Interview With James Lee Burke

Richard J. Golsan (R.G.):

In Dave Robicheaux and Billy Bob Holland, you have created two of the most memorable characters in modern American fiction, and certainly in the policeman/detective genre. Can you tell us something about the inspiration of each? Can you tell us which writers, and especially detective fiction writers, have influenced and inspired you in you work? In what ways?

James Lee Burke (J.L.B.):

I never read what is called "detective fiction," except perhaps the works of my friends Charles Willeford and James Crumley. The Robicheaux series was born out of failure. I went through a period of thirteen years when I could sell nothing in hardback. One thoroughly rejected novel I wrote during that period dealt with the search for the Holy Grail in modern times. Another dealt with a young Cajun boxer. The latter also contained material about John Bell Hood. Out of these failed books I wrote the trilogy that became the Dave Robicheaux series.

The Holland books are simply a continuation of my early works based on my mother's family whose patriarch was Sam Morgan Hollan(d), gunfighter, cattle drover, and saddle preacher.

R.G.:

Are there any contemporary writers of detective "hard-boiled" fiction that you particularly admire?

J.L.B.:

The best crime novelist in our history, in my view, is James M. Cain.

R.G.:

For you, is there a "key" ingredient in writing a successful "hard-boiled" or detective novel? Plot? Character? Setting? Atmosphere? Any or all of the above? None of the above?

J.L.B.:

My stories are largely allegorical. I write what I call a crime novel. But the crimes in them tend to be sociological ones.

R.G.:

In the case of many, if not most heroes of classic American detective fiction, from Sam Spade to Philip Marlowe to Lew Archer to more contemporary figures like Robert Parker's Spenser, the hero tends to be a self-sufficient loner who does not really develop as a character from one novel to the next. Dave Robicheaux, by contrast seems much more vulnerable and ultimately needy, and through his religion and bouts with alcoholism, seems to work more off of a model of fall and redemption. Is that an accurate assessment? If so, do you think the Robicheaux for that reason really doesn't fall into the category of "hard-boiled detective"?

J.L.B.:

I have been around a fair number of cops and criminals. I think the reality of both worlds has little or nothing to do with what people call "hard-boiled" fiction.

R.G.:

You are obviously a regional writer with a remarkable sense of place in your writing. As a southerner, are there any southern writers you particularly admire for their ability to evoke a sense of place?

J.L.B.:

Among people writing today, my vote would go to Ernest Gaines and Steve Yarbrough.

R.G.:

You mentioned to me that you have done a lot of teaching over the years. Can you tell us a little about where and when? We also spoke some about the "evolution" of American students and American education over the years. What is your take on this?

J.L.B.:

I taught at the University of Missouri as a grad student, then at the University of Louisiana, the University of Montana, Miami-Dade Community College, and Wichita State. I also taught reading in the Job Corps.

The big change came during the Reagan era, at least from my perspective. Young people seemed to cease dreaming. Unfortunately colleges seem to become vocational-tech schools. I haven't taught since 1990, so I don't know what campuses are like today.

R.G.:

You mentioned to me, I believe, that you discovered late in your teaching career that the secret of good teaching is to listen. Is that right? Do you think that applies to writing as well? For instance, do conversations with others, and anecdotes about people and places, help you in your writing?

J.L.B.:

Hemingway warned about talking away a story. I think he was...