
’ capitulation and the end of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
or the
war to end all wars "The war to end war" (also "The war to end all wars"; originally from the 1914 book '' The War That Will End War'' by H. G. Wells) is a term for the First World War of 1914–1918. Originally an idealistic slogan, it is now mainly used sardonic ...
within 100 days thereof, that the thereto unscathed John McNulty finally suffered a massive wound to his leg that left him with a severe limp for the rest of his life. No other noncommissioned officer in John’s company survived the war. After recouping from his injury for more than a year, John attended the
Columbia School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sc ...
while working for the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
. After graduating from
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, John went to work as a reporter for the ''New York Post'' newspaper. He subsequently worked as a reporter in chronological order for the Columbus, Ohio ''Ohio State Journal'' newspaper, the ''New York Daily Mirror'' newspaper, the ''New York Daily News'' newspaper, and, then, as a staff writer at
Time (magazine) ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published Weekly newspaper, weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New ...
, before in 1937 joining his close friend James Thurber at ''The New Yorker'' magazine, where McNulty remained until his death from a heart attack in 1956.


Notoriety and legacy

The success of J. A. McNulty’s 1941 short story “Atheist Hit By A Truck” catapulted him into the national spotlight and cemented his reputation and further career path as an author rather than a journalist. John's wife,
Faith McNulty Faith McNulty (November 28, 1918 – April 10, 2005) was an American non-fiction author, probably best known for her 1980 literary journalism genre book ''The Burning Bed''. She is also known for her authorship of wildlife pieces and books, includ ...
, was an author and children's book writer known for penning
The Burning Bed ''The Burning Bed'' is both a 1980 non-fiction book by Faith McNulty about battered housewife Francine Hughes, and a 1984 TV-movie adaptation written by Rose Leiman Goldemberg. The plot follows Hughes' trial for the murder of her husband, James B ...
, which was eventually turned into a 1984 film featuring
Farrah Fawcett Farrah Leni Fawcett (born Ferrah Leni Fawcett; February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009) was an American actress. A four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she playe ...
. McNulty's great-grand nephew Matt McNulty also worked as a reporter for the
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
, much like John did in the early 1930s before writing for
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
.


Literary works and close friendship with Thurber

Many of John McNulty's stories deal with New York saloon life and its characters. McNulty was a lifelong friend, associate, and drinking companion of writer and humorist
James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected in ...
, who McNulty had early mentored while in Ohio. McNulty wrote at ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' with Thurber, Joseph Mitchell,
S. J. Perelman Sidney Joseph Perelman (February 1, 1904 – October 17, 1979) was an American humorist and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for ''The New Yorker''. He also wrote for several other magazines ...
,
E. B. White Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including ''Stuart Little'' (1945), ''Charlotte's Web'' (1952), and '' The Trumpet of the Swan'' ...
and others. They met at Costello's saloon on Third Avenue in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
as members of the "square table" (in contrast with the literary wits who met at the
Algonquin Round Table The Algonquin Round Table was a group of New York City writers, critics, actors, and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke, members of "The Vicious Circle", as they dubbed themselves, met for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel ...
). Thurber eulogized McNulty in the ''New Yorker'' and wrote a long and extraordinarily affectionate foreword to (''The World of John McNulty'') the earliest posthumous collection of his friend's stories. According to Thurber, ''The New Yorker'' published more than sixty pieces by McNulty. McNulty's works have been used in graduate literature courses at Columbia, Duke and University of Pittsburgh. McNulty's stories are collected in ''The World of John McNulty'' (1957) and ''This Place on Third Avenue'' (2001). "The World of John McNulty" (TWJM) collects 55 pieces; 13 of 17 from McNulty's book "3rd Avenue, New York" (TANY); 11 of 12 from his book "A Man Gets Around"(AMGA); 12 of 25 from his book "My Son Johnny" (MSJ); and 19 previously uncollected pieces. "This Place on Third Avenue" collects 28 pieces (7 of which do not appear in TWJM); 15 from TANY; 2 from AMGA; none from MSJ; 7 collected in TWJM; 2 previously uncollected; and 2 previously unpublished.


In portion, Thurber's tribute to his early mentor and close friend McNulty

''“Nothing, however, commonplace, that he touched remained commonplace but, was magnified and enlivened by his intense and endless fascination with the stranger in the street, the drinker in the bar, and the bartender behind it, the horseplayer, the cab driver, the guy at the ballgame, the fellow across the room, the patient in the next hospital bed.”'' -
James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected in ...
of his fellow writer and dearest friend John McNulty.The World of John McNulty, © 1957 NY Doubleday, pp 9-10.


Bibliography of books

''Third Avenue New York'' (1946) Boston, Little Brown
''A Man Gets Around'' (1951) Boston, Little Brown
My Son Johnny (1955) Simon and Schuster
''The World of John McNulty'' (1957) NY, Doubleday
''This Place on Third Avenue'' (2001) Washington, D.C., Counterpoint


References and notes


External links



This is the faculty profile for Prof. Sims, who is with the University's College of Social & Behavioral Sciences and is there noted as a leading authority on the genre of literary journalism.
The World of John McNulty
by Matthew Martin, ''Construction Magazine'' (July 13, 2012).

* :  – one more catalog record (attrib. another John McNulty) {{DEFAULTSORT:McNulty, John 1895 births 1956 deaths American male journalists 20th-century American journalists American short story writers American male short story writers People from Lawrence, Massachusetts