S P A C E L I G H T
INDEX
Name: WEST, Wallace George
Aged: 79
Born: May 22, 1900
Where: Walnut Hills, KY
Died: March 8, 1980
Where: Punta Gorda, FL (Cayman Islands?)
Interred: Indian Springs Cemetery, Punta Gorda, FL
Married: Claudia May Weyant
When: 1928 (d 1982)
Wallace G. West
"Seems to me the world is in a transition period now, from which
we go over the edge or on to what H.G. Wells called 'a storm of living.'
History shows authors don't work well in such a period."
One of science fiction and fantasy's shadowy figures. He was often assumed to be a pen name even though he began publishing in the pulps in the 1920s and when he reached retirement, reappeared, and rewrote and republished many of his works in the 1950s and 1960s.
Writing was a hobby for West, as his main career through the Depression was busy and fascinating. While educating himself, he worked as a farmer, telegrapher, and barber. West graduated from Butler University in Indianapolis in 1924 with an A.B., and from Indiana University's law school in 1925 with an LL. B. and then partnered in a small law firm, Calvin & West. After the Depression hit, West moved into and through many jobs that dealt with the mass media, communications, and journalism; working for United Press, Paramount Pictures, and for CBS, ABC, NBC, and the old Mutual radio networks. He was perhaps the first sf writer to warn of the effects of pollution to the environment ("Dust" 1935), and ended his public career with jobs as a pollution control expert for the American Petroleum Institute, and consultant to the Air Pollution Control Administration.
Whether or not you consider these works to be collections or novels, they are fascinating; The Bird of Time (1959), Lords of Atlantis (1960), and The Time-Lockers (1964) among others. As far as I know, the novel The Dark Tower, only appeared in the July 1951 issue of Startling Stories, but was considered for a retro Hugo. An unchallenged collection of short stories is Outposts in Space (1962). West also wrote as a technician, novelizing screenplays.
Because West's writings spanned two distinct eras in science fiction and fantasy, coupled with his education and real life experiences, it might be leaning in the right direction to characterize his works, in sum, as advanced A. Merritt. The pulp charm remains mixed with elements of both f&sf, yet correct for scientific knowledge. Certainly, he is all but forgotten.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mine here.
