In 2007 Robert B. Parker was given the
Gumshoe Award
for Lifetime Achievement.
Written by Gerald So
Not until the summer of my first year in college did I
realize how much reading it would take to be a writer. I picked up The
Godwulf Manuscript because I recalled TV's Spenser: For Hire was
"based on characters created by Robert B. Parker." I was most interested in
reading about Hawk, the amoral enforcer vividly portrayed by Avery Brooks, but
by the end of the novel I didn't mind that he hadn't appeared at all. By the end
of that summer, I had read the first eighteen Spenser novels at the pace of
three-a-week.
Parker showed me that a single character could be a thinker, a fighter, a
lover, a gourmet cook, and seem no less real. He showed me that the same few
words could convey humor, suspense, and literary significance.
Born September 17, 1932 and raised in Massachusetts, Robert Brown Parker
attended Colby College in Waterville, Maine where he began dating his future
wife Joan Hall. Parker served with the U.S. Army in Korea from 1954-56 and
worked in tech writing and advertising before completing his Ph.D. in 1970. His
dissertation traced the classic hero from the Western frontier to the urban
landscapes of Hammett, Chandler, and Macdonald.
Spenser debuted in 1973 as a tribute to Chandler's Philip Marlowe, but unlike
the solitary brooding Marlowe, Spenser is basically content, with a circle of
friends that widens as the series goes on. While these friends (most notably Dr.
Susan Silverman and Hawk) keep Spenser grounded, they also increase the
relevance of Parker's work. He can tell a tight hardboiled tale and do a little
social commentary on the side.
In the late 1980s, at the height of Spenser's popularity, Parker was hired by
the Chandler estate to complete the last Marlowe novel, Poodle Springs,
and to write a sequel to The Big Sleep. Within the past decade, Parker
has introduced series protagonists Chief Jesse Stone (Night Passage) and
female P.I. Sunny Randall (Family Honor). He has also written a handful
of Westerns, screenplays, and out this month, the teen novel Edenville Owls.
Parker makes no secret that his surge in productivity was motivated by money.
Some criticize his businesslike attitude, but the same attitude established him
as a reliable favorite, and there's no denying his particular gifts --
thoughtful characters, efficient prose, and appealing voice -- remain intact.
Gerald So is Fiction Editor for The Thrilling Detective Web Site and moderator of Spenser's Sneakers.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Awards | Permalink
Comments
Well deserved! I have enjoyed the Spenser series for years and think that his books are wonderful! He deserves this award!
Posted by: Willow Arune | May 1, 2007 9:48:55 AM
