Wirt Williams, reviewing Burke's first novel, Half of Paradise (1965), in the New York Times, compared his writing to Jean-Paul Sartre and Ernest Hemingway, but concluded "Mr. Burkes' literary forebear is Thomas Hardy."[1]
Burke's 1982 novel, Two for Texas, was made into a 1998 TV movie of the same name. Burke has also written five miscellaneous crime novels (including Two for Texas), two short-story collections, four books starring protagonist Texas attorney Billy Bob Holland, four books starring Billy Bob's cousin Texas sheriff Hackberry Holland, and two books starring Weldon Avery Holland, grandson of legendary Texas lawman Hackberry Holland.
He worked in a variety of jobs over the years, while books he had written were rejected, and books he had published went out of print. At various times, he worked as a truck driver for the U.S. Forest Service, as a newspaper reporter, as a social worker on Skid Row, Los Angeles, as a land surveyor in Colorado, in the Louisiana State unemployment system, and in the Job Corps in the Daniel Boone National Forest in eastern Kentucky.[3][2]
He taught at the University of Missouri as a grad student, then at the University of Louisiana, the University of Montana, and Miami-Dade Community College, before settling in Wichita, Kansas to teach at Wichita State University in 1978.[4][5]
Personal lifeedit
Burke and his wife Pearl, née Pai Chu,[6] owned homes in Lolo, Montana and in New Iberia, Louisiana. They have four children, including Alafair Burke, a law professor[7] and best-selling crime writer.[8][9] Daughter Pamala Burke McDavid died in 2020.[10] Extended family include cousins novelist Elizabeth Nell Dubus and author and actress DeLauné Michel.[11]
1988: Burke was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts in Fiction.[13] Burke received the 2002 Louisiana Writer Award for his enduring contribution to the "literary intellectual heritage of Louisiana." The award was presented by the then-Lieutenant-Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, on November 2, 2002, at a ceremony held at the inaugural Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge.
2009: Burke received the MWA's Grand Master Award.[14] A mystery novelist rarely wins both an Edgar award and a Guggenheim fellowship.
In 2024 he was named winner of the Crime Writers' Association of Britain's Diamond Dagger award for his outstanding lifetime's contribution to the crime and mystery fiction genre.[15]
Referencesedit
^Wirt Williams, On the Tracks of Doom, The New York Times, March 14, 1965
^ ab"Southern Masters: James Lee Burke". gardenandgun.com. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
^"The Heartbreak Lounge". wallacestroby.com. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
^Golsan, Richard J.; Burke, James Lee (2010). "Interview With James Lee Burke". South Central Review. 27 (1/2): 167–170. doi:10.1353/scr.0.0071. ISSN 0743-6831. JSTOR 40645937. S2CID 144920466.
^"James Lee Burke to Conduct Seminar at Deep South Writer's Conference". The Lafayette Daily Advertiser. August 31, 1983. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
^Plummer, William (October 7, 1996). "Sober Perspective: Author James Lee Burke Savors Success Cautiously". People. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
^"Alafair S. Burke – Maurice A. Deane School of Law – Hofstra University". law.hofstra.edu. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
^"Books by Alafair Burke and Complete Book Reviews". Publishers Weekly.
^Anderson, Patrick (July 3, 2011). "Book World: Alafair Burke's 'Long Gone'". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^Larson, Susan (September 5, 2013). The Booklover's Guide to New Orleans (2013 ed.). Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-5307-9. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
^Rainone, Anthony (October 2004). "Interview: James Lee Burke". January Magazine. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
^"List of Guggenheim Fellows". gf.org/fellows. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
^"Edgar Awards - Category List – The Grand Master". edgarawards.com. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
^Creamer, Ella (January 23, 2024). "Lynda La Plante and James Lee Burke share Diamond Dagger lifetime award". The Guardian. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
External linksedit
Wikiquote has quotations related to James Lee Burke.
Official website
"The Man Behind Dave Robicheaux", James Lee Burke talks about violence, writing, littering, alcoholism, liberalism, and bestsellers.
Interview with James Lee Burke, Speaking of Mysteries TV Series (2001)