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: Philathia Bolton (University of Akron), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), A Yemisi Jimoh (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg 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

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 …

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1489 words

Citation: Gauger, Nathalie-Aline. "Leon Forrest". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 December 2008 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1591, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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