Andre Dubus
A master of the short story who illuminated the quiet, often brutal struggles for grace in the lives of ordinary New Englanders.
1936–1999 (age 63)·American writer·Birthday: August 11·The Silent Generation
Biography
Andre Dubus spent his literary career drilling into the hardscrabble lives of waitresses, mechanics, and soldiers around his native Massachusetts, finding profound moral drama in their daily choices. After serving in the Marine Corps and earning an MFA from the University of Iowa, he settled into a teaching life at Bradford College, writing with a disciplined, early-morning rigor. His stories, collected in volumes like 'Adultery & Other Choices' and 'The Times Are Never So Bad,' are unflinching examinations of faith, violence, and redemption. A tragic turning point came in 1986 when, helping a stranded motorist on a highway, he was struck by a car, resulting in the loss of one leg and the permanent use of the other. Confined to a wheelchair and in constant pain, his writing deepened rather than diminished; his later collections and the memoir 'Meditations from a Moveable Chair' are considered some of his most powerful work. Dubus's influence is felt in a generation of writers who admired his emotional precision and his unwavering focus on the human capacity for endurance.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Andre was born in 1936, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Andre Was Born
The biggest hits of 1936
#1 Movie
San Francisco
Best Picture
The Great Ziegfeld
Andre's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1936Born
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1941Started school
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1949Became a teenager
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1952Could drive
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1954Could vote
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1957Turned 21
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1966Turned 30
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1976Turned 40
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 50
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 60
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
1999Died at 63
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
Key Achievements
- Published several highly regarded short story collections, including 'Finding a Girl in America' and 'Dancing After Hours,' which won critical praise for their emotional depth.
- His story 'The Intruder' was adapted into a film in 1996, bringing his work to a wider audience.
- Received the PEN/Malamud Award, the Rea Award for the Short Story, and a MacArthur Fellowship (the 'Genius Grant') in recognition of his contribution to the short story form.
- His 1996 collection 'Dancing After Hours' was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Did You Know?
His son, Andre Dubus III, is also a celebrated author, best known for the novel 'House of Sand and Fog.'
Despite his severe injuries, he continued to write longhand, often balancing a clipboard on his lap for hours each day.
He was a devout Catholic, and themes of faith and moral consequence permeate much of his work.
Many of his stories are set in the Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts, where he lived for most of his life.
“We don't have to live great lives, we just have to understand and survive the ones we've got.”
