William Attaway

William Alexander Attaway (November 19, 1911 – June 17, 1986) was an African-American novelist, short story writer, essayist, songwriter, playwright, and screenwriter.

Attaway was born on November 19, 1911, in Greenville, Mississippi, the son of W. A. Attaway, a physician and founder of the National Negro Insurance Association, and Florence Parry Attaway, a school teacher.

When Attaway was six, he moved with his family to Chicago, Illinois, as part of the Great Migration, to escape the segregated South.

In Chicago, Attaway showed little interest in school until he was assigned a poem written by Langston Hughes.

Once he learned that Hughes was a black poet, Attaway decided to start applying himself to his school work.

He even enjoyed writing so much that he wrote for his sister Ruth's amateur dramatic groups.

After graduating from high school, Attaway enrolled at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign.

There, he was a tennis college champion.

Even though he was doing well at college, upon his father's death Attaway dropped out and became a traveling worker for two years.

During these years he worked as a salesman, a labor organizer, and a seaman, and began to collect material for his later works.

In 1935, Attaway began working on his first project as he helped to write the Federal Writers' Project guide to Illinois.

While he was working on this project he became good friends with Richard Wright, another soon-to-be-famous novelist.

After his first project was over, Attaway returned to the University of Illinois and received his degree.

He then moved to New York, where his drama Carnival was produced.

After getting his B.A. (1936) from the University of Illinois and having published "The Tale of the Blackamoor" in Challenge, he traveled around the US before settling into New York City.

His first short story, "Tale of the Blackamoor", was published in 1936.

In between works, he worked many odd jobs and even tried acting with his sister Ruth.

Ruth later became a successful Broadway actress, and she ultimately helped to fuel Attaway's career.

In 1939, Attaway's first novel, Let Me Breathe Thunder, was published.

He then began working on his second and last novel, Blood on the Forge.

After Blood on the Forge, Attaway began to write songs, screenplays, and books about music.

His main works include Calypso Song Book and Hear America Singing.

Attaway and Irving Burgie co-wrote the famous song "Day-O" ("Banana Boat Song") for calypso singer Harry Belafonte.

Despite having published works approved by critics, Attaway's work never gained the mainstream fame enjoyed by some other African-American authors, for example Richard Wright, whose novel Native Son was published in 1940.

In Calypso Song Book, Attaway describes "Calypso, the Western Indian music, is enjoying a great revival among all sorts of music lovers, from serious students of folk music to sophisticated night-club and theater audiences and followers of the Hit Parade."

Attaway further explains that "Calypso can be divided into two categories: the bracket form, for bouncy ditties that are mostly nonsense, and the ballade, the most common form for serious topics."

However, Attaway admits "the humorous twist is a necessary part of any true Calypso song."

In the 1950s, Attaway began to write for radio, TV, and films.

He was the first African American to write scripts for film and TV.

He wrote for programs such as Wide Wide World and Colgate Hour.

Attaway was married in 1962 to a woman named Frances Settele.

They lived in Barbados for eleven years with their two children, Bill and Noelle.

Frances Attaway was a white woman originally from New York.

They had a 20-years courtship before going public and official with their union.

Frances and William moved their family to the Caribbean to escape racial turmoil and death threats.

William Attaway's daughter, Noelle, recalls records of Martin Luther King Jr. calling William Attaway " a fellow freedom fighter" and both marched side by side during the civil rights movement.

He took part in the March 7, 1965 Bloody Sunday voting rights demonstrations in Selma, Alabama.

During his last years, Attaway lived in Berkeley and then Los Angeles, California.

He was working on a screenplay for The Atlanta Child Murders television series when he suffered a heart attack.

He died on June 17, 1986, of heart failure, aged 74.