Leon Forrest

Nathalie-Aline Gauger (Universität Stuttgart)

Ed. by Christopher Hugh Gair, University of Glasgow
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.5: African American Writing and Culture of the United States.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Philathia Bolton (University of Akron), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), A Yemisi Jimoh (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University)

Dates

Born 8 Jan 1937
Died 6 Nov 1997
Activity 1960-1997

Places

Born in United States
Active in United States

Cultural Identities

African American

Activities

Primary

Librettist
Novelist
Scholar
Teacher/ Professor

Resources

Forrest's Works

Save to Bookshelf

The award-winning African-American writer Leon Forrest was born in Chicago in 1937. His hometown inspired him throughout his life and served as the raw model for the fictional place – Forest County – where all of his five novels are set. Forrest attended classes at Roosevelt University and worked at a liquor store owned by his mother. After dropping out of Roosevelt University in 1960, Forrest was drafted and stationed in Germany from 1960 to 1962, an experience he was to use in his epic novel

Divine Days

. Also, during his time in the army he started to write for the

Spearhead

and continued to pursue a writing career after his return to the US. He worked for several newspapers, including the Black Muslim

Muhammad Speaks

, although he himself was not a Muslim. Yet Forrest is not what…

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Citation: Gauger, Nathalie-Aline. "Leon Forrest". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 December 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1591, accessed 21 November 2024.]