Navajo mystery author Tony Hillerman dies
p2pnet news view | Off Topic:- “He kept tapping at his keyboard even as his eyes began to dim, as his hearing faded, as rheumatoid arthritis turned his hands into claws.”
That’s the Associated Press on the news that Tony Hillerman, author of the famous Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels, has died at the age of 83.
“Lt. Joe Leaphorn, introduced in ‘The Blessing Way’ in 1970, was an experienced police officer who understood, but did not share, his people’s traditional belief in a rich spirit world. Officer Jim Chee, introduced in ‘People of Darkness’ in 1978, was a younger officer studying to become a ‘hathaali’ — Navajo for ’shaman’.
“Together, they struggled daily to bridge the cultural divide between the dominant Anglo society and the impoverished people who call themselves the Dineh.”
As a young man, “he farmed, drove a truck, toiled as an oil field roughneck and worked as a reporter and editor for the Borger News-Herald in Borger, Texas; the Morning Press-Constitution in Lawton, Okla.; United Press International in Oklahoma City; and the Santa Fe New Mexican, where he rose to executive editor,” says AP.
“He quit in 1962 to earn a master’s degree from the University of New Mexico, where he later taught journalism and eventually became chairman of the journalism department,” it says, adding:
“His first agent advised him that if he wanted to get published, he would have to ‘get rid of that Indian stuff’.”
During WWII, Hillerman served in the 103rd infantry division and was awarded the Silver star, the Bronze star and a Purple Heart, says collegeot.
Associated Press – Acclaimed author Tony Hillerman dies at 83, October 27, 2008
collegeot - Tony Hillerman, Author and University of New Mexico Professor, Dies at 83, October 27, 2008
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October 29th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Sad news. as crazy as this may sound, he lived about 8 houses away from me, my mother used to have coffee with him occasionally. And i once worked for a publishing company (Sidewinder Publishing) that published a few recent re-releases of his books. RIP