Oldest American author tells all

After 70 years of writing books, John Sanford has won little fame and less money, but his commitment to his craft and one great, true love have kept him going.

By Mel Fiske

Jan 30, 2003 | This morning John Sanford will get up and do what he's done every morning for the past 70 years: write. At 98 (99 in May), Sanford may be the oldest working writer in the nation. In a literary climate where novelists in their early 20s make headlines by getting $500,000 advances on their first books, he has never enjoyed the kind of success that starry-eyed writing workshop graduates dream about. But he keeps on writing all the same.

There has been recognition over the decades as well as struggle. Sanford has been called "The Treasure of Santa Barbara," and there's a coterie of devoted readers who swear by the lyricism of his prose and his flashes of insight into American history and affairs.

But it's the author's sheer commitment to his work, not the hunger for acclaim or money, that keeps him going. Sanford completes a book every two years or so and then spends more years trying to get his work published. "My books don't sell," he says, "and publishers want books that sell, like soap."

Now Sanford has yet another publisher. "A Palace of Silver" is scheduled for release by Capra Press before March. It will be Sanford's 24th book and marks his return to Capra, which issued three other of his books over the years. Capra's new owner, Robert Bason, is thrilled to have him inaugurate Capra's new beginning.

"A Palace of Silver" is memoir of Sanford's extraordinary life with his late wife, the screenwriter Marguerite Roberts. It's also a reflective look back on the Hollywood blacklist that troubled them both, and a true love story. The book's title comes from a line in the Song of Solomon: "We will build upon her a palace of silver." Sanford's book is the palace; his poetic words the silver. His wife, Maggie, is the rock he built on.

After her death in l989, Sanford resurrected his wife in all of his books, beginning with "Maggie: A Love Story." "This book is a master class in love," Los Angeles Times reviewer Elaine Kendall wrote. "You could ransack an entire library without learning as much about commitment, mutual respect, delight, devotion and resilience as you'll find in these succinct pages. The story is told in some of the most distinctive prose written in this century."

It was a style honed with the help of his wife. She "discovered" Sanford when they were both screenwriters, working on Clark Gable's first big hit, "Honky Tonk." She urged him to quit writing films. "Your main holt is books," she said. She had liked his first book, "The Water Wheel," published in 1933. That was enough for her.

Sanford, born Julian Shapiro, began writing after he left Fordham University with a degree in law. His friend, Nathan Weinstein, later to become Nathaniel West, announced to him one day, "I'm writing a book." Such a prospect intrigued Shapiro and he began "Water Wheel," in which a character named John Sanford was the protagonist. For his second book, he adopted the name.

With Maggie's encouragement and support, Sanford began pounding out his books. From the beginning, he established a rigid routine, getting up at 6 a.m. to sit before his typewriter. He says he doesn't know what he'll write about until he places a sheet of Testimony bond in the roller; then his unconscious starts in. In the evening, he'd read his output to Maggie. She was a sharp and discerning critic. She learned not to waste words working as a contract writer for MGM for 12 years, becoming one of its highest paid writers and producing dozens of scripts.

"Write our books," she insisted.

"I've got to support my father," Sanford protested.

"I'll support your father and you, too," she said.

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