James Lee Burke (born December 5, 1936) is an American author, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. He has won

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

s for ''Black Cherry Blues'' (1990) and ''Cimarron Rose'' (1998), and has also been presented with the Grand Master Award from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

. The Robicheaux character has been portrayed twice on screen, first by

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nic ...

(''

Heaven's Prisoners ''Heaven's Prisoners'' is a 1996 American dramatic crime thriller film directed by Phil Joanou and starring Alec Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, Mary Stuart Masterson, Teri Hatcher and Eric Roberts. It is based on a Dave Robicheaux homonymous novel by Ja ...

'') and then

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' T ...

(''

In the Electric Mist ''In the Electric Mist'' (French title: ''Dans la brume électrique'') is a 2009 Franco-American mystery drama film directed by Bertrand Tavernier, and written by Jerzy Kromolowski and Mary Olson-Kromolowski based on the novel ''In the Electric M ...

''). Wirt Williams, reviewing Burke's first novel, ''Half of Paradise'' (1965), in the ''New York Times'', compared his writing to

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...

and

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

, but concluded "Mr. Burkes' literary forebear is

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wor ...

." 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 Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

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.

Biography

Burke was born in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

, Texas, but spent most of his childhood on the Texas-

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

. He attended the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

and

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

, receiving bachelor of arts and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degrees in English literature from the latter. 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 The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

, as a newspaper reporter, as a social worker on

Skid Row, Los Angeles Skid Row is a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles. The area is officially known as Central City East. As of a 2019 count, the population of the district was 8,757. Skid Row contains one of the largest stable populations (about 9,200–15,000) ...

, as a land surveyor in Colorado, in the Louisiana State unemployment system, and in the

Job Corps Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free education and vocational training to young men and women ages 16 to 24. Mission and purpose Job Corps' mission is to help young people ages 16 throug ...

in the

Daniel Boone National Forest The Daniel Boone National Forest (originally the Cumberland National Forest) is a national forest in Kentucky. Established in 1937, it includes of federally owned land within a proclamation boundary. The name of the forest was changed in 1966 ...

in eastern Kentucky. 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 Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

to teach at

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

in 1978.

Personal life

Burke and his wife, Pearl (née Pai Chu), owned a home in

Lolo, Montana Lolo is a census-designated place (CDP) in Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is part of the Missoula Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,399 at the 2020 census, an increase from its population of 3,892 in 2010. It is h ...

and in

New Iberia, Louisiana New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, and forms part of the L ...

. They have four children, including

Alafair Burke Alafair S. Burke (born October 1969) is an American crime novelist, professor of law, and legal commentator. She is a'' New York Times'' bestselling author of 18 crime novels, including ''The Ex, The Wife,'' and ''The Better Sister,'' and two se ...

, a law professor and best-selling crime writer. Daughter Pamala Burke McDavid died in 2020.

Bibliography

Dave Robicheaux

#''

The Neon Rain ''The Neon Rain'' is a crime novel by James Lee Burke, the first in a series featuring the fictional detective Dave Robicheaux. Plot summary While fishing on a back country bayou, New Orleans Police Department officer Dave Robicheaux finds a body ...

'' (1987) #''

'' (1988) #''Black Cherry Blues'' (1989) #''A Morning for Flamingos'' (1990) #''A Stained White Radiance'' (1992) #''In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead'' (1993) #''Dixie City Jam'' (1994) #''Burning Angel'' (1995) #''Cadillac Jukebox'' (1996) #''Sunset Limited'' (1998) #''

Purple Cane Road ''Purple Cane Road'' is a crime novel by James Lee Burke. Plot summary Dave Robicheaux, former officer for the New Orleans Police Department and before that a U.S. Army infantry lieutenant who fought in the Vietnam War, works as sheriff's deput ...

'' (2000) #''Jolie Blon's Bounce'' (2002) #''Last Car to Elysian Fields'' (2003) #''Crusader's Cross'' (2005) #''

Pegasus Descending ''Pegasus Descending'' is a crime novel by James Lee Burke. Plot summary Dave Robicheaux, once an officer for the New Orleans Police Department and before that a U.S. Army infantry lieutenant who fought in the Vietnam War, James Lee Burke, ''Peg ...

'' (2006) #''

The Tin Roof Blowdown ''The Tin Roof Blowdown'' (2007) is a crime novel by American author James Lee Burke. Synopsis Dave Robicheaux, once an officer for the New Orleans Police Department and before that a U.S. Army infantry lieutenant who fought in the Vietnam War, ...

'' (2007) #''Swan Peak'' (2008) #''The Glass Rainbow'' (2010) #''Creole Belle'' (2012) #''Light of the World'' (2013) #''Robicheaux'' (2018) #''The New Iberia Blues'' (2019) #''A Private Cathedral'' (2020)

Billy Bob Holland

#''Cimarron Rose'' (1997) #''Heartwood'' (1999) #''Bitterroot'' (2001) #''In the Moon of Red Ponies'' (2004)

Hackberry Holland

#''Lay Down My Sword and Shield'' (1971) #''Rain Gods'' (2009) #''Feast Day of Fools'' (2011)

Holland Family Saga

# ''Wayfaring Stranger (2014) #''House of the Rising Sun'' (2015) #''The Jealous Kind'' (2016) #''Another Kind of Eden'' (2021) #''Every Cloak Rolled in Blood'' (2022)

Miscellaneous

#''Half of Paradise'' (1965) #''To The Bright and Shining Sun'' (1970) #''Two for Texas'' (1982) #''The Lost Get-Back Boogie'' (1986) #''White Doves at Morning'' (2002)

Short-story collections

#''The Convict'' (1985) #''Jesus Out to Sea'' (2007)

Recognition

* 1988: Burke was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts in Fiction. 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 Kathleen Marie Blanco (née Babineaux; December 15, 1942 – August 18, 2019) was an American politician who served as the 54th Governor of Louisiana from January 2004 to January 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first and, ...

, on November 2, 2002, at a ceremony held at the inaugural Louisiana Book Festival in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counti ...

. * Burke has been recognized three times by the

. ** 2009: Burke received the MWA's Grand Master Award. A mystery novelist rarely wins both an

Edgar award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

and a Guggenheim fellowship.

References

External links

*
"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) {{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, James Lee 1936 births Living people 20th-century American novelists American mystery writers American crime fiction writers Lamar High School (Houston, Texas) alumni University of Louisiana at Lafayette alumni People from Iberia Parish, Louisiana People from Missoula County, Montana Novelists from Texas Novelists from Louisiana Writers from Missoula, Montana Edgar Award winners University of Missouri alumni 21st-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers