John Clinton Hunt | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 24, 1925 Muskogee, Oklahoma |
| Occupation | writer |
| Education | University of Oklahoma |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Relatives | John Joseph Mathews (step-father) |
John Clinton Hunt is an American writer from the U.S. state of Oklahoma.
Early life and education
John Clinton Hunt was born on July 24, 1925, to Henry Hunt and Elizabeth Palmour in Muskogee, Oklahoma.[1] The family moved to Pawhuska in 1928 and his younger sister, Ann, was born in 1930.[2] On August 11, 1932, his father killed himself.[3] His mother began a relationship with and later married John Joseph Mathews during his childhood.[4]
In 1940, Hunt was sent to the Lawrenceville School. Like his step-father, he attended the University of Oklahoma and took a break from school to serve in a World War. In June 1943, he joined the Marine Corps Reserves and in 1946 he was discharged as a second lieutenant. He then finished his degree at Harvard University, where he was an editor of the Student Progressive.[5] He graduated in 1948 and married Barbara Helen Mead in October of that year.[6]
Academic career
In 1950, Hunt joined the faculty at the University of Iowa and taught the classics. He later taught at the Thomas Jefferson School.[7]
CIA career
In 1955, Hunt was recruited by Cord Meyer as a CIA asset. He worked undercover in Europe for the Congress for Cultural Freedom for about a decade. Around 1960, he was the head of the Paris office, but he was forced to resign in 1967.[8]
Writing career
Hunt's first novel was Generations of Men and was inspired by his upbringing in Pawhuska. The character Hardin Buck was inspired by John Joseph Mathews.[9] It won the Spur Award for Best Novel of the West in 1956.[10] His second novel was The Grey Horse Legacy (1968).[5] Page Stegner, reviewing for The New York Times, described it as "in both style and conception, a fine work."[11] In 1981, he co-wrote Knights Errant with Martin Kaplan.[12]
Later life
In 1968 he divorced Barbara and married a Frenchwoman, Chantel Pepin de Bonnervive Louiseau.[12]
In 1985 was the founding chair and president of BioTechnica International until his retirement in 1990.[12]
References
- ↑ Snyder 2017, p. 104-105.
- ↑ Snyder 2017, p. 105.
- ↑ Snyder 2017, p. 106.
- ↑ Snyder 2017, p. 113.
- 1 2 Snyder 2017, p. 119.
- ↑ Snyder 2017, p. 119-120.
- ↑ Snyder 2017, p. 120.
- ↑ Snyder 2017, p. 121-122.
- ↑ Snyder 2017, p. 114.
- ↑ "The Spur Awards". web.mnstate.edu. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ↑ Stegner, Page (June 23, 1968). "Victims Of Myth; THE GREY HORSE LEGACY. By John Hunt. 427 pp. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. $6.95". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- 1 2 3 Snyder 2017, p. 123.
Works cited
- Snyder, Michael (2017). John Joseph Mathews: Life of an Osage Writer. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-5609-5.