William Ridley Wills
Encyclopedia
William Ridley Wills, born 1897, was a graduate of Vanderbilt University
and a member of the Fugitive literary group. He worked for the Memphis Press, Memphis Evening Appeal, and the Nashville Banner
newspapers before leaving for New York to become the editor for the New York World
. He served in the army during World War I
and saw action in France
and Germany
. He was well known as a novelist, poet, and journalist. He spent the last four years of his life as a patient at the Bay Pines Veterans Hospital in Florida
where he also served as the editor of the hospital newspaper. He died on September 8, 1957.
Wills wrote two novels; Hoax (1922), the life of a young man from the age of eighteen to twenty-seven, and Harvey Landrum (1924), a psychological study of chinless Harvey Landrum, who tries to conceal a sense of inferiority behind a false front of bravery, are written in a frank but restrained prose style. He and Allen Tate
co-wrote a bookof poetry called 'The Golden Mean; and other poems' which was published in 1923 .
wrote of Wills in the book "The Golden Mean":
"Ridley Wills was born. . . . Ridley Wills came into the crass universe like a Spring wind with a napkin under its chin. He has subsequently attended many banquets and stol'n the scraps. We shall be somewhat glad for Ridley reaches into the very cul-de-sac of human passion; in fact, he reaches into human passion.
Ridley Wills' genius is uncontested; he doesn't even contest it himself. His mind is immediate; it has no middle term. His intuition of reality points only to foreknowledge, and that, perhaps, is why he knows practically nothing of the past. Ridley Wills is quite at his ease in the novel. I think that Ridley has a very bright future behind him, because he is more than successful in his collaboration with me. He permanence is established-he is certainly the most parabolic young man of the Younger Generation."
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
and a member of the Fugitive literary group. He worked for the Memphis Press, Memphis Evening Appeal, and the Nashville Banner
Nashville Banner
The Nashville Banner is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998...
newspapers before leaving for New York to become the editor for the New York World
New York World
The New York World was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers...
. He served in the army during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and saw action in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He was well known as a novelist, poet, and journalist. He spent the last four years of his life as a patient at the Bay Pines Veterans Hospital in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
where he also served as the editor of the hospital newspaper. He died on September 8, 1957.
Wills wrote two novels; Hoax (1922), the life of a young man from the age of eighteen to twenty-seven, and Harvey Landrum (1924), a psychological study of chinless Harvey Landrum, who tries to conceal a sense of inferiority behind a false front of bravery, are written in a frank but restrained prose style. He and Allen Tate
Allen Tate
John Orley Allen Tate was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1943 to 1944.-Life:...
co-wrote a bookof poetry called 'The Golden Mean; and other poems' which was published in 1923 .
Allen Tate's View of Wills
Allen TateAllen Tate
John Orley Allen Tate was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1943 to 1944.-Life:...
wrote of Wills in the book "The Golden Mean":
"Ridley Wills was born. . . . Ridley Wills came into the crass universe like a Spring wind with a napkin under its chin. He has subsequently attended many banquets and stol'n the scraps. We shall be somewhat glad for Ridley reaches into the very cul-de-sac of human passion; in fact, he reaches into human passion.
Ridley Wills' genius is uncontested; he doesn't even contest it himself. His mind is immediate; it has no middle term. His intuition of reality points only to foreknowledge, and that, perhaps, is why he knows practically nothing of the past. Ridley Wills is quite at his ease in the novel. I think that Ridley has a very bright future behind him, because he is more than successful in his collaboration with me. He permanence is established-he is certainly the most parabolic young man of the Younger Generation."