Papers Winifred Lockhart Willis, 1917-1982

Winifred Lockhart Willis, journalist and writer, was born on March 23, 1902, in Brooklyn, New York. Willis began her writing career as a poet; her verse was accepted for publication by Manhattan newspapers and such magazines as Ladies' Home Journal, Leslie's Weekly, and Brief Stories. Willis later turned to prose, publishing her first short story in 1923. She subsequently wrote short stories and articles for Ladies' Home Journal and Collier's, and book reviews for Vogue; in the early 1930s she was on the editorial staff of Judge magazine, to which she also contributed as a freelance writer. In the 1930s and 40s, Willis' stories and poetry also appeared in The New Yorker, Saturday Evening Post, Good Housekeeping, and Punch, and she was a frequent contributor to the editorial pages of the Herald Tribune.

Twice married, Willis lived for a time in Hollywood with her second husband, John Speaks, who was an executive producer at RKO Studios; during their residence there, Willis was a script writer for Twentieth Century Fox. In 1946 they moved to Westport, Connecticut, where Speaks died in 1965 and Willis in 1982. Throughout much of her life, sometimes following a lapse of decades, Willis kept journals and other accounts of her family and personal life. Her only son, Andy, and the long-lasting effects of his death in a motorcycle accident, figure prominently in these accounts.

In later years, as a civil rights advocate, Willis participated in various nation-wide activities and served on the executive board of the Bridgeport-Stamford branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.