Vance Bourjaily
| Vance Bourjaily | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 17, 1922 Cleveland, Ohio |
| Died | August 31, 2010 (aged 87) Greenbrae, California |
| Occupation | Novelist, Creative Writing instructor, newspaper editor, essayist |
| Nationality | United States |
| Genre | Fiction |
Vance Nye Bourjaily (September 17, 1922 – August 31, 2010) was an American novelist, playwright, journalist, creative writing teacher, and essayist.
Bourjaily was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Monte Ferris Bourjaily, a Lebanese immigrant who was a journalist and later became editor of the United Features Syndicate, and Barbara Webb, an American-born features author and novelist. Bourjaily moved several times during his youth. His childhood was spent in Connecticut, Virginia, and New York. Bourjaily graduated from Handley High School in Winchester, Virginia in 1939. After graduating, Bourjaily enrolled in Bowdoin College. With the coming of World War II, Bourjaily became a volunteer ambulance driver from 1942 to 1944. He then served two years in the army from 1944 to 1946. Bourjaily's time in the army was a central theme to many of his later writings. His Arab American themes are explored by literary critic Evelyn Shakir
Bourjaily graduated from Bowdoin College with a B.A. in 1947. While at Bowdoin, he became a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Theta chapter). After graduating, he lived for a few years in San Francisco, writing feature stories for the San Francisco Chronicle beforre moving to New York City in 1950.
Bourjaily married Bettina Yensen in 1946. The couple had three children. His daughter, Anna, along with the daughter's fifth grade classmate, were killed in a 1964 car accident, in which Bourjaily was driving. Yensen and Bourjaily later divorced.
Bourjaily remarried in 1985, to Yasmin Mogul (a former student) and had a son by her. According to his wife, Bourjaily died in Greenbrae, California on August 31, 2010 where he'd slipped into coma just a few days after suffering from a fall.
...
Wikipedia