The Crazy Hunter

Kay Boyle (1902-1992) was an American writer, educator and political activist. Following her youth and education in Philadelphia, Cincinnati and New York, Boyle moved to France in 1923, where she would remain until 1941. She became an important figure in the literary scene there, publishing in small magazines alongside Hemingway, Joyce and Stein. She was twice awarded Guggenheim fellowships and won two O. Henry Awards for best short story of the year. On returning to the US, Boyle continued writing and worked as a foreign correspondent for the New Yorker. A victim of 1950s McCarthyism, Boyle was blacklisted from most major magazines, and in 1963 she took a teaching job in San Francisco. She became increasingly involved in political activism and was once imprisoned alongside Joan Baez for a protest at the height of the Vietnam War. A fierce advocate for justice and equality until the end of her life, Boyle died in California aged 90.