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Biography · Literature

John Oliver Killens

1916–1987

United States

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Biography

John Oliver Killens (January 14, 1916 – October 27, 1987) was an American fiction writer from Georgia. His novels featured elements of African-American life. In his debut novel, Youngblood (1954), Killens coined the phrase "kicking ass and taking names".

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Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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