Robert M. Wren

Robert Cambell (pseud. of Robert Meriwether Wren, 1928-1989) author and professor of English and Drama was born February 21, 1928, in Washington, DC.

Career

Wren studied at the University of Houston and obtained a PhD from Princeton University (1965). He held academic appointments at Rutgers University (1956-1960), State University of New York at Binghamton (1960-1962), Knox College, Galesburg, IL (1964-1965), and at the University of Houston (1965-1989).

Since 1968, Wren researched African literature. He was twice a Senior Fulbright Lecturer in Nigeria (University of Lagos, 1973-1975 and University of Ibadan, 1982-1983). He has published numerous books and articles on American and African literature, European Renaissance and 17th century theater and religion.

Boylove

Under the pen name Robert Campbell, Wren wrote boylove fiction. Many of his short stories appeared in the collection Singularities (1989) as well as several anthologies published by the Acolyte Press. Several published and unpublished manuscripts of his stories can be found at the archives of Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin.

Wren was particularly fond of boys and tennis and sponsored several young Nigerian tennis players from secondary school through college. He also served on the editorial board of the Journal of Homosexuality and in the late 1980s in the NAMBLA steering committee.

Wren was killed June 11, 1989, when a Scenic Air Tours plane crashed in Hawaii. He was visiting Hawaii prior to taking a Fulbright fellowship in Indonesia.