Biographical Sketch
of William E. Barrett
William E. Barrett was born November 16, 1900 in New York City,
the son of John Joseph and Eleanor Margaret (Flannery). He attended
Manhatten College in New York and worked as the Rocky Mountain advertising
manager for Westinghouse from 1923-1929. In 1929 he became a free-lance
writer (although he had published his first poem at age 15).
Mr. Barrett married Christine M. Rollman on February 15, 1925;
they had two children, William E., Jr. and Marjorie Christine.
Mr. Barrett was an amateur pilot, a member of the National Press
Club, the Denver Press Club, P.E.N., Colorado Authors League (of
which he was president 1943-1944), Denver Athletic Club, and the
Sierra Club. He received a citation from Regis College in 1956,
and an Honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Creighton University
in 1961.
William E. Barrett wrote the following published books: Woman
on Horseback (biography), 1938; Flight From Youth,
1939; Aviation as a Business, 1945; The Evil Heart,
1946; The Number of My Days, 1947; To the Last Man,
1948; The Left Hand of God, 1951; The Shadows of the
Images, 1953; The Sudden Strangers, 1956; The
Empty Shrine, 1958; The First War Planes, 1960; The
Edge of Things (collection of two novellas and two novels),
1960; The Lilies of the Field, 1962; The Fools of Time,
1963; The Shepherd of Mankind, 1964; The Glory Tent,
1967; The Red Lacquered Gate, 1967; The Wine and the
Music (also under the title Pieces of Dreams), 1968;
A Woman in the House, 1971; The Shape of Illusion,
1972; and Lady of the Lotus, 1975.
Mr. Barrett also wrote short stories which appeared in seventeen
collections and anthologies and were published in many national
magazines. His novel The Left Hand of God was translated
into 10 different languages, while his other novels have been translated
into an average of 5 different languages. Four of Mr. Barrett's
books were purchased for films: The Left Hand of God (starring
Humphrey Bogart), produced in 1955; The Lilies of the Field
(starring Sidney Poitier), produced in 1963; The Wine and the
Music, which was produced as Pieces of Dreams (starring
Robert Forster and Lauren Hutton), produced in 1970; and The
Man From Rome, which was purchased but never produced.
Mr. Barrett moved to Denver with his family at the age of 16, and
resided there for many years. He passed away at his family home
in Denver in 1986, at the age of 85.
|
