Paul Spike

Paul Spike
Born	Paul Robert Spike (1947-08-03) August 3, 1947 (age 77) Newark, Ohio, U.S.
Education	Columbia University
Occupation(s)	Writer, editor, journalist
Spouses	Maureen Freely ​ (divorced)​ Alexandra Shulman ​ ​ (m. 1994; div. 2005)​
Father	Robert W. Spike
Relatives	John Spike (brother)

Paul Robert Spike is an American author, editor in chief and journalist. He is best known as the author of the 1973 memoir Photographs of My Father about the murder of his father, civil rights leader Robert W. Spike, in 1966.

Career

Spike is the author of five books. His memoir Photographs of My Father (Knopf, 1973) is the most widely known; an autobiographical account of the murder of his father, civil rights leader Rev. Robert W. Spike,^[1] the book was chosen by the New York Public Library as one of its "Ten Best Books of The Year."^{[citation needed]}

His four other works include a collection of short stories, two political thrillers, and the cult novelization of Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky which Spike composed under the pseudonym "Ralph Hoover".^[2]

In 1997, Spike became the first American editor of the 150-year-old British humour magazine Punch which he relaunched as a weekly investigative and satirical gadfly,^[3][4] but soon left.^[5]

Honors

In 1970 Spike received the John Train Humor Prize awarded by The Paris Review.^[6]

Personal

Spike graduated from Columbia University in 1970.^[7] He has a son and a daughter by author Maureen Freely, and a son by editor Alexandra Shulman, both former wives.^[8][9] His brother is art historian John Spike.^[10]

Bibliography

• Bad News (short fiction), Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1971.^[11]
• Photographs of My Father (autobiography), Knopf, 1973.
• Jabberwocky (as "Ralph Hoover"), Pan Books, 1976.
• The Night Letter (novel), GP Putnams, 1978.
• Last Rites (novel), New American Library, 1980.

References

1. "Paul Spike's memoir of the Civil rights movement of the 1960s re-released". The Spectator. October 1, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
2. McCall, Douglas (November 19, 2013). Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969–2012 (2 ed.). McFarland & Company. p. 61. ISBN 9781476613116. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
3. "Leagas Delaney reveals new-style Punch". Campaign. May 23, 1997. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
4. "Magazine Weekly: Can Paul Spike pack a punch with the lads?". The Independent. May 18, 1997. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
5. "People: Game for a bit of blood and gore". The Independent. September 14, 1997. ProQuest 312633753. Retrieved October 24, 2024. ...this month's editor of Punch is James Steen, who steps up from deputy following the mysterious and rapid departure of former editor Paul Spike.
6. "The Paris Review - Prizes". The Paris Review. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
7. "Bookshelf". Columbia College Today. March 28, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
8. "Rich tapestry". The Australian. August 27, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
9. "Alexandra Shulman interview: Keep chic and carry on". The Guardian. December 5, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
10. "Guide to the Robert W. Spike Papers 1838-2005". University of Chicago Library. 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
11. "Books of The Times". The New York Times. April 9, 1971. Retrieved October 24, 2024.