John M. (Mark) Harris papers

Mark Harris was born on November 19, 1922, in Mt. Vernon, New York. After serving in the United States military briefly from 1943-1944, Harris returned to civilian life as a journalist. Some newspapers and magazines he wrote for include the Daily Item (Port Chester, NY, 1944-45), PM (New York City, 1945), the International News Service (St. Louis, 1945-46), and the Negro Digest and Ebony (Chicago, 1946-1951).

In 1948, Harris enrolled at the University of Denver, where he went on to receive his master’s degree in English in 1951. In 1956, Harris earned his Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Minnesota.

Following his doctorate program, Harris began a long career as a college professor, teaching English at San Francisco State College (1956-1967), Purdue University (1967-1970), California Institute of the Arts (1970-1973), the University of Southern California (1973-1975), the University of Pittsburgh (1976-1980), and Arizona State University-Tempe (1980-2001).

Throughout his career and education, Harris also authored numerous books. He published his first, Trumpet to the World, in 1946 while working as a journalist in St. Louis. Among his most well known works are Bang the Drum Slowly (1956), Something about a Soldier (1957), Wake Up Stupid (1959), The Goy (1970), and Killing Everybody (1973).

Harris passed away in 2007.