James Alan McPherson

James A. McPherson, 72, of Iowa City died July 27, 2016 at Mercy Hospital, surrounded by family and friends. He was born September 16, 1943, in Savannah Georgia, son of the late James Allen McPherson and Mable Small McPherson.

Mr. McPherson attended segregated schools in Savannah and was graduated from Morris Brown College, a traditionally black college in Atlanta. He received his LL.B. degree from Harvard University in 1968 and his M.F.A. from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop in 1969. While he was a student at Harvard, he received an award from the Atlantic Monthly that set him on a career in writing. He published two books of short stories, Hue and Cry in 1968, and Elbow Room, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1978. He published many essays and books in different genres including, Railroad: Trains and Train People in American Culture, Crabcakes, Fathering Daughters (with DeWitt Henry), and A Region Not Home: Reflections from Exile.

Mr. McPherson was a beloved and inspirational teacher. Before joining the faculty at the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop in 1981, he taught at University of California Santa Cruz, Morgan State University in Baltimore, and the University of Virginia. He was considered the heart and soul of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and many of his students have gone on to become highly-regarded writers.

He was also a devoted and loving father and is survived by a daughter, Rachel Alice McPherson of Iowa City and a son, Benjamin Miyamoto of Los Angeles, his sister Mary, brother Richard (he was predeceased by a sister, Josephine McPherson) and several nieces and nephews. His beloved assistant Joanne Stutzman and many good neighbors have helped make Iowa City his home.

A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday August 6, 2016 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 320 E. College Street, Iowa City. A reception in the parish hall will follow the service. At 7:00 pm, a reading in remembrance of his life will take place at the Englert Theater. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the James Alan McPherson Scholarship Fund through the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop on line at Give To Iowa or by sending a check to the University of Iowa Foundation..