Pete Dexter (born July 22, 1943) is an American
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
. He won the U.S.
National Book Award
The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...
in 1988 for his novel ''
Paris Trout''.
Early life and education
Dexter was born in
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...
. His father died when Dexter was four and he and his mother moved to
Milledgeville, Georgia
Milledgeville () is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County, Georgia, Baldwin County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Founded in 1803 along the Oconee River, it served as the List of current and former capital cities in the ...
, where she married a college physics professor.
[Rosenberg, Amy S. (April 10, 2007). - "Journey BACK". - '']The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
''. He earned his undergraduate degree in 1969 from the
University of South Dakota, which awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters and
Literature in 2010.
Career
He worked for what is now ''
The Palm Beach Post
''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast.
On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and '' The Palm Beach Daily News' ...
'' in
West Palm Beach
West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...
, Florida, but quit in 1972 because the paper's owners forced the editorial page editor to endorse
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
over
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American politician, diplomat, and historian who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator from South Dakota, and the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...
.
[Eyman, Scott (November 23, 2003). - "The Return of the No-Nonsense Writer". - '']The Palm Beach Post
''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast.
On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and '' The Palm Beach Daily News' ...
''. He was a columnist for the ''
Philadelphia Daily News
''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', a daily newspaper in Philadelphia.
The ''Dail ...
'', from 1974 to 198
''
The Sacramento Bee
''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...
,''
[
*a "How does a Sacramento Bee columnist come to write a novel..." — ¶ 1.
*b "He likes Sacramento, where his boss is an old friend from Florida." — ¶ 7.] and syndicated to many newspapers such as the ''
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States.
Th ...
''.
Dexter began writing fiction after a life-changing 1981 incident in the
Devil's Pocket, neighborhood in
South Philadelphia, in which a mob of locals armed with baseball bats beat him severely. The perpetrators were upset by Dexter's recent column about a murder involving a drug deal-gone-wrong, published on December 9, 1981, in the ''
Philadelphia Daily News
''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', a daily newspaper in Philadelphia.
The ''Dail ...
'',
A couple of weeks ago, a kid named Buddy Lego was found dead in Cobbs Creek," wrote Dexter. "It was a Sunday afternoon. He was from the neighborhood, a good athlete, a nice kid. Stoned all the time. The kind of kid you think you could have saved.
The kid's mother called Dexter, nearly hysterical. How, she cried, could he write that her dead son was a drug user? Lego's brother, Tommy, the night bartender at Dougherty's, was also on the phone, screaming at the then-38-year-old columnist, demanding a retraction.
Dexter went to Dougherty's bar to talk to Tommy Lego, having told Lego he would not be publishing a retraction. In the bar, Dexter was blindsided by two blows to the jaw, splintering and breaking teeth. Later, Dexter returned with a friend, heavyweight prizefighter
Randall "Tex" Cobb. In the ensuing fight outside the bar in the street, Cobb's arm was broken and Dexter was hospitalized with several injuries, including a broken back, pelvis, brain damage and dental devastation. Cobb's injuries cost him a shot at WBA heavyweight champion
Mike Weaver.
[Hiltbrand, David (November 4, 2003). - "A Return to His Old Stomping Grounds". - ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''.] The assault and its aftermath are mirrored by events that occur in Dexter's 2009 novel, ''Spooner''.
''Paper Trails'', published in 2007, is a compilation of columns he wrote for the ''Philadelphia Daily News'' and ''The Sacramento Bee'' from the 1970s to the 1990s.
Personal life
For many years, Dexter lived and wrote on
Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, Island County, Washington (state), Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington stat ...
in
Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...
.
Dexter holds a position as Writer in Residence in the creative writing program at the
University of South Dakota. He lives in Vermillion, South Dakota, near the university.
Works
Novels
* ''God's Pocket'' (1983) –
adapted as the 2014 film ''
God's Pocket''
* ''Deadwood'' (1986) – influenced the 1995 film ''
Wild Bill''
* ''
Paris Trout'' (1988) — winner of the
National Book Award for Fiction["National Book Awards – 1988"]
National Book Foundation. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
* ''Brotherly Love'' (1991)
* ''
The Paperboy'' (1995) — 1996 Literary Award, PEN Center USA
* ''Train'' (2003)
* ''Spooner'' (2009)
Nonfiction
* ''Paper Trails'' (2007)
Screenplays
* ''
Paris Trout'' (1991)
* ''
Rush'' (1991)
* ''
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* he He ..., a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name
* Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
'' (1996)
* ''
Mulholland Falls'' (1996)
* ''
The Paperboy'' (2012)
References
External links
*
Interview with Dexterat
Powells.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dexter, Pete
1943 births
Living people
20th-century American novelists
American male screenwriters
American columnists
National Book Award winners
Novelists from Michigan
Novelists from Washington (state)
21st-century American novelists
Writers from Sacramento, California
American male novelists
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American male non-fiction writers
Screenwriters from California
Screenwriters from Michigan
Screenwriters from Washington (state)
University of South Dakota alumni