William O'Rourke (born December 4, 1945) is an American writer of both novels and volumes of nonfiction; he is the author of the novels ''The Meekness of Isaac'' (Thomas Y. Crowell, Co., 1974), ''Idle Hands'' (Delacorte Press, 1981), ''Criminal Tendencies'' (E. P. Dutton, 1987), and ''Notts'' (Marlowe & Co, 1996), as well as the nonfiction books, ''The Harrisburg 7 and the New Catholic Left'' (Thomas Y. Crowell, Co., 1972), ''Signs of the Literary Times: Essays, Reviews, Profiles'' (SUNY Press, 1993), and ''On Having a Heart Attack: A Medical Memoir'' (U of Notre Dame P, 2006). He is the editor of ''On the Job: Fiction About Work by Contemporary American Writers'' (Random House, 1977) and the co-editor of ''Notre Dame Review: The First Ten Years'' (U of Notre Dame P, 2009). His book, ''Campaign America '96: The View From the Couch'', first published in 1997 (Marlowe & Co.), was reissued in paperback with a new, updated epilogue in 2000. A sequel, ''Campaign America 2000: The View From the Couch'', was published in 2001 (PreviewPort Editions).
He has been awarded two
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
fellowships (for the novels ''Idle Hands'' and ''Criminal Tendencies'') and he was the first James Thurber Writer-in-Residence in 1984 at the
Thurber House
Thurber House is a literary center for readers and writers located in Columbus, Ohio, in the historic former home of author, humorist, and ''New Yorker'' cartoonist James Thurber. Thurber House is dedicated to promoting the literary arts by pr ...
in Columbus, Ohio, and was awarded a New York State Council on the Arts award for his first novel, ''The Meekness of Isaac''. ''On Having a Heart Attack'' was awarded a Bronze Medal in ''
ForeWord Magazine's'' 2006 Book of the Year Awards, Health category.
Born in Chicago and raised in Kansas City, Mo., he attended
University of Missouri–Kansas City
The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...
, graduating in 1968 and completed an M.F.A. at Columbia University in 1970. His first book, ''The Harrisburg 7 and the New Catholic Left'' (1972), covered the trial of the a group of religious anti-war activists, known as the "Harrisburg Seven," and his account was heralded by Garry Wills in the New York Times Book Review as "the best volume on any of the recent political trials" and "a clinical X ray of our society's condition."
He followed up his court reporting with his first novel, ''The Meekness of Isaac'' (1974), while working as a laborer at Feller's Scenery Studio in the South Bronx. He then moved to teaching at various universities.
O'Rourke taught journalism at Newark State College (now
Kean University) from 1973–74, before moving to
Rutgers–Newark (journalism and creative writing) and then
Mount Holyoke College (creative writing) in South Hadley, MA. In 1981, he joined the English department at the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
, where he was the founding director of its graduate creative writing program in 1990-91 and continues as professor and the editor of its national literary journal, the ''
Notre Dame Review''.
He wrote a weekly political column for the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
'' from 2001 till 2005, as well as, over the years, short nonfiction and criticism for ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
'', ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', ''
Commonweal'', the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'', and other periodicals.
Published books
Fiction
*''The Meekness of Isaac'' (1974)
* ''Idle Hands'' (1981)
* ''Criminal Tendencies'' (1987)
* ''Notts'' (1996)
Nonfiction
* ''The Harrisburg 7 and the New Catholic Left'' (1972)
* ''Signs of the Literary Times: Essays, Reviews, Profiles'' 1970-1992 (1993)
* ''Campaign America '96: The View From the Couch'' (1997)
* ''Campaign America 2000: The View From the Couch'' (2001)
* ''On Having a Heart Attack: A Medical Memoir'' (2006)
* ''Confessions of a Guilty Freelancer'' (2012)
Edited works
* ''On the Job: Fiction About Work by Contemporary American Writers'' (1977)
* ''Notre Dame Review: The First Ten Years'' (2009)
References
External links
William O'Rourke's Personal Website''View from the Couch'', William O'Rourke's blogFaculty Profile at University of Notre DameReview of ''Campaign America '96''
{{DEFAULTSORT:ORourke, William
20th-century American novelists
American male novelists
University of Notre Dame faculty
National Endowment for the Arts Fellows
American columnists
Writers from Chicago
20th-century American memoirists
1945 births
Living people
20th-century American male writers
Novelists from Illinois
Novelists from Indiana
American male non-fiction writers
Mount Holyoke College faculty