Robert Hayward Barlow (May 18, 1918 – January 1 or 2, 1951Joshi & Schultz (2007): p. xx.) was an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, avant-garde poet, anthropologist and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

of early

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and expert in the Nahuatl language. He was a correspondent and friend of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, who appointed Barlow as the executor of his literary estate.S.T. Joshi, ''I Am Providence: The Life & Times of H.P. Lovecraft.'' Hippocampus, 2010. Born while his father, Lieutenant Colonel Everett Darius Barlow, was serving with the American Forces in France, Barlow spent much of his youth at Fort Benning,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, where his father was stationed but also moved from army post to army post in his earliest years. As a result, he never received much formal schooling but he was a brilliant youth and pursued his education on his own. Around 1932 Col. Barlow received a medical discharge, retired on disability from the army and settled his wife (Bernice Barlow) and son in the small town of DeLand, in central

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

where he built a lakeside homestead. Family difficulties later forced Robert H. Barlow to move to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where, in 1934, as the son of a retired army officer, he received treatment for over-strained eyes at an army facility before returning to DeLand in 1935. In 1936, he received training at the

Kansas City Art Institute The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a private art school in Kansas City, Missouri. The college was founded in 1885 and is an accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and Higher Learning Commission. It has approx ...

, where Thomas Hart Benton was one of his teachers, and subsequently at

San Francisco Junior College City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a public community college in San Francisco, California. Founded as a junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local role, annually enrolling as many as one in nine San Franci ...

. Barlow settled for a time with the Beck family in

Lakeport, California Lakeport is an incorporated city and the county seat of Lake County, California. This city is northwest of Sacramento. Lakeport is on the western shore of the county namesake, Clear Lake, at an elevation of . The population was 5,026 at the 202 ...

, where he helped publish H. P. Lovecraft's ''Commonplace Book'' and several other items from Beck's Futile Press. From Lakeport was mailed the second and final issue of his legendary amateur magazine ''Leaves'', which he and Lovecraft had planned together before the latter's death. Following a suggestion from an interested counselor and friend, Barbara Mayer, that Barlow make the study of Mexico's antiquities his goal, he went to Mexico in 1940-41, studied at the Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biologicas, and upon his return to California received the B.A. degree at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

in 1942. Returning to Mexico as a permanent resident, he joined the staff of the

Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where i ...

. In 1944 he received a Rockefeller Foundation and in 1946-48 a Guggenheim Fellowship. He became head of the Department of Anthropology at

Mexico City College Mexico City College was founded in 1940, as an English-speaking junior college in Mexico City, Mexico. In 1946, the college became a four-year Bachelor of Arts degree-awarding institution, changing its name to University of the Americas in 1963. ...

, which position he held at the time of his passing on January 2, 1951. According to fellow anthropologist Charles E. Dibble, "In the brief span of a decade, Barlow gave Middle American research an impetus and perspective of enduring consequence. His contributions in Mexican archaeology, classical and modern Nahuatl, Mexican colonial history, and what he preferred to call "Bilderhandschriften" are of lasting importance." Dibble compared Barlow's zeal for searching for and deciphering little known or dimly recalled codices and colonial manuscripts to that of

Zelia Nuttall Zelia Maria Magdalena Nuttall (6 September 1857 – 12 April 1933) was an American archaeologist and anthropologist specialised in pre-Aztec Mexican cultures and pre-Columbian manuscripts. She discovered two forgotten manuscripts of this type in ...

.Charles E. Dibble. "Robert Hayward Barlow - 1918–1951". ''American Antiquity'' 16 (4): 347. Barlow has been referred to as "the

T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...

of Mexico."

Life and career

Lovecraft associate

Barlow had been a friend of writers H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard since he was 13. He collaborated with Lovecraft on at least six stories ("The Slaying of the Monster" (1933); "The Hoard of the Wizard-Beast" (1933); the spoof "The Battle That Ended the Century" (1934); "

Till A' the Seas "Till A' the Seas" is a post-apocalyptic short story by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft and R. H. Barlow. The title is a reference to the poem "A Red, Red Rose" by Robert Burns. Plot The story consists of two parts. The first descr ...

