Walter C. Clemons Jr. ’51

WALTER DIED July 6, 1994, at his home in Long Island City, N.Y., from diabetic complications. He was among the very best writers that our class has produced.

From 1971-88, he was book critic, editor, and senior writer for NEWSWEEK. His cover stories included ones on John Cheever, Lauren Bacall, Joyce Carol Oates, and Saul Bellow. The magazine wrote that "his writing was one of [our] great pleasures, remarkable for its elegant vigor, wit and its underlying compassion for the pains of creativity."

Walter's only published book, THE POISON TREE, was a well-received collection of stories. His friend of more than 40 years, the noted author Eudora Welty, said: "I so valued him…He was filled with appreciation of what writers were trying to do ... What he said meant something." From 1968-71, Walter wrote criticism for THE NEW YORK TIMES and was an editor of THE BOOK REVIEW.

Walter was born in Houston and graduated from Lamar H.S. there. At Princeton, he majored in English and won two English prizes and a Rhodes Scholarship. He was a member of Ivy Club, the NASSAU SOVEREIGN editorial board, Triangle, and a founder of "MSS."

The class honors Walter and his career and extends its deep sympathy to his brother Robert (Buddy), his sole survivor.