Robert Day

October 16, 1941 - January 6, 2022

Robert Day, writer, of Ludell, Kansas was born October 16, 1941 to Robert and Ruth (Makielski) Day. He died at age 80 on January 6, 2022, of Parkinson’s disease. He is survived by his wife, Kathryn Jankus Day, an artist. He graduated from Shawnee (North) High School, and earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Kansas, where his mentors were Edward Ruhe and Edgar Wolfe. He taught school in Gorham, Kansas, and was on the faculty of Fort Hays Kansas State College, where his contract was not renewed due to his anti-war activities and for having written a play, No Negro Problem in Hays. He worked on a ranch north of Hays, where he gained first-hand experience as a cowboy and farm hand. After earning an M.F.A. degree from the University of Arkansas, he joined the faculty at Washington College on the eastern shore of Maryland. There he founded the Rose O’Neill Literary House and the Literary House Press. He published his first book, The Last Cattle Drive, in 1977, now recognized as a classic of contemporary western American literature, and which has remained continuously in print. The Washington Post published several of his “creative non-fiction” essays, and he was a dedicated supporter of regional magazines such as Cottonwood, New Letters, which has established an international fiction prize in his name, and the North Dakota Quarterly, where his writing also appeared regularly. Among his many other books are Speaking French in Kansas, The Committee to Save the World, and Collected Short Stories. His last book was For Not Finding You, a long-awaited sequel to The Last Cattle Drive. His papers are preserved in the Kansas City Public Library. Memorials are anticipated in various locations, details pending.