" (1935); an unfinished parody, "Collapsing Cosmoses" (1935); and "The Night Ocean" (1936)), and Lovecraft made several extended visits to the young Barlow at his home in DeLand, Florida.

Barlow attempted to bind and distribute Lovecraft's story "The Shunned House" (1924) but bound only a few copies (

Arkham House Arkham House is an American publishing house specializing in weird fiction. It was founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to publish hardcover collections of H. P. Lovecraft's best works, which had ...

distributed some bound versions of the original Barlow project as late as the 1970s). Barlow aided significantly in the preservation of Lovecraft's manuscripts by typing texts in exchange for autographed manuscripts. Barlow came to Providence immediately upon receiving a telegram from Lovecraft's aunt Annie Gamwell about Lovecraft's death. Lovecraft's "Instructions in Case of Decease", a separate document from his will, appointed Barlow his

literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed w ...

. Lovecraft biographer S.T. Joshi says that this document was never probated but that Ms. Gamwell created a formal contract confirming that Barlow was to have all of Lovecraft's manuscripts and notebooks, to publish as he saw fit, earnings from said publication to go to Ms. Gamwell with a 3% commission for himself. Barlow donated most of the manuscripts and some printed matter to the

John Hay Library The John Hay Library (known colloquially as the Hay) is the second oldest library on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is located on Prospect Street opposite the Van Wickle Gates. After its constructio ...

of Brown University. Barlow transcribed Lovecraft's story "The Shadow Out of Time" and had the manuscript still in his possession when he secured a teaching position at Mexico City College. When he later became Chairman of the Department of Anthropology, he met June Ripley, a postgraduate student studying the Nahuatl language, Barlow's specialty. The two apparently became friends and Barlow entrusted the manuscript to Ripley before his suicide. She remained in Mexico for seven more years, then taught at several places in the United States before retiring in 1993. She died on December 28, 1994, and the long-lost Lovecraft manuscript was found by Ripley's sister-in-law Lucille Shreve. The manuscript, written in pencil in a child's notebook, was donated by Nelson and Lucille Shreve to the Lovecraft collection of

Author, publisher

Barlow was interested in printing and after becoming involved in the early 'fan' scene relating to fantasy and science fiction, published several important journals - ''The Dragon-Fly'' (two issues - October 15, 1935, and May 15, 1936); and ''Leaves'' (two issues - Summer 1937; Winter 1938/39)

He was also proprietor of his imprint, the Dragon-Fly Press (Cassia, Florida) and under that imprint published two important works by members of the Lovecraft Circle - ''The Goblin Tower'' (the first verse collection by

Frank Belknap Long Frank Belknap Long (April 27, 1901 – January 3, 1994) was an American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. Though his writing career spanned seven decades, he is best known ...

– Lovecraft helped Barlow set the type for this) and "

The Cats of Ulthar "The Cats of Ulthar" is a short story written by American fantasy author H. P. Lovecraft in June 1920. In the tale, an unnamed narrator relates the story of how a law forbidding the killing of cats came to be in a town called Ulthar. As the nar ...

", a story by H. P. Lovecraft. Barlow's fiction career was interrupted in 1937 by a variety of circumstances, including the death of his friend and mentor Lovecraft, and his own uprooting from Florida because of family troubles. In 1938 he edited Lovecraft's ''Notes and Commonplace Book'' and in 1939 edited ''After Sunset'' (John Howell, 1939), a collection of the best poems written by

George Sterling George Sterling (December 1, 1869 – November 17, 1926) was an American writer based in the San Francisco, California Bay Area and Carmel-by-the-Sea. He was considered a prominent poet and playwright and proponent of Bohemianism during the fi ...

in the last years before Sterling's suicide in 1926. In 1943, Barlow lent assistance to the first bibliography of Lovecraft (by Francis T. Laney and William H. Evans). His poignant memoir of Lovecraft, "The Wind That is in the Grass" can be found in ''Marginalia'' (Arkham House, 1944). Barlow also contributed the introduction for the 1944 Arkham House volume ''Jumbee and Other Uncanny Tales'' by his fellow Floridian and ''

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, pri ...

