George Harold "Hal" Bennett (April 21, 1930 – September 11, 2004) was an author known for a variety of books. His 1970 novel Lord of Dark Places was described as "a satirical and all but scatological attack on the phallic myth", and was reprinted in 1997. He was Playboys most promising writer of the year. He also wrote under the pen names Harriet Janeway and John D. Revere (the Assassin series). His books are sometimes compared to Mark Twain's style of satire, but contain a much stronger sexual tone.
Awards and honors
1973: William Faulkner Prize
Selected bibliography
The Mexico City Poems and House on Hay (Chicago: Obsidian Press, 1961) A Wilderness of Vines (Garden City: Doubleday, 1966) The Black Wine (Garden City: Doubleday, 1968) Lord of Dark Places (New York: Norton, 1970) () () Wait Until the Evening (Garden City: Doubleday, 1974) () () Seventh Heaven (Garden City: Doubleday, 1976) () () Insanity Runs In Our Family: Short Stories (Garden City: Doubleday, 1977)() ()
Selected uncollected short stories
"Wings of the Dove," Black American Literature Forum, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Summer 1989), pp. 223-230 "Miss Askew on Ice," Callaloo, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Winter 1987), pp. 1-12 "Chewing Gum," Black American Literature Forum, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Winter 1987), pp. 379-392
as Harriet Janeway
This Passionate Land (1979)
as John D. Revere
Justin Perry : The Assassin
The Assassin 2 : Vatican Kill
The Assassin 3 : Born To Kill
The Assassin 4: Death's Running Mate
The Assassin 5: Stud Service
Autobiography
Further reading
Newman, Katharine, "An Evening with Hal Bennett: An Interview", Black American Literature Forum, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Winter 1987), pp. 357–378. Packer, Nancy, [Review of Insanity Runs in Our Family], Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Summer 1978), pp. 335-36. Walcott, Ronald, "The Writer as Satirist, Part I: The Novels of Hal Bennett". Black World/Negro Digest, June 1974, pp. 36–48, 89–97; "The Writer as Magician/Priest, Part II: The Novels of Hal Bennett", Black World/Negro Digest, pp. 78–96.