John Sanford
The official John Sanford web site
John Sanford
The official John Sanford web site
Biographical Overview
John Sanford was born Julian L. Shapiro May 31, 1904. He died March 5, 2003. Sanford is the author of 24 books, including novels, creative interpretations of history, and several volumes of memoir and autobiography. The first volume of his autobiography, The Color of the Air, received a PEN award for best non-fiction. Sanford was also given the Los Angeles Times Lifetime Achievement Award. Sanford was married for over 50 years to screenwriter Marguerite Roberts, who is best known for scripting John Wayne's Oscar-winner, True Grit. Both Sanford and Roberts were blacklisted during the McCarthy era of the 1950s.
Sanford was inspired to write by his childhood acquaintance Nathanael West. William Carlos Williams, Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce were also important early influences on Sanford's themes and style. But Sanford was a true original whose body of work displays a style uniquely his own.
Sanford's titles include The Water Wheel, The Old Man's Place, Seventy Times Seven, The People from Heaven, A Man Without Shoes, The Land that Touches Mine, A More Goodly Country, Winters of that Country, The Color of the Air, Maggie: A Love Story, and A Palace of Silver.
During his later years, Sanford was variously described as the "most unjustly neglected major writer in America" and "America's greatest unread writer." Just before Sanford's death, the Los Angeles Times called him "an authentic hero of American letters."
This John Sanford is not the author of the Prey series of mystery novels. Click here to go to John Sandford's official web site.
Web Site Overview
This site contains pages describing John Sanford's life and writing career. Follow the links below to reach these pages.
For a brief biography of Sanford's wife, Marguerite Roberts, and her filmography, follow this link:
Bibliography
Oak Knoll Press has just published an annotated bibliography of the writings of John Sanford.
Collecting John Sanford
The January 2004 issue of Firsts, the book collector's magazine, has an article on John Sanford's life and work.
Scholarship Opportunities
John Sanford's correspondence, manuscripts, and papers are on deposit in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center of the Library of Boston University.
Literary Executor
John Sanford's literary executor is Jack Mearns. Click here for contact information.