Dennis Lehane

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Dennis Lehane

Dennis Lehane at Barnes & Noble Union Square, New York City, 15 August 2006.
Born August 4, 1965 (1965-08-04) (age 42)
Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts
Occupation Novelist, screenwriter
Nationality American
Genres Crime fiction, mystery fiction
Official website

Dennis Lehane (born August 4, 1965)[1] is an American author. He has written several award-winning novels, including A Drink Before the War and the New York Times bestseller Mystic River, which was later made into an Academy Award-winning film. Another novel, Gone, Baby, Gone, was also adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Lehane was born and reared in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, and continues to live in the Boston area, which provides the setting for most of his books. He spent summers on Fieldston Beach in Marshfield.[2] Lehane is the youngest of five children. His father was a foreman for Sears & Roebuck and his mother worked in a Boston public school cafeteria.[3] Both of his parents immigrated from Ireland.[4] His brother, Gerry Lehane, who is two and a half years older than Dennis, is a veteran actor who trained at the Trinity Repertory Company in Providence before heading to New York in 1990. Gerry is currently a member of the Invisible City Theatre Company.[5]

He was previously married to Sheila, an advocate for the elderly for the city of Boston.[6] Currently, he is engaged to Dr. Angela Bernardo.[7]

He is a graduate of Boston College High School (a Boston Jesuit prep school)[4], Eckerd College (where he found his passion for writing), and the graduate program in creative writing at Florida International University in Miami, Florida.

[edit] Career

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Please improve this article if you can. (February 2008)

[edit] Literary Career

His first book, A Drink Before the War (1994), which introduced the recurring characters Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, won the 1995 Shamus Award for Best First P.I. Novel. The fourth book in the series, Gone, Baby, Gone, has been adapted to a film of the same title in 2007; it was directed by Ben Affleck and starred Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan as Kenzie and Gennaro.[8] When commenting on a movie after receiving a sneak peak, Lehane commented that "I saw the movie and it's terrific, I wasn't gonna say anything if I didn't like it but it's really terrific."[9] Reportedly, Lehane "has never wanted to write the screenplays for the films [based on his own books], because he says he has 'no desire to operate on my own child.'"[2]

Lehane's Mystic River was made into a film in 2003; also called Mystic River and directed by Clint Eastwood, it stared Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon (Lehane can be briefly seen waving from a car in the parade scene at the end of the film). The novel itself was a finalist for the PEN/Winship Award and won the Anthony Award and the Barry Award for Best Novel, the Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction, and France's Prix Mystère de la Critique.

Lehane's first play, Coronado, debuted in New York in December 2005. The play had its regional premiere at American Stage in St. Petersburg in April 2006[10] and its Midwest premiere in the fall of 2007 with Steep Theatre Company in Chicago. Coronado is based on his acclaimed short story Until Gwen,[11] which was originally published in The Atlantic Monthly and was selected for both The Best American Short Stories and The Best Mystery Short Stories of 2005.[5]

Lehane is reportedly working on an historical novel—described as "a five- or six-year project"—that begins in 1918 and encompasses the 1919 Boston Police Strike and its aftermath.[12] According to Lehane, "The strike changed everything....It had a big effect on the unionization movement, and Prohibition came on the heels of that, then Calvin Coolidge promising to break the unions. That's all linked to what's going on now.".[12] While Lehane's epic novel would center on the 1919 Boston police strike, it will contain a national sweep and might be the first of a trilogy or perhaps a four-book series.[13] Lehane has called the novel his "great white whale" and has said that when he finally finishes it, he will "either write a sequel—or take a break from the cops and return to Patrick and Angie."[9] The book is reportedly titled The Given Day.[14]

On 22 October 2007 Columbia Pictures announced that they had optioned Shutter Island with Martin Scorsese, the director of The Departed, attached as director.[15] The Laeta Kalogridis-scripted adaptation has Leonardo DiCaprio in final talks to play U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels, "who is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island."[16]

[edit] Teaching Career

Since becoming a literary success after the broad appeal of his Kenzie and Gennaro novels, as well as the success of Mystic River (as both a movie and a novel), Lehane has taught at several colleges. He taught fiction writing and serves as a member of the board of directors for a low-residency MFA program sponsored by Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.[17] He has also been involved with the Solstice Summer Writers' Converence at Boston's Pine Manor College and taught advanced fiction writing at Harvard University, where his classes quickly filled up.

