William Melvin Kelley | |
|---|---|
 William Melvin Kelley (1963) | |
| Born | November 1, 1937 Staten Island, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 1, 2017 (aged 79) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, educator |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Genre | Novel, short story |
| Notable works | A Different Drummer (1962), dem (1967) |
| Notable awards | Anisfield-Wolf Book Award |
| Spouse | Karen (Aiki) Kelley[1] |
| Children | Jessica (daughter), Cira (daughter)[1] |
William Melvin Kelley (November 1, 1937 – February 1, 2017) was an African-American novelist and short-story writer. He is perhaps best known for his debut novel, A Different Drummer, published in 1962.[2][3] He was also a university professor and creative writing instructor. In 2008, he received the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Lifetime Achievement. Kelley is credited[4] with being the first to commit the term "woke" to print, in the title of a 1962 New York Times op-ed on the use of African-American slang by beatniks: "If You're Woke, You Dig It".[5]
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
amsterdamobitwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Grimes, William (February 8, 2017). "William Melvin Kelley, Who Explored Race in Experimental Novels, Is Dead at 79". The New York Times.
- ^ Schulz, Kathryn (January 29, 2018). "'The Lost Giant of American Literature: A major black novelist made a remarkable début. How did he disappear?'". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 28, 2018. As "Remainders" in the print issue, pp. 26–31.
- ^ "New words notes June 2017 | Woke". Oxford English Dictionary. 16 June 2017.
- ^ Kelley, William Melvin (May 20, 1962). "If You're Woke You Dig It; No mickey mouse can be expected to follow today's Negro idiom without a hip assist". The New York Times. p. 45.