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James Salter

ジェームズ・サルター

Jeimuzu Sarutā

Aliases: James Arnold Horowitz
Pen Names: James Salter（Pen name; later legally adopted）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1925-06-10 （Passaic, New Jersey, U.S.）
Died
2015-06-19 （Sag Harbor, New York, U.S.） age 90
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
New York (Manhattan), U.S. → France (extended stays) → Sag Harbor, New York, U.S.

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Short-story writer, Screenwriter
Active Years
1956-2015
Affiliations
The American Academy of Arts and Letters
Memberships
The American Academy of Arts and Letters
Influenced By
Isaac Babel, André Gide, Thomas Wolfe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway

Education

United States Military Academy (West Point)
Period: 1942–1945
Year of Graduation: 1945
Country: United States
Graduated in three years under a wartime-accelerated curriculum
Georgetown University
Degree: 修士
Period: 1948–1950
Year of Graduation: 1950
Country: United States
Completed postgraduate studies and received a master's degree in January 1950

Awards

PEN/Faulkner Award
1989
Work: Dusk and Other Stories
Organization: PEN/Faulkner Foundation
Result: 受賞
Rea Award for the Short Story
2010
Organization: Rea Award
Result: 受賞
PEN/Malamud Award
2012
Organization: PEN/Faulkner Foundation
Result: 受賞
Windham–Campbell Literature Prize
2013
Organization: Yale (Windham–Campbell Prize)
Result: 受賞
Fitzgerald Award for Achievement in American Literature
2014
Organization: F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival (Rockville)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Hunters

1956 War novel / Literary fiction

A novel set during the Korean War about fighter pilots — exploring the ambitions and disillusionment of men seeking glory.

WarHonor and disillusionmentMasculinity
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Hunters / Dick Powell (1958)

The Arm of Flesh / Cassada

1961 Literary fiction

Draws on his Air Force experiences; later extensively revised and republished as Cassada.

Military lifePersonal change

A Sport and a Pastime

1967 Literary fiction with erotic elements

Set in post-war France; a narrator recounts an erotic liaison in a manner that blends fantasy and desire.

DesireMemoryAdmiration for European culture

Light Years

1975 Literary fiction

A novel about long-term marriage and the passage of time, noted for its mature prose.

MarriageTimeMemory

Solo Faces

1979 Literary fiction (originated from a screenplay)

A novel that grew out of a rejected screenplay; reflects his experience in film writing.

Creativity and filmSolitude

Dusk and Other Stories

1988 Short story collection

A collection of short stories; one story ('Twenty Minutes') became the basis for a film.

Human relationshipsMemoryLoss

All That Is

2013 Literary fiction

A late-career novel that received strong reviews; deals with reminiscence and life assessment.

ReminiscenceAgingLoss and love

Bibliography

  • The Hunters (1956)
  • The Arm of Flesh (1961) / revised as Cassada
  • A Sport and a Pastime (1967)
  • Light Years (1975)
  • Solo Faces (1979)
  • Dusk and Other Stories (1988)
  • Burning the Days (1997)
  • Cassada (2012)
  • All That Is (2013)
  • Collected Stories (2013)

Adaptations

  • The Hunters (film, 1958)
  • Film 'Boys' (1996), based on the short story 'Twenty Minutes'

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Succinct, compressed proseFrequent use of short sentences and fragmentsNarrative shifts in person and tense
Recurring Motifs
Flight and military experienceAdmiration for France/European cultureDesire and adulteryThe past and memory

Legacy

Celebrated for his refined, condensed prose and regarded as a 'writer's writer.' While commercial success was limited, he received widespread critical acclaim and late-career honors. His papers are archived at the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.

Academic Societies

  • The American Academy of Arts and Letters

Archives

  • Harry Ransom Center (University of Texas at Austin)

In Popular Culture

  • Featured in the New South Wales Higher School Certificate (HSC) in 2014
  • Featured in Katie Roiphe's book 'The Violet Hour'

Quotes

  • They knew nothing of the past and its holiness.
    Source: The Hunters (1956)

Trivia

  • Born James Arnold Horowitz; later legally adopted the pen name James Salter.
  • Graduated from West Point after WWII and served as a USAF fighter pilot, flying over 100 combat missions in the Korean War.
  • The short story 'Twenty Minutes' was the basis for the 1996 film 'Boys.'
  • In 2014 he became the first Kapnick Writer-in-Residence at the University of Virginia.