James Sallis

Last updated
James Sallis
Born (1944-12-21) December 21, 1944 (age 79)
Helena, Arkansas, U.S.
OccupationNovelist
Language English
NationalityAmerican
Period1970–present
Genre Crime fiction
Website
jamessallis.com

James Sallis (born December 21, 1944) is an American crime writer who wrote a series of novels featuring the detective character Lew Griffin set in New Orleans, and the 2005 novel Drive , which was adapted into a 2011 film of the same name.

Contents

Sallis began writing science fiction for magazines in the late 1960s. Having sold several stories to Damon Knight for his Orbit series of anthologies, and a story to Michael Moorcock by the time he was in his mid-twenties, Sallis was then invited to go to London to help edit New Worlds just as it changed to its large format during its Michael Moorcock-directed New Wave SF phase; Sallis published his first sf story, "Kazoo", there in 1967 and was co-editor from April 1968 through February 1969. His clearly acknowledged models in the French avant-garde and the gnomic brevity of much of his work limited his appeal in the science fiction world, though he received some critical acclaim for A Few Last Words (collection, 1970). [1] Sallis has been influenced by French New Novelists including Michel Butor and Robbe-Grillet. Camus’ L'Etranger is mentioned in each of Sallis's novels.[ citation needed ]

Later short work (uncollected until Time's Hammers) appeared in the USA through the 1970s and 1980s.

He is the brother of philosopher John Sallis.

Career and critical reception

Sallis has worked as a creative writing teacher, respiratory therapist, musician, music teacher, screenwriter, periodical editor, book reviewer, and translator, winning acclaim for his 1993 version of Raymond Queneau's Saint Glinglin.[ citation needed ] Trained as a respiratory therapist, Sallis worked in intensive care for both adults and newborns at many hospitals.[ when? ]

In 2000, he appeared as himself in the UK Channel 4 project Asylum (2000)—a mix of both documentary and fiction, where in the future a group of people are looking back at the twentieth century after a virus has wiped out most of the culture—written and directed by Christopher Petit and Iain Sinclair. Sallis appears alongside Michael Moorcock and Ed Dorn. In 2012, Sallis played a small part as a detective in the film The Detective's Lover, directed by Travis Mills. Sallis taught writing classes at Otis College in Los Angeles and until September 2015 at Phoenix College in Arizona; he left his job rather than sign a state-mandated loyalty oath that he regards as unconstitutional. [2]

In Literary Hub, Lisa Levy considered his output significant and diverse and ranked him as perhaps alongside Don DeLillo (b. 1936) and Thomas Pynchon (b. 1937). [3]

On noir Sallis argues it is an oppositional form, working not to reinforce American culture but to subvert it, "there is no moral order save which a man creates from himself. Like high art, these stories worked hard  to unfold the lies society tells us and the lies we tell ourselves". [3]

Awards

Bibliography

Novels

Lew Griffin series

Lew Griffin is an African-American amateur detective, functioning alcoholic, sometime teacher and novelist. In The Long-Legged Fly the narrative opens with Griffin committing a murder only obliquely referred to again, creating a pervasive sense of guilt that dogs Griffin throughout the subsequent three decades through several missing-persons cases and his own back story.[ citation needed ]

John Turner series
The Driver series
Other novels

Short fiction

Collections
Stories [12]
TitleYearFirst publishedReprinted/collectedNotes
As yet untitled2013Sallis, James (September 2013). "As yet untitled". Asimov's Science Fiction. 37 (9): 56–57.
Echo1974The Berserkers, ed. Roger Elwood, Trident, 1974.

Anthologies

Poetry

Collections

Criticism, essays, and biographies

Book reviews

YearReview articleWork(s) reviewed
2000 "Books". F&SF . 99 (1): 32–37. July 2000.
2000 "Books". F&SF . 99 (6): 32–37. December 2000.
2001 "Books". F&SF . 100 (4): 30–35. April 2001.
  • Sturgeon, Theodore (2000). Paul Williams (ed.). A saucer of loneliness. The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon; 7. North Atlantic Books.
  • Sturgeon, Theodore (2000). Selected stories. Vintage Books.

Musicology

Translation work

Adaptations

Radio

Eye of the Cricket was adapted for BBC Radio 7 as part of the Readings to Die For series. It aired in 2007, 2008 and 2010. The main voice artist was Ray Shell.

Film

In 2011, Sallis's novel Drive was adapted by director Nicolas Winding Refn into a film of the same name, starring Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan. [13]

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References

  1. ↑ "Authors : Sallis, James : SFE : Science Fiction Encyclopedia". www.sf-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  2. ↑ Resnik, Brahm (September 29, 2015). "Phoenix College instructor quits over loyalty oath". KPNX. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Levy, Lisa (June 17, 2016). "American Noir and the Outlaw Lit of James Sallis". Literary Hub. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  4. ↑ "10 Questions with James Sallis". LitReactor. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  5. ↑ "James Sallis Web Pages - Interviews and Articles". www.jamessallis.com. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  6. ↑ Sallis, James (2006). Drive (First Harvest ed.). Orlando. ISBN   0156030322. OCLC   68221365.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ↑ "Drive (Drive, #1)". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  8. 1 2 Wilwol, John (April 25, 2012). "In Sequel To 'Drive,' Sallis Delivers A Thrill Ride". NPR.org. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  9. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (June 2, 2012). "James Sallis' 'Drive' Sequel 'Driven' Being Developed Into A Movie". IndieWire. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Others of My Kind". Goodreads.
  11. ↑ "Sarah Jane". Soho Press .
  12. ↑ Short stories unless otherwise noted.
  13. ↑ Scott, A. O. (September 15, 2011). "Fasten Your Seat Belts, the Chevy Is Taking Off". The New York Times .

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