Charles Willeford

Charles Willeford was a highly accomplished author, known for his wide range of works that included poetry, crime fiction, and literary criticism. Born on January 2, 1919, in Little Rock, Arkansas, Willeford had a difficult childhood, with both of his parents dying of tuberculosis when he was young. He lived with his grandmother and later became a hobo in his early teens. Despite these challenges, Willeford went on to have a distinguished military career, serving in the Army Air Corps and later as a tank commander with the 10th Armored Division in Europe during World War II. He received several medals for his service, including the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts, and the Luxembourg Croix de Guerre.

Willeford's writing career spanned many years and produced a diverse body of work. His crime novels are particularly notable for their sparse, straightforward narrative style and lack of sentimentality. His first novel, "High Priest of California," was published in 1953, and he went on to write many other successful novels, including "Pick-Up," "Wild Wives," "The Woman Chaser," and "Cockfighter." He also wrote the short story anthology "The Machine in Ward Eleven," the poetry collections "The Outcast Poets" and "Proletarian Laughter," and the nonfiction book "Something About A Soldier." Willeford achieved his greatest success with a series of novels featuring hapless Florida homicide detective Hoke Moseley, including "Miami Blues," "New Hope for the Dead," "Sideswipe," and "The Way We Die Now."

In addition to his writing, Willeford was also a professor, radio presenter, horse trainer, magazine editor, boxer, and master sergeant in the U.S Air force and U.S army. He was married three times and was an associate editor for "Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine." Willeford's work has been adapted into movies, including "Cockfighter," "Miami Blues," and "The Woman Chaser." He died of a heart attack on March 27, 1988, at the age of 69.
Hoke Moseley Books
# Title Year
1 Miami Blues 1984
2 New Hope for the Dead 1985
3 Sideswipe 1987
4 The Way We Die Now 1988
Standalone Novels
# Title Year
1 High Priest of California 1953
2 Pick-Up 1955
3 Wild Wives 1956
4 The Black Mass of Brother Springer / Honey Gal 1958
5 Made in Miami / Lust Is A Woman 1958
6 The Woman Chaser 1960
7 Deliver Me from Dallas! / The Whip Hand 1961
8 Cockfighter 1962
9 No Experience Necessary 1962
10 The Burnt Orange Heresy 1971
11 The Difference / The Hombre from Sonora 1971
12 Kiss Your Ass Good-Bye 1987
13 The Shark-Infested Custard 1993
14 Understudy for Death 2018
Collections
# Title Year
1 The Machine in Ward Eleven 1963
2 Poontang and Other Poems 1967
3 The Second Half Of The Double Feature 2003
Plays
# Title Year
1 The Ordainment of Brother Springer 2009
Short Stories/Novellas
# Title Year
1 The Old Man at the Bridge 2009
2 Strange 2011
3 Sentences 2013
Non-Fiction Books
# Title Year
1 Off the Wall 1980
2 Something About a Soldier 1986
3 New Forms Of Ugly 1987
4 I Was Looking for a Street 1988
5 Collected Memoirs of Charles Willeford 1999
6 Writing & Other Blood Sports 2000
Charles Willeford Anthologies
# Title Year
1 Miami Noir 2020