Welcome to The Write Question, a program that explores the world of writing and publishing in the western United States. Our guest today is James Lee Burke.
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James Lee Burke was born in Houston, Texas, in 1936 and grew up on the Texas-Louisiana gulf coast. He attended Southwestern Louisiana Institute and later received a B. A. Degree in English and an M. A. from the University of Missouri in 1958 and 1960 respectively. Over the years he worked as a landman for Sinclair Oil Company, pipeliner, land surveyor, newspaper reporter, college English professor, social worker on Skid Row in Los Angeles, clerk for the Louisiana Employment Service, and instructor in the U. S. Job Corps.
He and his wife Pearl met in graduate school and have been married 46 years, they have four children: Jim Jr., an assistant U.S. Attorney; Andree, a school psychologist; Pamala, a T. V. ad producer; and Alafair, a law professor and novelist who has 3 novels out with Henry Holt publishing.
Burke's work has been awarded an Edgar twice for Best Crime Novel of the Year. He has also been a recipient of a Breadloaf and Guggenheim Fellowship and an NEA grant. Two of his novels, Heaven's Prisoners and Two For Texas, have been made into motion pictures and In The Electric Mist will be released in late 2008/early 2009 starring Tommy Lee Jones. His short stories have been published in The Atlantic Monthly, New Stories from the South, Best American Short Stories, Antioch Review, Southern Review, and The Kenyon Review. His novel The Lost Get-Back Boogie was rejected 111 times over a period of nine years, and upon publication by Louisiana State University press was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Today he and his wife live in Missoula, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana.
FYI: Information About New Books By Regional Authors
Recently published books by regional writers include, Finding Beauty in a Broken World, by Terry Tempest Williams.
And new for kids from Farcountry Press, The Great Monte Mystery, written by Jennifer Newbold and illustrated by Robert Rath.
For more information about new books, contact your favorite bookseller or library.
The Write Question is produced by Chérie Newman.
Executive producer, Michael Marsolek.
Special thanks to Barbara Theroux, Prageeta Sharma, Renée McGrath, and Kim Anderson.
This program is supported in part by The Greater Montana Foundation — encouraging communication on issues, trends, and values of importance to Montanans. And by Humanities Montana, enriching intellectual, cultural, and civic life for all Montanans.
This program included music by Michael Blessing and Springhill.
Send comments to Chérie Newman
