Tallant, Robert, 1909-1957

Author. Born in New Orleans, April 20, 1909. Educated in local public schools. Worked as an advertising copywriter, bank teller, and clerk before "drifting" into writing. His friendship with Lyle Saxon led to a position as editor on the Louisiana Writers' Project of the WPA. In this position he completed the writing of Gumbo Ya Ya, the Project's compilation of Louisiana folklore. By 1946 his career was fully launched and over the next eleven years he produced eight novels and six full-length works of non-fiction, including three for the Random House Landmark Books series. Tallant also wrote and had published numerous short stories and articles on subjects of local interest. His 1951 The Pirate Lafitte and the Battle of New Orleans won the Louisiana Library Association award for the best book of that year. In 1952 his revision of the Writers' Project New Orleans City Guide was published by Houghton Mifflin. During the last years of his life Tallant lectured in English at Newcomb College and worked as a reporter for the New Orleans Item. Robert Tallant died in New Orleans on April 1, 1957.