Borden Deal ( – ) was an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

Biography

Born Loysé Youth Deal in Pontotoc,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, Deal attended Macedonia Consolidated High School, after which he joined the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

and fought forest fires in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. Before he began writing, he worked on a

showboat A showboat, or show boat, was a floating theater that traveled along the waterways of the United States, especially along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, to bring culture and entertainment to the inhabitants of river frontiers. Showboats were a ...

, hauled sawdust for a lumber mill, harvested wheat, was an auditor for the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploym ...

, a telephone solicitor, copywriter, and an anti-aircraft fire control instructor in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

. In 1946, Deal enrolled in the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...

. While there he published his first short story, "Exodus". His creative writing professor was

Hudson Strode Hudson Strode (October 31, 1892 – September 22, 1976) was an author and professor of creative writing at the University of Alabama. He taught at the University of Alabama from 1916 until his retirement in 1963. His creative writing classes ...

. He received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree within three years, then enrolled in

Mexico City College Mexico City College was founded in 1940, as an English-speaking junior college in Mexico City, Mexico. In 1946, the college became a four-year Bachelor of Arts degree-awarding institution, changing its name to University of the Americas in 1963. ...

for graduate study. It was not until 1956 that Deal decided to become a full-time writer. Among the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s he used were Loyse Deal, Lee Borden, Leigh Borden, and Michael Sunga. A prolific writer, Deal penned twenty-one novels and more than one hundred short stories, many of which appeared in ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-f ...

'', ''

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...

'', '' Saturday Review'', and ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good House ...

''. His work has been translated into twenty different languages. A major theme in his canon is man's mystical attachment to the earth and his quest for land, inspired by his family's loss of their property during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. The majority of his work is set in the small hamlets of the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

. His novel ''The Insolent Breed'' served as the basis for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

A Joyful Noise ''A Joyful Noise'' is a musical with a book by Edward Padula and music and lyrics by Oscar Brand and Paul Nassau. The 1966 Broadway production was a flop but introduced choreographer Michael Bennett in his Broadway debut. Based on Mississipp ...

''. His novel ''Dunbar's Cove'' was the basis for the plot of the film ''

Wild River A wild river (United States, Australia, & New Zealand) or heritage river (Canada) is a :river or a river system designated by a government to be protected and kept "relatively untouched by development and are therefore in near natural conditio ...

'', starring

Lee Remick Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film ''Days of Wine and Roses (film), Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 ...

and

Montgomery Clift Edward Montgomery Clift (; October 17, 1920 – July 23, 1966) was an American actor. A four-time Academy Award nominee, he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men", according to ''The New York Times''. He is best remembered ...

. From 1970 Deal also published, under the name "Anonymous", a series of erotic novels with pronoun titles such as ''Her'' and ''Him''. However, after death, he is mostly remembered for his short story

Antaeus Antaeus (; Ancient Greek: Ἀνταῖος ''Antaîos'', "opponent", derived from , ''antao'' – 'I face, I oppose'), known to the Berbers as Anti, was a figure in Berber and Greek mythology. He was famed for his defeat by Heracles as part o ...

Personal life

Deal was married three times. He married his first wife, Lilian Slobotsky (variously Slobotzky), while studying in Mexico in 1949. According to one source, the couple had one daughter before the marriage ended in divorce. In 1952 he married his second wife, Babs Hodges (1929–2004), who was also a published author. They had one son and two daughters before divorcing in 1975. He was survived by his third wife, Patricia, whom he married in 1984.

Death

Deal died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

on January 22, 1985, aged 62.

Legacy

The papers of Borden and Babs Hodges Deal are held at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

Bibliography

* ''Walk Through the Valley'', 1956 * ''Dunbar's Cove'', 1957 * ''Search for Surrender'', 1957 * ''Killer in the Mansion'', 1957 * ''Secret of Sylvia'', 1958 (as Lee Borden) * ''The Insolent Breed'', 1959 * ''Dragon's Wine'', 1960 * ''The Devil's Whisper'', 1961 (as Lee Borden) * ''The Spangled Road'', 1962 * ''

'', 1962 * ''The Loser'' (New South Saga #1), 1964 * ''The Tobacco Men'', 1965 * ''A Long Way to Go'', 1965 * ''The Advocate'' (New South Saga #2), 1968 * ''Interstate'', 1970 * ''A Neo-Socratic Dialogue on the Reluctant Empire'', 1971 * ''The Winner'' (New South Saga #3), 1973 * ''The Other Room'', 1974 * ''Bluegrass'', 1976 * ''Legend of the Bluegrass'', 1977 (as Leigh Borden) * ''Adventure'', 1978 * ''The Taste of Watermelon'', 1979 * ''There Were Also Strangers'', 1985 * ''The Platinum Man'', 1986

References

External links

The Mississippi Writers Page
Biographical Note (Department of English, University of Mississippi)

Article, including photo and portrait of the author, as well as extensive bibliographic details (Starkville High School, Starkville, Mississippi)

Bibliographical listings; Periodicals

Official website for a short film based on Borden Deal's short story, The Big Baoor, about a young gypsy woman trying to swindle a fortune from a country spinster. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deal, Borden 1922 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American novelists Civilian Conservation Corps people Novelists from Mississippi People from Pontotoc, Mississippi University of Alabama alumni American male short story writers American male novelists 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers Mexico City College alumni