Biography of Sam Greenlee

Novelist, short-story writer, poet, playwright, and self-styled "professional propagandist" for black people. Born in Chicago, H. Educated at the Univ. of Wisconsin (B.S. in political science, 1952); the Univ. of Chicago (graduate studies in political science and international relations, 1954-57); and the Univ. of Thessaloniki (Greek history and language). Served as an officer in the U.S. Army Infantry, 1952-54. Worked as a foreign service officer with the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), 1957- 65; resigned to devote full time to writing. Author of three books: The Spook Who Sat by the Door (a novel, 1969; also adapted as a play and a film); Blues for an African Princess (poetry, 1971); and Bagdad Blues (a novel, 1973). His short stories have been published in Black World/Negro Digest and anthologized in Ten Times Black (Mayfield, 1970), Black Short Story Anthology (King, 1972), and We Be Word Sorcerers (Sanchez, 1973). Recipient of numerous awards, including a meritorious service award, USIA, and a Book of the Year Award by the British Press, 1969.