Ensan Case
Ensan Case | |
|---|---|
| Born | Christopher E. Case July 3, 1950 Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | October 1, 2024 (aged 74) Claxton, Georgia, U.S. |
| Occupation |
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| Alma mater | Georgia Tech |
| Period |
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| Notable works | Wingmen (1979) |
Christopher E. Case (July 3, 1950 – October 1, 2024), known by his pen name Ensan Case, was an American novelist and police officer.
Life and career
[edit]Case began his first steps in writing in the mid-1960s, on a typewriter.[1] He went to Georgia Tech and served a two-year hitch in the United States Navy.[2][3][4] His first and most known novel, Wingmen, was published in 1979 by Avon Books. The novel was written as a sort of retaliation for Richard L. Newhafer's novel The Last Tallyho (1964), which, according to him, portrayed gay characters "as totally irredeemable cowards and slackers."[2][1] Wingmen, in the words of Case, "have as its protagonists a pair of gay pilots who were the exact opposites of Newhafer’s."[2] The novel received positive reviews from literary critics but was a commercial disappointment, leading Case to consider the experience "ultimately disappointing."[1][2]
His second novel, Beach Head, was released in 1983 by Zebra Books. He wrote a third novel in the 1980s, but after failing to find a publisher for it, he decided to end his career as a writer. Case had an avid interest in matters military, mostly centered on World War II, which he used as a setting in his works. He exchanged letters for years with World War II fighter ace Jack M. Ilfrey, who reportedly told him that "Jack and Fred’s story had been his story as well, and he regretted being unable to honestly tell it to the world."[2]
Starting in the early 1990s, Case worked for twenty years as a police officer in Tybee Island, Georgia. He retired in 2011. In the same year, he googled "Wingmen Ensan Case" on a lark and was "astounded to discover that it had not disappeared from existence, but had become a sort of cult classic."[2][1][4] Wingmen's newfound cult following prompted Case's return to writing — he announced that a Wingmen spin-off novel titled Fighters would be released in 2016,[5] but this never materialized.
In October 2024, Case died in Claxton, Georgia, after a prolonged illness.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Cochrane, Charlie (February 10, 2012). "Very special guest author - Ensan Case". LiveJournal. Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Case, Ensan (May 8, 2015). "A Letter from Ensan Case" (PDF). glbtq.com. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
- ^ a b "Christopher E. Case". The Claxton Enterprise. October 4, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
- ^ a b Case 2014, pp. 371.
- ^ "Discussion". EnsanCase.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
Sources
[edit]- Case, Ensan (2014) [1979]. Wingmen. Maple Shade Township, NJ: Lethe Press. ISBN 978-1-59021-575-3.
External links
[edit]- Official website (archived)
- "A Letter from Ensan Case" glbtq, 2015.
- 1940 births
- 2024 deaths
- 20th-century American LGBTQ people
- 20th-century American male writers
- 20th-century American novelists
- 21st-century American LGBTQ people
- 21st-century American male writers
- 21st-century American novelists
- American LGBTQ novelists
- LGBTQ people from Georgia (U.S. state)
- American LGBTQ police officers
- People from Savannah, Georgia