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Jack Woodford | |
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| Born | Josiah Pitts Woolfolk 1894 (1894) Woodford County, Kentucky |
| Died | 1971 (aged 76–77) |
| Occupation(s) | Non-fiction writer, author |
| Notable work | Trial and error |
Jack Woodford (1894–1971) was an American novelist and non-fiction writer,[1] author of successfulpulp novels and non-fiction, including books on writing and getting published. Most famously, Woodford authoredTrial and Error, which caused something of a scandal at the time of publication because of its no-holds-barred insights into the publishing industry.
BornJosiah Pitts Woolfolk,[1] he also wrote under the nameJack Woolfolk. The pen name "Jack Woodford" was derived from the first name of a writer he admired (Jack Lait, a writer forHearst Publications) and the county where his father was born (Woodford County, Kentucky). Other pen names includeGordon Sayre,Sappho Henderson Britt, andHoward Hogue Kennedy.
Woodford grew up inChicago when the dominant form of transportation was horse-drawn carriage. He was raised in well-to-do circumstances by his grandmother Annette (ofWelsh stock) whom he called "Nettie". Nettie was a practicing member ofChristian Science but was unable to bring Jack into the fold. Despite his general hatred of organized religion, Woodford joined theFreemasonry organization and remained a lifelong member.
His father was a doctor who started a private practice inSioux City, Iowa, eventually moving it to Chicago. He later taught diagnosis atRush Medical College, before dying at the age of forty-nine, likely frommercury poisoning.Calomel (mercurous chloride) was a popular medicine at the time and one the doctor himself used to excess. Woodford, always physically vibrant, thought of his father as a hypochondriac.
Woodford witnessed theEastland disaster where the steamer ship rolled over in the Chicago River and killed 845 people. He gave a firsthand account to the Chicago newspaper theHerald-Examiner and described the event in Chapter 21 of his autobiography.
Among the many famous contemporaries Woodford befriended, the most notable areH. L. Mencken, writer/satiristJames Branch Cabell, novelistSherwood Anderson, composerGeorge Antheil, and poetEzra Pound. Woodford wrote a piece that was published in Pound's earlyExile magazine. He also accompaniedWinston Churchill when the former Prime Minister visitedNew York City.
Woodford was married on November 20, 1916, to the 16-year-old Josephine Hutchings, and divorced 17 years later. The only child from this marriage, Louella Woolfolk (who wrote under the pen name Louella Woodford), was also a published author who, at the age of 18, wrote a 273-page novel titledMaid Unafraid that was published in 1937 by Godwin.
Woodford founded Jack Woodford Press in the 1930s and the company's work was distributed byCitadel in the 1940s. The editors of the company in the 1940s were Allan Wilson and Aaron Moses ("Moe") Shapiro.
Non-fiction
Fiction
