Jimmy Lee Chandler (July 19, 1941 - August 10, 2017) was a Southern poet (see

Southern literature Southern United States literature consists of American literature written about the Southern United States or by writers from the region. Literature written about the American South first began during the colonial era, and developed significan ...

) and novelist from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Chandler's poetry evolved from the post- beat generation through the underground scene. His 276-page poetry collection ''Smoke & Thunder'', was published in 2003. In 2006 he published his first novel, ''Parallel Blues''.

Poetry and prose

Chandler's works of poetry and prose have been published in a variety of magazines, newspapers and e-zines. Most notably, his poetry earned a coveted role in ''

The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry ''The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry'', edited by Alan Kaufman (writer), Alan Kaufman, is an anthology of American underground poets and fringe poetry from the 1950s to the 2000s."Bunker Down with a Good Book" by Meagan Black, Arc Poetry Magazine, ...

'' anthology, edited by Alan Kaufman and S. A. Griffin, in 1999. The 685-page ''Outlaw Bible'' gives voice to unconventional poets from the beat poetry of the 1950s to the current age. Chandler is included in the Tennessee State Library and Archives' Bibliography of Tennessee Local History Sources, Tennessee Authors of Adult Fiction, Poetry & Drama: 1970's - Present. Additionally, four of his poetry collections are cataloged in the Brown University library. Chandler's poems, almost without fail, are

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

in nature, as are most of his stories, while others are based on characters he's known in settings with which he is familiar. ''"In short, I basically write what I know about, which is, or should be, the first rule of writing ... st of my poetry is of the 'meat' poet school-that is, it has its roots in reality, in happenings and occurrences. I'm a firm believer in that old adage, 'write what you know.' And what do we know better than the things we've been a part of?"'' (''The McKenzie Banner'', article chronicling his inclusion into the Tennessee State Library and Archives). Chandler was the editor and publisher of ''Thunder Sandwich'', an online magazine that featured the works of select writers of prose and poetry.

Journalism

Chandler worked as a journalist for the ''Suburban News Bureau'' in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, before returning to Tennessee in 1985, where for 15 years he was a reporter for
The McKenzie Banner
'. As a reporter for ''The McKenzie Banner'', Chandler covered the murder of Dennis Brooks, Jr. in Huntingdon, Tennessee. He later wrote a book about the murder entitled ''Death on a Dark Highway: The Murder of Dennis Brooks, Jr.'' Chandler was featured in an episode of the WE series ''Women Behind Bars''. He was interviewed as a true crime writer and expert on the Brooks murder case.

Bibliography

* work in ''Desert Poet'' 1978/1980 * work in '' Glyph'' 1981 * ''Kid Games'' (book) 1984 * work in ''Open 24 Hours'' 1984 * work in ''Parnassus'' 1984 * work in ''Rawbone'' 1984 * work in ''Impetus'' 1984-1985/2002 * work in ''Planet Detroit'' 1985 * ''St. Louis Blues & Other Poems'' (book) 1985 * work in '' Baltimore Sun'' Sunday magazine 1986 * work in ''Burnt Orphan'' 1986 * work in ''Bouillabaisse'' 1994 * work in ''Window Panes'' 1994 * work in ''Peshekee River Poetry'' 1999/2000 * ''The Word Is All There Is'' (book) 1999 * work in ''

'' anthology 1999 * work in 'Savoy'' 1999 * work in ''Red Rock Review'' anthology 2000 * work in ''Lost Highway'' anthology 2000 * work in '' Journal of Modern Writing'' 2001 * work in ''Butcher's Block'' 2000/2001 * featured poet ''Concrete Wolf'' 2001 * work in ''The-Hold'' 2000-2002 * ''Inside Jazz'' (book) 2003 * ''Smoke & Thunder'' 276-page collection 2003 * ''A Touch of Jazz'' (book) 2004 * ''Hillbilly Noir'' (fiction) 2004 * ''Parallel Blues'' (novel) 2006 * ''Death on a Dark Highway: The Murder of Dennis Brooks, Jr.'' (book) 2010 * ''Daddy's Fever and Other Stories'' (fiction) 2011 * ''Vampire Village Blues'' (novel) 2010 * ''The Fourth Night of Forever: Zombieland Blues'' (novel) 2014 * ''A Dunbrel of Quat'' (fnovel) 2016 * ''Broken Trail: A Western'' (novel) 2017 * ''A Fine Day to Travel: A Western'' (novel) 2017 * ''Bear Mountain'' (novel) 2017

References

External links

Books by Jim ChandlerTennessee State Library and Archives BibliographyBrown University Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Jim 1941 births 2017 deaths American magazine editors Writers from St. Louis 20th-century American novelists Poets from Tennessee 21st-century American novelists Poets from Missouri 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets American male novelists American male poets 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Missouri Novelists from Tennessee 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers