Roark Whitney Wickliffe Bradford (1896-1948) was an American short story witer and novelist. His work appeared in Collier's, Harper's, and Virginia Quarterly Review. He was the recipient of the 1927 O. Henry Award.
He attended University of California, Berkeley, and served as a first lieutenant in the Coast Artillery during World War I.
First wife Lydia Sehorn, divorcing her in 1933. He then married Mary Rose Sciarra Himler - also a writer and former editor for Bobbs-Merrill. He served as night city editor for the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Bradford continued to produce well-received work during the 1930s and early 1940s. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve Bureau of Aeronautics Training during World War II.
In 1946, he accepted a position as visiting lecturer in the English department at Tulane University in New Orleans.
On November 13, 1948, he died of amebic dysentery, believed to have been contracted while he was stationed in French West Africa in 1943. His cremated remains were spread over the waters of the Mississippi River.
At the time of his death, Bradford’s writings were very popular. Since the 1940s, however, much of his body of work has been reevaluated. Many criticize his work as patronizing and demeaning in its portrayal of black characters.
Marc Connelly adapted Ol' Man Adam and his Chillun for the stage as The Green Pastures, which won a Pulitzer Prize. His stage adaption of John Henry appeared in New York in 1940.