Yerby, Frank G. (1916–1991) Born Frank Garvin Yerby, in Augusta, Georgia, US, he attended Paine College (BA 1937) and Fiske University, Nashville (MA 1938), where he began writing. He worked for the Federal Writers' Project in 1938, and met other aspiring writers, like Richard WRIGHT and Margaret Walker. After a brief time spent teaching, he worked in manufacturing.