Occupation writer, novelist Spouse Pearl Burke (m. 1960) Role Author | Name James Burke Nationality American Children Alafair Burke | |
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Movies In the Electric Mist, Heaven's Prisoners, Two for Texas, Winter Light Books The Neon Rain, Creole Belle, The Tin Roof Blowdow, Black Cherry Blues, Feast Day of Fools Similar People Alafair Burke, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Lee Child, Dennis Lehane Profiles | ||
On the road with james lee burke and alafair burke
James Lee Burke (born December 5, 1936) is an American author of mysteries, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. He has won Edgar Awards 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. The Robicheaux character has been portrayed twice on screen, first by Alec Baldwin (Heaven's Prisoners) and then Tommy Lee Jones (In the Electric Mist).
Contents
- On the road with james lee burke and alafair burke
- Conversations the world over edgar award winning novelist james lee burke part 1 of 2
- Biography
- Personal life
- Recognition
- References
Burke's 1982 novel, Two for Texas, was made into a 1998 TV movie by 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 Texas legendary lawman Hackberry Holland.
Conversations the world over edgar award winning novelist james lee burke part 1 of 2
Biography
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but spent most of his childhood on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and University of Missouri, receiving a BA and MA 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, 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. He taught at five different colleges before getting on the tenure track teaching creative writing at Wichita State University during the 1980s.
Personal life
Burke and his wife, Pearl (née Pai Chu), own a home in Lolo, Montana. The couple has four children, including Alafair, a Professor of Law and a prominent crime writer.