'' author Henry S. Whitehead.

Sculptor

Barlow was highly regarded as a sculptor, before his move into anthropology, and in one letter (to Clark Ashton Smith, May 16, 1937) he complained that people took this work more seriously than his writings. But it appears that none of his sculptural work has survived.

Anthropologist

Barlow moved permanently to Mexico around 1943, where he taught at several colleges, and in 1948 became chairman of the anthropology department at

and a distinguished anthropologist of Indigenous Mesoamerican culture. He taught classes at Mexico City College, to mostly American students who were mostly there under funding from the post-war G.I. Bill. The famous writer

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

, who lived in Mexico from 1950 to 1952, studied the

Mayan Codices Maya codices (singular ''codex'') are folding books written by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Maya hieroglyphic script on Mesoamerican bark paper. The folding books are the products of professional scribes working under the patronage of ...

under Barlow in the first half of 1950. Burroughs went on at least one field trip with him to the Temple of Quetzalcoatl in

Teotihuacan Teotihuacan (Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is known today as t ...

. The Mayan symbolism and political structure he found there later featured heavily in Burroughs' fiction. At the same time Barlow cooperated with Prof. Salvador Mateos Higuera in a descriptive study of Mexican codices. Within a brief three years he had cooperated with George T. Smisor to plan and edit ''Tlalocan'', a journal of source materials on native cultures of Mexico. Beginning in 1943 with the appearance of ''Tlalocan'' his productivity attained added momentum and his articles appeared with increasing frequency in the scholarly journals of Mexico, United States and Europe. Concern for minutiae led to such works of detail as "The 18th Century ''Relaciones Geograficas''". He travelled to the Yucatán to study the Mayans, and to western Guerrero, where he studied the Tepuztecs. He founded two scholarly journals, and published around a hundred and fifty articles, pamphlets, and books. In 1950 he published '' Mexihkatl itonalama'' ("The Mexican's calendar"), a Nahuatl-language newspaper. His work in

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...

n anthropology is of pioneering significance, and his collected anthropological papers are in the process of publication in Mexico. At this time Barlow was also continuing his work as a poet, writing both formalist verse and experimental verse of the Activist school pioneered by Lawrence Hart.

Suicide

Barlow had written as early as 1944 that he had "a subtle feeling that my curious and uneasy life is not destined to prolong itself". He killed himself at his home in

Azcapotzalco Azcapotzalco ( nci, Āzcapōtzalco , , from '' āzcapōtzalli'' “anthill” + '' -co'' “place”; literally, “In the place of the anthills”) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. Azcapotzalco is in the northwestern p ...

, D.F, Mexico, on the first or second of January, 1951, apparently fearing the exposure of his

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

by a disgruntled student. On that afternoon, he locked himself in his room, took 26 capsules of

Seconal Secobarbital (as the sodium salt, originally marketed by Eli Lilly and Company for the treatment of insomnia, and subsequently by other companies as described below, under the brand name Seconal) is a short-acting barbiturate derivative drug that ...

, leaving pinned upon his door in Mayan pictographs "Do not disturb me. I want to sleep a long time."

, then studying Spanish, the Mexican codices and the Mayan language under Barlow, briefly described his death in a letter to

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

, dated January 11: "A queer Professor from K.C., Mo., head of the Anthropology dept. here at M.C.C. exico City Collegewhere I collect my $75 per month, knocked himself off a few days ago with overdose of goof balls. Vomit all over the bed. I can’t see this suicide kick."Burroughs (1993): pp. 77–78.

Bibliography

Books by Barlow

* ''Poems for a Competition''. Sacramento, CA: The Fugitive Press, 1942. (verse). For these poems Barlow received the 26th award of the Emily Chamberlain Cook Prize in Poetry. The entire contents of the volume are reprinted in ''Eyes of the God'' (2002). * ''View from a Hill''. Azcapotzalco o publisher given 1947 (verse). The entire contents of the volume are reprinted in ''Eyes of the God'' (2002). * ''The Extent of the Empire of the Culhua Mexico'' bero-Americana 28 Berkeley: University of California Press, 1949.

