Willard Motley(1909-1965)
- Writer
Born Willard Francis Motley, he grew up in the Englewood neighborhood
of Chicago. In 1942, Motley came to the Maxwell-Halstead Street area of
Chicago and drew heavily on his experiences and the people he met there
for his two best know novels, "Knock On Any Door" and the sequel "Let
No Man Write My Epitaph"... both were made into major motion pictures.
Motley's writing is significant for the manner in which he confronts
social issues and the inner-urban plight of Chicago during the 1930s
and 1940s. Motley moved to Mexico where he died in 1965. In 1967 he was
voted one of the "Ten Most Noted Negro Writers in America."
