Hillerman, Tony

Tony Hillerman, writer and teacher, was born May 27, 1925 in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma. He grew up in the rural community and attended the only local grade school, a Catholic school for girls. When the United States entered World War II, Hillerman joined the army and served for two years in Europe. He returned to Oklahoma and received a BA from the University of Oklahoma in 1946.

He worked as a newspaper reporter in Texas and Oklahoma until he became UPI's Santa Fe Bureau Manager in 1952. In 1954 he joined the staff of the New Mexicanas a political reporter and later became an editor. He came to the University of New Mexico as a graduate student in English in 1962 and also worked as an assistant to President Popejoy. Hillerman received his MA in 1966 and became a professor of journalism, serving as department chair 1967-74. Taking a leave from teaching, he served as assistant to President Davis, 1975-77. During that period he worked toward the establishment of the Faculty Senate and helped Davis sort out an athletic department scandal, popularly known as lobogate. He retired from teaching in 1986.

Hillerman's journalism career influenced his later writing. His style, clear and direct, produced beautiful and vivid descriptions of the stark Southwestern landscape. His first novel, The Blessing Way, was published by Harper & Row in 1970. The University of New Mexico Press published a collection of stories, five of them from Hillerman's masters thesis, under the title, The Great Taos Bank Robbery, 1972. In addition to the popular and successful Navajo mystery series of novels (the tenth title in the series was published in 1990), Hillerman has written texts for photograph and travel books on New Mexico and the Southwest. Articles by Hillerman have appeared in New Mexico Quarterly, New Mexico Magazine, National Geographic Traveler, Arizona Highways and other magazines.

From the guide to the Tony Hillerman Photograph Collection, 1952-1989, (University of New Mexico, Center for Southwest Research)

Tony Hillerman. Photo by Cynthia Farah Haines, taken as part of "The Writers of the Southwest Project" PICT 986-008.

Tony Hillerman, writer and teacher, was born May 27, 1925 in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma. He grew up in the rural community and attended the only local grade school, a Catholic school for girls. When the United States entered World War II, Hillerman joined the army and served for two years in Europe. He returned to Oklahoma and received a BA from the University of Oklahoma in 1946.

He worked as a newspaper reporter in Texas and Oklahoma until he became UPI's Santa Fe Bureau Manager in 1952. In 1954 he joined the staff of the New Mexican as a political reporter and later became an editor. He came to the University of New Mexico as a graduate student in English in 1962 and also worked as an assistant to President Popejoy. Hillerman received his MA in 1966 and became a professor of journalism, serving as department chair 1967-74. Taking a leave from teaching, he served as assistant to President Davis, 1975-77. During that period he worked toward the establishment of the Faculty Senate and helped Davis sort out an athletic department scandal, popularly known as lobogate. He retired from teaching in 1986.

Hillerman's journalism career influenced his later writing. His style, clear and direct, produced beautiful and vivid descriptions of the stark Southwestern landscape. His first novel, The Blessing Way, was published by Harper & Row in 1970. The University of New Mexico Press published a collection of stories, five of them from Hillerman's masters thesis, under the title, The Great Taos Bank Robbery, 1972. In addition to the popular and successful Navajo mystery series of novels (the tenth title in the series was published in 1990), Hillerman has written texts for photograph and travel books on New Mexico and the Southwest. Articles by Hillerman have appeared in New Mexico Quarterly, New Mexico Magazine, National Geographic Traveler, Arizona Highways and other magazines.

From the guide to the Tony Hillerman Papers, 1964-1996, (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)