Donald Wandrei facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Donald Wandrei
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Donald Wandrei, date unknown
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| Born | Donald Albert Wandrei April 20, 1908 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | October 15, 1987 (aged 79) Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
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| Genre | Fantasy, science fiction, weird fiction, mystery fiction |
| Relatives | Howard Wandrei (brother) |
Donald Albert Wandrei (born April 20, 1908 – died October 15, 1987) was an American writer, poet, and editor. He wrote exciting stories in genres like science fiction, fantasy, and weird fiction (which means strange and spooky tales). Donald was the older brother of Howard Wandrei, who was also a science fiction writer and artist. He published many stories in popular magazines like Weird Tales and Astounding Stories. Donald Wandrei also helped start a famous publishing company called Arkham House with August Derleth. This company published many fantasy and horror books.
Contents
About Donald Wandrei
His Early Life and Education
Donald Wandrei was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His family had lived in Minnesota for a long time. His father, Albert Christian Wandrei, was a chief editor at a big company that published law books. Donald lived in his family home in St. Paul for most of his life. He loved exploring the woods near the Minnesota River.
Donald went to Central High in St. Paul from 1921 to 1924. During this time, he wrote short pieces for the school newspaper. He also loved reading Science and Invention magazine. In 1923, he started working part-time at the Saint Paul Public Library. This job helped him read many different kinds of books. He also worked at the Hill Reference Library.
Donald later attended the University of Minnesota. He was a student editor and writer for the school newspaper, The Minnesota Daily. He also wrote for other campus magazines. He was greatly inspired by the novel The Hill of Dreams by Arthur Machen. Donald graduated in 1928 with a degree in English.
Starting His Writing Career
Donald Wandrei started writing in 1926. His writing career really took off around 1932. When he was only 16, he wrote a short story called "The Red Brain." This story was about a mysterious dust that destroyed stars. Only one planet survived, and its fate depended on a special "Red Brain."
In late 1927, he hitchhiked from Minnesota to Rhode Island to visit a famous writer named H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft showed him around old cities like Providence, Boston, and Salem. They even went on an ice cream adventure, trying many different flavors!
Wandrei's first book was a collection of poems called Ecstasy & Other Poems. It was published in 1928 when he was 20 years old. His poems showed influences from other poets like Clark Ashton Smith.
Writing for Pulp Magazines
Donald Wandrei wrote a lot for "pulp magazines" until the late 1930s. These magazines were known for their exciting, often fantastical, stories. He was part of a group of writers called the "Lovecraft Circle," who were friends with and inspired by H. P. Lovecraft.
Wandrei convinced the magazine Weird Tales to publish Lovecraft's famous story, "The Call of Cthulhu." He told the editor that Lovecraft might send his stories elsewhere if they didn't publish it.
Wandrei was also the first writer to publish a series of sonnets (a type of poem) in Weird Tales. These were called "Sonnets of the Midnight Hours." Lovecraft liked this idea so much that he wrote his own series of poems.
In 1931, Wandrei published his second book of poems, Dark Odyssey. His brother, Howard Wandrei, drew five pictures for the book.
Donald Wandrei wrote a fantasy novel called Dead Titans, Waken! in 1932. It was not published at first, but a changed version came out in 1948 as The Web of Easter Island. The original version was finally published much later in 2012.
In 1933, Wandrei lived in New York City, close to the offices of Astounding Stories magazine. This made it easy for him to bring in his new stories. His story "Colossus" was a new type of science fiction tale. It helped make Astounding popular again.
Donald Wandrei also wrote other novels and plays, but they were not published. He wrote crime stories featuring his detective, I.V. Frost, for magazines like Clues Detective Stories and Black Mask. He even had stories in Esquire.
He contributed two stories to the Cthulhu Mythos, a shared world of stories created by H.P. Lovecraft: "The Fire Vampires" (1933) and "The Tree-Men of M'Bwa" (1933).
Founding Arkham House
In 1939, Donald Wandrei and August Derleth started a publishing company called Arkham House. They wanted to make sure that H. P. Lovecraft's amazing stories would continue to be read. This is one of the things Donald Wandrei is most remembered for.
Wandrei and Derleth worked together to edit large collections of Lovecraft's stories, like The Outsider and Others. Donald Wandrei also did a lot of work editing Lovecraft's letters, which Arkham House published in five books. Wandrei was mainly interested in publishing Lovecraft's writings.
Later Years and Legacy
During the 1940s, Wandrei wrote ideas for comic books like Gang Busters. He also tried writing song lyrics in Hollywood. After World War II, he continued writing science fiction, but not as much. Some of his stories were even turned into comic book adaptations for Weird Science.
Donald Wandrei served in the U.S. Army for almost four years during World War II. He was part of General Patton's famous Third Army and fought in Germany and Austria.
After the war, he wrote less fiction. His time in the army made it hard to write, and even though he worked on novels and plays, they were not published.
In 1964, Arkham House published Wandrei's third book of poetry, Poems for Midnight. This book included new poems and some from his earlier collections. His brother Howard Wandrei, who had passed away, drew pictures for this book too.
In 1965, Arkham House published Strange Harvest, a collection of 17 of Wandrei's short stories. These stories had appeared in magazines like Weird Tales and Astounding Stories.
Donald Wandrei spent a lot of time editing Lovecraft's letters, which were published in several volumes between 1965 and 1976.
In the 1970s, Wandrei had some disagreements with Arkham House, the company he helped create. After August Derleth died in 1971, Donald Wandrei briefly managed the company but decided not to stay permanently.
In 1984, Donald Wandrei was given the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. However, he chose not to accept it. He felt that the award's statue, which was a bust of Lovecraft, did not look like his friend.
Donald Wandrei passed away in St. Paul in 1987. Three years after his death, two friends, Philip Rahman and Dennis Weiler, started a publishing company called Fedogan and Bremer. They published works by Donald and Howard Wandrei, as well as other classic pulp writers.
Awards
- World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement (1984) (Wandrei refused to accept the award)
Images for kids
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Donald Wandrei, date unknown
