author

E. K. (Eldred Kurtz) Means

1878–1957

Best known for creating the fictional Louisiana setting of Tickfall, this Methodist minister turned his gift for storytelling into popular magazine fiction and public speaking. His work drew attention in its day, though modern readers may notice the racial caricatures that shaped much of it.

4 Audiobooks

The Ten-foot Chain; or, Can Love Survive the Shackles? A Unique Symposium

The Ten-foot Chain; or, Can Love Survive the Shackles? A Unique Symposium

by Achmed Abdullah, Max Brand, E. K. (Eldred Kurtz) Means, Perley Poore Sheehan

E. K. Means Is This a Title? It Is Not. It Is the Name of a Writer of Negro Stories, Who Has Made Himself So Completely the Writer of Negro Stories That His Book Needs No Title

E. K. Means Is This a Title? It Is Not. It Is the Name of a Writer of Negro Stories, Who Has Made Himself So Completely the Writer of Negro Stories That His Book Needs No Title

by E. K. (Eldred Kurtz) Means

More E. K. Means Is This a Title? It Is Not. It Is the Name of a Writer of Negro Stories, Who Has Made Himself So Completely the Writer of Negro Stories That This Second Book, Like the First, Needs No Title

More E. K. Means Is This a Title? It Is Not. It Is the Name of a Writer of Negro Stories, Who Has Made Himself So Completely the Writer of Negro Stories That This Second Book, Like the First, Needs No Title

by E. K. (Eldred Kurtz) Means

Further E. K. Means Is This a Title? It Is Not. It Is the Name of a Writer of Negro Stories, Who Has Made Himself So Completely the Writer of Negro Stories That This Third Book, Like the First and Second, Needs No Title

Further E. K. Means Is This a Title? It Is Not. It Is the Name of a Writer of Negro Stories, Who Has Made Himself So Completely the Writer of Negro Stories That This Third Book, Like the First and Second, Needs No Title

by E. K. (Eldred Kurtz) Means

About the author

Born in Kentucky in 1878, Eldred Kurtz Means was an American Methodist Episcopal clergyman, speaker, and author. He became known for stories set in an imagined part of Louisiana called Tickfall, a backdrop he used again and again in his fiction.

Means published widely in the early 20th century and built a reputation as an entertainer as well as a writer. Some of his work was successful enough to be adapted for film, which helped extend his reach beyond print.

Today, his writing is mostly remembered as a period piece. While it had a strong popular audience in its time, it also relied on exaggerated and racist portrayals of Black characters, so readers often approach it now with historical context in mind.