Words from Barbara Shoup
In his review of Going All the Way, Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “Having written this book, Dan
Wakefield will never be able to go back to Indianapolis. He will have to watch the 500 mile race on television.”
The book was a bit scandalous. There were rumors among Dan’s Shortridge classmates about
who might be whom among the characters. Dan loved to tell the story about returning to
Indianapolis in a state of high anxiety for a book event not long after its 1970 publication—and I
loved hearing it.
He was a library of stories! Many were hilarious, accentuated by his very excellent, hooting
laugh. But there were sad stories, too, and stories so tender they’d break your heart.
What a life he had! Dan covered the 1955 Emmett Till trial in Mississippi for the Nation
Magazine and, for a time, was their correspondent in Israel. He wrote an entire issue of The
Atlantic in 1968 called “Supernation at Peace and War.” He wrote four terrific novels, two of
which were made into feature films. He brought the NYC literary scene alive in his memoir New
York in the Fifties and chronicled reclaiming his faith in Returning: a Spiritual Awakening.
Dan lived in numerous places over the years. New York City, Boston, Hollywood, Miami. But,
despite Vonnegut’s dire prediction, he came home in 2011—and stayed.
Lucky us!
Dan promptly agreed to teach a memoir class for the Indiana Writers Center, which we had to
hold at Marian University because so many people wanted to take it. He was a wonderful
teacher: generous in praise, insightful in the work of others. He was an incredibly generous
friend to writers. When Dan learned that my novel Looking for Jack Kerouac was about to come out, he sent the manuscript to a friend who’d been a close friend of Kerouac’s, resulting in a dream of a blurb.
If you wanted to chat about books or writing or life, you could often find Dan at the Red Key
Tavern—where the main characters of Going All the Way hung out. Or, earlier in the day, at
Moe and Johnny’s, an easy walk from the house he rented near 57th and College. For a while, he hosted a very cool radio program called “Uncle Dan’s Story Hour.” In 2016 Broadway Park was renamed Dan Wakefield Park in his honor. The celebration was attended by lots of writers—and Senator Richard Lugar, Dan’s Shortridge classmate.
Dan made many, many friends during his twelve years in Indianapolis. I feel so fortunate to
have been one of them. He was an extraordinary human being; smart, kind, generous,
compassionate, fierce at times, and very, very funny. He made the world a better place.
I will miss him.
