Interview with Spur Award Winner John Duncklee
An Award Winning Author Talks About His Writing Career
Jul 13, 2008
John Duncklee is an award-winning author of fifteen books, along with numerous other fiction and nonfiction stories, articles, and poems. He has written for diverse publications, such as Arizona Highways, Christian Science Monitor, Defenders of Wildlife and Journal of Irreproducible Results, He is the winner of the 2008 Spur Award from Western Writers of America (WWA) for Best Western Poem for El Corrido de Antonio Beltran, which was published in the anthology Open Range: Poetry of the Reimagined West.
Prior to becoming a full-time writer, John Duncklee had a diverse career. He was a university professor in both the United States and Mexico, a cattle rancher, a quarter horse breeder, and a mesquite furniture designer. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. A passionate environmentalist, Duncklee served an important role in protecting critical western wilderness areas from development.
Duncklee attributes his ability to be such a prolific writer to his love of writing, a good imagination, and his diverse life experiences. Unlike many writers, Duncklee rejects having a daily writing schedule, emphatically stating, “No, I cannot stand schedules of any kind and avoid them like the plague!”
Disowned
In 2007, Duncklee published the novel Disowned, the story of a man who one day was Mexican, and the next day was an American – and not by his choice. Set during the time after the United States made the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico, the novel recounts the spiritual journey of Carlos Montoya, a man whose family land was stolen from him in dishonest court proceedings. His quest for vengeance turns into an unexpected experience of self-discovery and connection with his ancestors. The book grew from Duncklee's interest in southwestern history and from studying how Texans seeking ranch land and cattle had taken control of property which had belonged to Mexican families for generations.
El Corrido de Antonio Beltran
John Duncklee's compassion for the Mexican people influenced the creation of his work which recently won him the 2008 Spur Award for Best Western Poem. “El Corrido de Antonio Beltran,” said Duncklee, “ is based on the many so-called illegals I met while ranching and farming in southern Arizona.” Duncklee stated that he “always had a pot of beans ready to heat and serve to these many visitors,” and that he “joined in many a conversation in order to become acquainted with these friends from across the border.”
The importance of El Corrido de Antonio Beltran was also recognized by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, which awarded Duncklee a $5,000 unrestricted fellowship for excellence in poetry.
Upcoming Projects
With Duncklee's extensive writing about the American West, his new book project seems somewhat surprising at first. When asked about his next book, Duncklee states that he is “working on a major novel that traces the population of Planet Earth by humanoids from a far off galaxy.” Despite being a departure from his usual works, Duncklee has not found writing in a different genre to be particularly challenging because he has been thinking about this book for many years. “It is complicated in many ways, but that is what makes it enjoyable to write,” he said.
Writing Advice
John Duncklee's advice for aspiring writers is simple. “Write about what you know. Write and keep writing. Never worry about where to sell a manuscript, and be very careful with whom you entrust your work.”
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