|
James Arthur Crumley (October 12, 1939 – September 17, 2008)〔Local author James Crumley dies at 68 url=http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/09/18/news/local/news02.txt date=2008-09-17 accessdate=2008–09=18〕〔〔Fox, Margalit ("James Crumley, Crime Novelist, Is Dead at 68" ) ''New York Times'' (September 19, 2008)〕 was the author of violent hardboiled crime novels and several volumes of short stories and essays, as well as published and unpublished screenplays. He has been described as "one of modern crime writing's best practitioners",〔 who was "a patron saint of the post-Vietnam private eye novel"〔 and a cross between Raymond Chandler and Hunter S. Thompson.〔 His book ''The Last Good Kiss'' has been described as "the most influential crime novel of the last 50 years."〔Moe, Doug ("Bleak House slashes prices, literally" ) ''Wisconsin State Journal'' (December 4, 2008)〕 Crumley had a cult following, and his work is said to have inspired a generation of crime writers in both the U.S. and the U.K,〔 including Michael Connelly, George Pelecanos, Dennis Lehane〔 and Craig McDonald,〔McDonald's character "Hector Lassiter", who appears in his novels ''Head Games'' and ''Toros & Torsos'', is "a hard-living crime writer whose private life overlaps with his dark and violent fiction" and was inspired by Crumley. Moe, Doug ("Bleak House slashes prices, literally" ) ''Wisconsin State Journal'' (December 4, 2008)〕 as well as writers from other genres such as Neal Stephenson,〔Mergenhagen, Donna ("Literary world loses significant authors" ) ''The Triton'' (December 26, 2008)〕 but he never achieved mainstream success. "Don't know why that is," Crumley said in an interview in 2001, "Other writers like me a lot. But up until about 10 to 12 years ago, I made more money in France and Japan than in America. I guess I just don't fit in anyplace" in the genre book marketplace."〔("Author James Crumley dies" ) ''Dallas Morning News'' (September 20, 2008)〕 Crumley's first published novel, 1969's ''One to Count Cadence'', which was set in the Philippines and Vietnam, began as the thesis for his master's degree in creative writing from the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1966. His novels ''The Last Good Kiss'', ''The Mexican Tree Duck'' and ''The Right Madness'' feature the character C.W. Sughrue, an alcoholic ex-army officer turned private investigator. ''The Wrong Case'', ''Dancing Bear'' and ''The Final Country'' feature another p.i., Milo Milodragovitch. In the novel ''Bordersnakes'', Crumley brought both characters together. Crumley said of his two private detectives: "Milo's first impulse is to help you; Sughrue's is to shoot you in the foot."〔 ==Life== Crumley, who was born in Three Rivers, Texas, grew up in south Texas, where his father was an oil-field supervisor and his mother was a waitress.〔 According to Crumley, his father was a gentle man, but his mother was a forceful and violent woman. She insisted that Crumley attend church, but did not do so herself because she could not afford clothes decent enough for church.〔Holland, Dick. "The Last Good Detective Writer" ''The Texas Observer'' (November 14, 2008)〕 Crumley was a grade-A student and a football player, an offensive lineman, in high school. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology on a Navy ROTC scholarship, but left to serve in the U.S. Army from 1958 to 1961 in the Philippines. He then attended the Texas College of Arts and Industries on a football scholarship, where he received his BA degree with a major in history in 1964. He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing at the University of Iowa in 1966. His master's thesis was later published as the Vietnam War novel ''One to Count Cadence'' in 1969. In 1968, he signed the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.〔"Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" January 30, 1968 ''New York Post''〕 Crumley had not read any detective fiction until prompted to by Montana poet Richard Hugo, who recommended the work of Raymond Chandler for the quality of his sentences. Crumley finally picked up a copy of one of Chandler's books in Guadalajara, Mexico. Impressed by Chandler's writing, and that of Ross Macdonald, Crumley began writing his first detective novel, ''The Wrong Case'', which was published in 1975.〔 Crumley served on the English faculty of the University of Montana at Missoula, and as a visiting professor at a number of other colleges, including the University of Arkansas, Colorado State University, the University of Texas at El Paso, Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh.〔 From the mid-80s on he lived in Missoula, Montana, where he found inspiration for his novels at Charlie B's bar. A regular there, he had many longstanding friends who have been portrayed as characters in his books. Crumley died at St. Patrick Hospital〔Sullivan, Patricia ("James Crumley; Inspired Generation of Crime Writers" ) ''Washington Post'' (September 19, 2008)〕 in Missoula, Montana on September 17, 2008 of complications from kidney and pulmonary diseases after many years of health problems.〔〔McLellan, Dennis ("James Crumley dies at 68; author of gritty but poetic crime novels" ) ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 20, 2008)〕 He was survived by his wife of 16 years, Martha Elizabeth, a poet〔McCumber, David ("Writer Jim Crumley: A remembrance" ) ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (September 20, 2008)〕 and artist who was his fifth wife. He had five children – three from his second marriage and two from his fourth – eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.〔 Crumley's death prompted an "outpouring of affection" from the citizens of Missoula. Crumley's favorite seat in his favorite bar was put aside to honor him.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「James Crumley」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|