Posthumous publications

* The Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History ( Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia compiled his anthropological and archaeological studies carried out in Mexico in 7 volumes: I) Tlatelolco, rival of Tenochtitlan (1987); ll) Tlatelolco. Sources and history (1989); III) The Mexicas and the Triple Alliance (1990); IV) The extension of the empire of the Culhua Mexica (1992); V) Sources and studies on indigenous Mexico. First part: generalities and the Center of Mexico (1994); VI) Sources and studies on indigenous Mexico. Second part: current states of: Colima, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Veracruz and Yucatán (1995) and VII) Miscellaneous writings (1999). * ''Collapsing Cosmoses'' (with H. P. Lovecraft. West Warwick RI: Necronomicon Press, 1977. F&SF Fragments series; 500 copies only. This piece is reprinted in ''The Battle That Ended the Century and Collapsing Cosmoses'' (1992) and also collected in ''Eyes of the God'' (2002). * ''Annals of the Jinns''. Original series of stories in ''The Fantasy Fan'' (1933–35) and ''The Phantagraph''; collected, West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1978. Foreword "Robert H. Barlow and H. P. Lovecraft: A Reflection" by Kenneth W. Faig, Jr. Contains 10 of the tales. (The 11th Annal, "An Episode in the Jungle", was unpublished until collected in ''Eyes of the God'' (2002)). Note: A rewritten version of "Annal" V, "The Tomb of the God", appears in

Lin Carter Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...

, ed,

Kingdoms of Sorcery ''Kingdoms of Sorcery: An Anthology of Adult Fantasy'' is an anthology of fantasy stories, edited by American writer Lin Carter. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in January 1976 as the first of two such anthologies continuing a se ...

; Carter rewrote it from a half-legible copy, all he could find at the time. * ''A Dim-Remembered Story'' West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1980. Preface by H. P. Lovecraft. The tale is included in '' Eyes of the God'' (2002) * ''The Night Ocean'' (with H. P. Lovecraft). West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1978, 1982; 3rd pr 1989. The tale is included in ''Eyes of the God'' (2002). * ''Crypt of Cthulhu'' No. 60 (1988) is a special issue devoted to Robert H. Barlow. It contains nine stories by Barlow (all save "A Fragment" collected later in ''Eyes of the God'' (2002)), together with two essays: "R. H. Barlow and the Recognition of Lovecraft" by S. T. Joshi, and "Robert H. Barlow as H. P. Lovecraft's Literary executor: An Appreciation" by Kenneth W. Faig. Faig's essay is reprinted in his ''The Unknown Lovecraft''. NY: Hippocampus Press, 2009. * ''The Battle That Ended the Century & Collapsing Cosmoses'' (with H. P. Lovecraft) West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1992. This edition includes a corrected glossary of names. Both pieces are collected in ''The Eyes of the God'' (2002), where ''Battle'' is now footnoted with full annotations identifying the persons parodied. * ''On Lovecraft and Life''. West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1992. Intro by S. T. Joshi. Contains two texts - firstly, a restored text of Barlow's journal of Lovecraft's 1934 visit as "Memories of Lovecraft" (originally published as "The Barlow Journal in

August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and th ...

's ''Some Notes on H. P. Lovecraft'' (1959) and subsequently in the Derleth-edited Lovecraft compilation ''The Dark Brotherhood & Other Pieces'' (1966); both Derleth printings were heavily abridged). Secondly, Barlow's fragmentary "Autobiography" (approx 1938- Summer 1940). * ''The Hoard of the Wizard-Beast and One Other'' (with H. P. Lovecraft). West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1994. Intro by S. T. Joshi. The "other" is the story "The Slaying of the Monster". Includes the facsimile manuscripts of both stories, showing Lovecraft's hand in each. Both tales are included (text only, not facsimile mss) in ''The Eyes of the God'' (2002). * ''Eyes of the God: The Weird Fiction and Poetry of Robert H. Barlow''. Edited by S. T. Joshi, Douglas A. Anderson and David E. Schultz. NY: Hippocampus Press, 2002. A comprehensive collection that excludes only Barlow's non-fiction (such as published letters, essays, etc). It includes two previously unpublished tales, "The Bright Valley" and "The Fidelity of Ghu", and also the previously unpublished 11th tale of ''Annals of the Jinns'' ("An Episode in the Jungle").

