Ethnicity part-Cherokee Name John Oskison Alma mater Stanford University Role Author | Genre novel, biography Education Stanford University Children 2 | |
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Born September 21, 1874
in or near Vinita, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory ( 1874-09-21 ) Subject Oklahoma, Texas, Native Americans Spouse Florence Ballard Day
Hildegarde Hawthorne Died February 25, 1947, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States Books The Singing Bird: A C, Tecumseh and His Times: Th, The Biologist's Quest (Cr, The Problem of Old Harjo, Only the Master Shall Prai | ||
John Milton Oskison (1874–1947) was a Native American author, editor and journalist. His fiction focused on the culture clash that mixed-bloods like himself faced.
Contents
Early life and career
Oskison was born the son of John (English) and Rachel Crittendon (part-Cherokee) Oskison in Cherokee Nation. He attended Willie Halsell College in Vinita, where he met and befriended Will Rogers.
Oskison was an undergraduate at Stanford, where he was president of the Stanford Literary Society. He graduated in 1898, and was Stanford's first Native American graduate. He attended Harvard for graduate school. But after one year, his short story "Only the Master Shall Praise" won a competition held by The Century Magazine, and he became a professional writer.
He became an editorial writer for the New York Evening Post. He married Florence Ballard Day in 1903. In 1904 his short story "The Greater Appeal" won the Black Cat Prize.
Later life and career
Oskison switched to Collier's Weekly in 1907, and became their financial editor in 1910.
Oskison served with the American Expeditionary Force in World War I. In 1920, still in France, he and his wife divorced. On his return to the U. S., Oskison married Hildegarde Hawthorne, a novelist. He did not resume his position with Collier's, but instead became an independent writer.
Oskison wrote four novels, one novelized biography (of Sam Houston), one history with commentary (on Tecumseh), and part of an autobiography. During the Depression, he edited a WPA project on Oklahoma. At the time of his death, his fourth novel and his partial autobiography were in manuscript form only. His daughter donated Oskison's papers to the University of Oklahoma. His papers were rediscovered in 2007, and were subsequently published.
Publications
Tributes
In 1995, Stanford established the John Milton Oskison Writing Competition, held annually.
In 2008, a crater on Mercury was named after him.