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William Demby

ウィリアム・デンビー

Uiriamu Denbī

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1922-12-25 （Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States）
Died
2013-05-23 （Sag Harbor, Long Island, New York, United States） age 90
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Pittsburgh (birthplace) → Clarksburg (raised) → Nashville (studied at Fisk University) → Rome, Italy (long-term residence) → Tuscany, Italy (residence) → Staten Island (College of Staten Island, teaching) → Sag Harbor (final residence)

Career

Occupations
novelist, actor, translator, screenwriter, assistant director, college professor
Active Years
1950-2013
Influenced By
Robert Hayden

Education

West Virginia State University (brief study)
English (brief study)
Period: 1940年代（短期間）
Country: United States
Studied briefly alongside Margaret Walker; studies interrupted by military service
Fisk University
English
Period: 1940年代（～1947）
Year of Graduation: 1947
Country: United States
Mentored by poet Robert Hayden
University of Rome (Sapienza)
Art and Art History
Period: 1947年以降（ローマ滞在）
Country: Italy
Moved to Rome to study art and art history

Awards

Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (Lifetime Achievement)
2006
Organization: Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Result: 受賞（Lifetime Achievement）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Beetlecreek

1950 existentialist novel

Set in West Virginia, the novel follows complex race relations between an elderly white man, a young black teen involved in gangs, and an artist in an unhealthy relationship.

race relationsself-explorationnostalgia

The Catacombs

1965 experimental novel / semi-autobiographical

A semi-autobiographical, experimental novel following protagonist Bill Demby and his experience as an author living in Rome; noted for expanding literary boundaries for Black writers.

life in Romeidentitycreation and solitude

Love Story Black

1978 novel

Demby's third novel, published in 1978, exploring race and relationships.

interpersonal relationshipsrace issues

Blueboy

1980 novel

Published in 1980; detailed synopsis is limited in available sources.

King Comus

2007 novel

Finished in 2007 but unpublished at the time of Demby's death; posthumously published in November 2017 and lauded by Jeff Biggers as a "Rediscovered Novel of the Year."

recollectioncultural memory

Bibliography

  • Beetlecreek (1950)
  • The Catacombs (1965)
  • Love Story Black (1978)
  • Blueboy (1980)
  • King Comus (completed 2007; published posthumously 2017)

Adaptations

  • Assistant director: Europa '51 (1952); actor: Anna's Sin (1953); involvement in various Italian films

Translations by Author

  • L'occhio selvaggio (1967) (translator)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
experimentalexistentialist tendenciessemi-autobiographical elements
Recurring Motifs
life in Romerace and social strataloneliness and self-exploration

Legacy

William Demby was an African-American writer known for his international experience (notably in Italy) and experimental style. He expanded literary boundaries with works such as The Catacombs, received the Anisfield-Wolf Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, and his posthumous novel King Comus was subject to later rediscovery.

Archives

  • Guide to the William Demby Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

In Popular Culture

  • Jeff Biggers praised King Comus as a "Rediscovered Novel of the Year" (HuffPost)
  • His work translating, writing, and assistant-directing in Italian cinema connected the film world and literary communities.

Trivia

  • Married Italian writer Lucia Drudi in 1953; son James Gabriele Demby born in 1955.
  • Worked with Italian filmmakers such as Federico Fellini and Roberto Rossellini; translated films into English and served as assistant director.
  • Taught English at the College of Staten Island (CUNY) from 1969 until the late 1980s.
  • Received the Anisfield-Wolf Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.
  • Finished King Comus in 2007; it was published posthumously in 2017.