Books edited by Barlow

*H. P. Lovecraft. ''The Notes & Commonplace Book Employed by the Late H. P. Lovecraft Including His Suggestions for Story-Writing, Analyses of the Weird Story, and a List of Certain Basic Underlying Horros, &c, &c, Designed to Stimulate the Imagination''. Lakeport, CA: The Futile Press, 1938; rpt West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1978. *

, ''After Sunset'' (verse). San Francisco: John Howell, Publisher, 1939.

Journals edited by Barlow

* ''Mesoamerican Notes'' (1949) * ''Tlalocan''

Books and journals about Barlow (see references for articles and further reading)

* Hart, Lawrence (ed.), ''Accent on Barlow: A Comemmorative icAnthology''. San Rafael, CA: Lawrence Hart, 1962. Includes 39 poems by Barlow, one translation by Barlow of a poem by B. Ortiz de Montellano, together with poems by 15 other writers, and an appreciation of Barlow by Rosalie Moore and Lawrence Hart. *Connors, Scott (ed.), ''The Journal of the H. P. Lovecraft Society'' No 2 (1979). Entire issue devoted to Kenneth W. Faig's essay "R. H. Barlow". (The essay is reprinted in Faig's ''The Unknown Lovecraft''. NY: Hippocampus Press, 2009.) * ''

Crypt of Cthulhu ''Crypt of Cthulhu'' is an American fanzine devoted to the writings of H. P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. It was published as part of the Esoteric Order of Dagon amateur press association for a short time, and was formally established in 1 ...

'' 8 (1: Hallowmas 1988). Whole of number 60. 64 pp. Special Robert H. Barlow issue. Contains reprints of 10 scarce Barlow stories from the amateur press, plus two essays - Kenneth W. Faig, Jr, "Robert H. Barlow as H. P. Lovecraft's Literary Executor" and S. T. Joshi, "R. H. Barlow and the Recognition of Lovecraft". * Berruti, Massimo. ''Dim-Remembered Stories: A Critical Study of R. H. Barlow'', NY: Hippocampus Press, 2012. * Paul La Farge. ''The Night Ocean'', NY: Penguin, 2017. Fiction. The novel centers on a young writer's quest to find Barlow, whom he believes is still alive.

Notes

References

* This essay includes reprints of five of Barlow's poems with Mesoamerican themes - "Of the Names of the Zapotec Kings", "Stela of a Mayan Penitent", "The Conquered", "The Chichimecs", and "Tepuzteca, Tepehua". * Note: pp. 19–32 is a chronological checklist of Barlow's works including some published posthumously; pp. 1–18 contains biographical information in the form of reprints of two essays on Barlow - George T. Smisor, "R. H. Barlow and 'Tlalocan'" (from ''Tlalocan'' Vol III, 97–102, 1949–57) and (in Spanish) Fernando Horcasitas, "Para la Historia de la Revista 'Tlalocan' (1943-1976)" from ''Tlalacan'' Vol VII, 11-13, 15-16, 1977; plus a reprint of Lawrence Hart's introduction to ''Accent on Barlow: A Commemorative Anthology'', 1962) and notes on the Activist poetry movement by both Lawrence Hart and his wife Jeanne McGahey Hart. * * * Note: Bibliography of his anthropological works, 1947-1950. * * * : * * * * * * * Note: Bibliography of his anthropological works, 1942-1947. * * Rpt. ''Fantasy Commentator'' 4, No 1 (Winter 1978-79): 34-43.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barlow, Robert Hayward 1918 births 1951 suicides Linguists from the United States American Mesoamericanists Mesoamerican anthropologists 20th-century Mesoamericanists Nahuatl-language writers American LGBT writers H. P. Lovecraft American emigrants to Mexico Drug-related suicides in Mexico Barbiturates-related deaths LGBT people from Kansas LGBT scientists from the United States American gay writers Kansas City Art Institute alumni Gay academics Gay scientists 20th-century American anthropologists Weird fiction writers 1951 deaths