Ronald Fair
Ronald Lyman Fair (October 27, 1932 – February 2018)[1] was an American writer and sculptor. He was known for his experimental and versatile literary forms, most prominently through the 1966 novel Hog Butcher, set in 1960s Chicago. This was the basis of the 1975 film Cornbread, Earl and Me, the cast of which included Rosalind Cash and Laurence Fishburne. Relocating to Finland, Fair began sculpting in 1977. In December 1980 he became "born again", thereafter becoming a "Christian writer" and founder of the International Orphans' Assistance Association.
Ronald Fair | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ronald Lyman Fair October 27, 1932 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | February 2018 (aged 85) Finland |
| Occupation | Writer, sculptor |
| Nationality | American |
| Period | 1966–2000s |
Biography
Ronald Fair was born in 1932 to Mississippi farmworkers Herbert and Beulah Hunt Fair in Chicago, Illinois, where he went to school. After serving three years in the US Navy, he attended the Stenotype School of Chicago, after which he found employment as a court reporter for 12 years. Having begun writing in his teens, he published various pieces in publications including the Chicago Defender, Ebony, Chat Noir, before the publication in 1965 of his first novel, Many Thousand Gone: An American Fable. His second novel, Hog Butcher, was filmed in 1975 as Cornbread, Earl and Me. In 1970, he published World of Nothing: Two Novellas, and 1972 the autobiographical novel We Can't Breathe.[2]
In 1977, Fair moved to Finland, where he dedicated himself more to sculpture than writing.[2] In Finland, he lived in Helsinki, Tampere and Kerimäki.[3][4][5]
He died in Finland in February 2014, aged 85.[1]
Publications
- Many Thousand Gone: An American Fable (short novel), Harcourt, 1965.
- Hog Butcher (novel), Harcourt, 1966; republished as Cornbread, Earl and Me, Bantam, 1975.
- World of Nothing: Two Novellas, Harper, 1970.
- We Can't Breathe (novel), Harper, 1972.
- Excerpts (poetry), Paul Breman, 1975.
- Rufus (poetry), P. Schlack (Germany), 1977; 2nd edn Lotus Press, 1980
Norwegian
- 1987: Eva; Rex Forlag
Swedish
- 1978: "Gudskelov För snön" ("Thank God It Snowed"); 6/78 Bonniers Litterära Magasin (BLM), December 1978; Arg. 47 Nr 6.
Portuguese
- 2002: Correndo Para A Vida (1st printing), Brazil
- 2010: Correndo Para A Vida (2nd printing), Finland
Spanish
- 2010: Corriendo Hacia La Vida (1st printing) Finland
Lyrics for recordings
- 1980: "A New Kinda Day"; Frendz, Music, H. Silvenoinen; Lyrics, Ronald Fair
- 1980: "Final Awakening"; Frendz, Music, H. Silvenoinen; Lyrics, Ronald Fair
- 1980: "Dancing People"; Frendz, Music, H. Silvenoinen; Lyrics, Ronald Fair
Movies
- 1968: An American Hero, film script for Dino De Laurentiis, Hollywood
- 1971: Hog Butcher, two drafts. Producer had two heart attacks and sold the rights to someone else
- 1975: Cornbread, Earl & Me, from Hog Butcher
- 1994: Kirje Suomesta, music video, directed by R. Ampuja
- 1995: Who Is Your Neighbour, Mumbai (Bombay), India; P. K. Rajhuns Director. Written and co-produced
- 2000: The Truth by P. K. Rajhuns; co-produced
Play performances
- 1968: The Emperor's Parade, or, Our Boy Dick; A Political Satire (Chicago)
- 1968 & 1969: Sails and Sinkers; comedy (Chicago; Middletown, Conn Weslayan University)
- 1988: Animal Christmas, a musical (Helsinki)
- 2002: Animal Christmas, Jyväskylä, Finland
- 2003: Animal Christmas, Kankaanpää, Finland
- 2008: Animal Christmas; Hyderabad, India
- 2009: Animal Christmas; Hyderabad, India
Sculpture
"Jesus Wept", wood, 24 cm
"Three Holes"; bronze, 30 cm; Museum Villa Urpo; Ylöjärvi, Finland
"Seven Praising Him"; painted wood, 70 X 100; private collection
"Praise Him With Stringed Instruments"; painted wood, 25 by 40 cm; private collection
"Mother & Child", wood, 90 X 40 cm; Museum Villa Urpo; Ylöjärvi, Finland
"Jesus & Two Criminals"; Bronze, 5 meters; Museum Villa Urpo; Ylöjärvi, Finland
References
- Brown, Cecil (September 29, 2020). "Remembering Ronald Fair". The Common Reader. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- Richard Guzman, "Ronald L. Fair: 'We Can't Breathe'", Richard R. Guzman, February 11, 2015.
- "Ronald L. Fair". Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- Käkelä, Aija (August 26, 1991). "Uni teki Ronaldista katulasten auttajan". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). p. 4.
- Fagerlund, Markku (January 24, 1981). "Proggis vaihtui jenkkirokkiin. Heikki Silvennoinen palasi". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). p. 19.
External links
- "Growing Up Black and Female, Black and Male in Chicago in Gwendolyn Brooks's Maud Martha and Ron Fair's Hog Butcher", in Illinois History Teacher (Volume 3:2, 1996) at Illinois Periodicals Online, Northern Illinois University Libraries
- Ronald Fair at IMDb
- Archive listing of Ronald Fair Collection, Northwestern University Library
- "We Can’t Breathe. Part One of Ronald L. Fair's prescient, 1972 autobiographical novel", The Common Reader, September 29, 2020.