Jack Conroy

John Wesley Conroy (December 5, 1899 to February 28, 1990) was a leftist American writer, also known as a Worker-Writer, best known for his contributions to “proletarian literature,” fiction and nonfiction about the life of American workers during the early decades of the 20th century.

Background

He was born John Wesley Conroy to Irish immigrants on December 5, 1898, in the coal mining camp of Monkey Nest near Moberly, Missouri. A Depression-era novelist, Conroy drew upon his childhood growing up in a mining camp and elements of this can be seen in his novels, The Disinherited and A World to Win.

Career

Though he did not complete a formal education, Conroy worked at various jobs including: railroad shop apprentice (and eventual foreman), recording secretary for the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen of America union office, an auto factory worker, and construction. While he worked, he wrote, and it is said that in 1934, when soaring temperatures had burned up crops and blistered city streets, Conroy moved his kitchen table outdoors beneath a shade tree where he created his second novel, A World to Win.