In May 2005, Lehane was presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Eckerd College and was appointed to Eckerd's Board of Trustees later that year. As of June 2006, he was living temporarily in St. Petersburg, Florida, and teaching as writer-in-residence at Eckerd (usually during the spring semester), where he also co-directs the Writers in Paradise conference each January.[18]

[edit] Filmography Career

Lehane joined the writing staff of the HBO drama series The Wire in 2004.[19][20] He wrote episode 3.03 entitled "Dead Soldiers" (2004)[21][22], episode 4.04 entitled "Refugees" (2006).[23][24] and episode 5.08 entitled "Clarifications" (2008).[25][26] He made a cameo appearance in episode 3.11 "Middle Ground" as Sullivan, an officer in charge of special equipment.[27][28] Lehane has commented that he was impressed by the show's creators David Simon and Ed Burns' ear for authentic street slang.[29]

[edit] Works

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] The Kenzie-Gennaro novels

[edit] Other works

[edit] Filmography

[edit] References

  1. ^ Asgenar’s Writing Info. The Writer’s Almanac. [1]
  2. ^ a b "Lehane likes to keep it close to home; Dorchester native favors South Shore locales" by Kristen Walsh. The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA). June 9, 2007. Pg. ONE21.
  3. ^ Bio: Dennis Lehane. Mystery Authors Online. 2004. Accessed July 13, 2007.
  4. ^ a b Introduction of Dennis Lehane by Dr. Donald R. Eastman, III. Eckerd College Commencement 2005. Accessed July 13, 2007.
  5. ^ Dennis Lehane Interview by Linda Richards. January Magazine March 2001. Accessed July 13, 2007.[2]
  6. ^ 'Gone' scribe makes scene with his fave character, Angie. The Boston Herald. NEWS; Pg. 014. October 17, 2007.
  7. ^ IMDB Gone, Baby, Gone entry. [3]
  8. ^ a b "Inside Track; Lehane: `Gone' great, baby, great" by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa with Erin Hayes. The Boston Herald. July 10, 2007. Pg. 010.
  9. ^ coronadotheplay.com
  10. ^ "After tedious first act, dark drama kicks into overdrive" by Marty Clear. St. Petersburg Times (Florida). April 27, 2006. Pg. 2B.
  11. ^ a b "Boston's Uncommon Bestseller: Dennis Lehane takes life, success and the mystery genre in hand" by Edward Nawotka. Publishers Weekly (April 14, 2003). Retrieved on 2007-05-06.
  12. ^ "Novelist sees college as creative hub" by Jon Wilson. St. Petersburg Times (Florida). September 25, 2005. Pg. 9.
  13. ^ Staying True to His Words. Steve Persall. St. Petersburg Times (Florida). Floridian; Pg. 1E. October 18, 2007.
  14. ^ "Scorsese, DiCaprio team for 'Island': Paramount, Columbia to co-produce film" by Michael Fleming. Variety (October 22, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  15. ^ Scorsese, DiCaprio Team Up for Shutter Island. Gillian Reagan. New York Observer. October 23, 2007.
  16. ^ "Just call him Professor Lehane" by Carol Beggy and Mark Shanahan. The Boston Globe. July 12, 2006. Pg. E2.
  17. ^ The Eckerd College Writers in Paradise Home Page [4]
  18. ^ Dennis Lehane biography. HBO (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-16.
  19. ^ Season 3 crew. HBO (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-16.
  20. ^ Episode guide - episode 28 Dead Soldiers. HBO (2004). Retrieved on 2006-08-07.
  21. ^ "Dead Soldiers". David Simon, Dennis Lehane. The Wire. HBO. 2004-10-03. No. 03, season 3.
  22. ^ Episode guide - episode 41 Refugees. HBO (2006). Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
  23. ^ "Refugees". Dennis Lehane, Ed Burns. The Wire. HBO. 2004-10-31. No. 04, season 4.
  24. ^ Episode guide - episode 58 Clarifications. HBO (2008). Retrieved on 2008-24-02.
  25. ^ "Clarifications". Dennis Lehane, David Simon. The Wire. HBO. 2008-24-02. No. 08, season 5.
  26. ^ Episode guide - episode 36 middle ground. HBO (2004). Retrieved on 2006-08-09.
  27. ^ "Middle Ground". David Simon, George P. Pelecanos. The Wire. HBO. 2004-12-12. No. 11, season 3.
  28. ^ Margaret Talbot (2007). Stealing Life. The New Yorker. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  29. ^ Episode guide - episode 28 Dead Soldiers. HBO (2004). Retrieved on 2006-08-07.
  30. ^ "Dead Soldiers". David Simon, Dennis Lehane. The Wire. HBO. 2004-10-03. No. 03, season 3.
  31. ^ Episode guide - episode 41 Refugees. HBO (2006). Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
  32. ^ "Refugees". Dennis Lehane, Ed Burns. The Wire. HBO. 2004-10-31. No. 04, season 4.
  33. ^ Episode guide - episode 58 Clarifications. HBO (2008). Retrieved on 2008-24-02.
  34. ^ "Clarifications". Dennis Lehane, David Simon. The Wire. HBO. 2008-24-02. No. 08, season 5.

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Lehane, Dennis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Novelist
DATE OF BIRTH 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH