James Welch

At 62 years old, James Welch physical status not available right now. We will update James Welch's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

He began his writing career publishing poetry and fiction. His novels established his place in the Native American Renaissance literary movement. Welch also taught at the university. He also received Honorary Doctorates from Rocky Mountain College (1993) and the University of Montana (1997).

James Welch was an internationally acclaimed writer and had a faithful following in Europe. In 1995, Welch was given the Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of the Arts and Letters) by the French Cultural Ministry. His novels were translated into nine foreign languages.

Welch's work was collected in Nothing but the Truth, an Anthology of Native American Literature. He is one of the early authors of what became called the Native American literary renaissance. He wanted to explore Native American life in his writing, both its good and bad aspects as people struggled with modern United States culture.

He based his rich landscape imagery on lands he knew in Montana. In his writing, the landscape was featured as a character. Welch had a unique style of writing from "'an outside observer with an insider's understanding' of Native American experience." Although he was raised on the reservation as a young boy, he lived most of his life off of it. He said that he felt a lack of close connection with the tribal community.

In 1968, James Welch married Lois Monk, a comparative literature professor at the University of Montana. She was head of the English Department there until her retirement. During her sabbaticals, they traveled internationally and lived in France, Greece, Italy, and Mexico. Welch often used these periods to help finish his novels, taking advantage of the relative isolation.

The couple donated regularly to the Piegan Institute's language immersion program, dedicated to restoring use of the native Blackfeet language.

Welch briefly attended Northern Montana College.

In her introduction to the 2007 reprint of Winter in the Blood, fellow writer Louise Erdrich said: "It is a central and inspiring text to a generation of western regional and Native American writers, including me."

In addition to his novels, Welch co-wrote with Paul Stekler the screenplay for Last Stand at Little Bighorn, the Emmy Award-winning documentary that was part of the American Experience, shown on PBS.

Welch served on the Board of Directors of the D'Arcy McNickle Center of the Newberry Library in Chicago.

Source