Morris, Wright (Wright Marion Morris), 1910–98, American writer, b. Central City, Nebr. He was for many years professor of English at San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State Univ.). From 1942 to 1986 he published 33 books, including novels, memoirs, and photograph, essay, and short story collections. His fiction treats the relationship of the burden of American history to the present, and the evolution and continuity of the American character. His novels include The World in the Attic (1949), Love among the Cannibals (1957), The Field of Vision (1957, National Book Award), Fire Sermon (1971), and his final novel, Plains Song (1980, National Book Award). The Territory Ahead (1958) is a study of American literary tradition, and About Fiction (1975) is a critical work. As a photographer, Morris is noted particularly for his images of the Great Plains and for his combinations of text and photographs.
See his memoirs Will's Boy (1981), Solo (1983), and A Cloak of Light (1985). See studies by L. Howard (1968) and G. B. Crump (1978).
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