Andrew Vachss

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Andrew Henry Vachss (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> October 19, 1942 – November 23, 2021) was an American crime fiction author, child protection consultant, and attorney exclusively representing children and youths.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Early life and career

Vachss grew up in Manhattan on the Lower West Side.<ref name="SandyRovner">Template:Cite news</ref> Before becoming a lawyer, Vachss held many front-line positions in child protection.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, and a New York City social-services caseworker. He worked in Biafra,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> entering the war zone just before the fall of the country.<ref name="vachss.com">Template:Cite web</ref> There he worked to find a land route to bring donated food and medical supplies across the border<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> after the seaports were blocked and Red Cross airlifts banned by the Nigerian government;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> however, all attempts ultimately failed, resulting in rampant starvation.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

After he returned and recovered from his injuries, including malaria and malnutrition,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Vachss studied community organizing in 1970 under Saul Alinsky.<ref name="vachss.com" /> He worked as a labor organizer and ran a self-help center for urban migrants in Chicago.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He then managed a re-entry program for ex-convicts in Massachusetts, and finally directed a maximum-security prison for violent juvenile offenders.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As an attorney, Vachss represented only children and adolescents.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition to his private practice, he served as a law guardian in New York state. In every child abuse or neglect case,<ref>McKinney's Cons. Laws of NY, Book 29A, Family Ct. Act §§ 241–249.</ref> state law requires the appointment of a law guardian, a lawyer who represents the child's interests during the legal proceedings.<ref>Under New York law, a law guardian also must be appointed in delinquency cases. At the judge's discretion, a law guardian may be appointed for a child in a custody dispute.</ref>

Writings

Andrew Vachss was the author of 33 novels and three collections of short stories, as well as poetry, plays, song lyrics, and graphic novels.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As a novelist, he was perhaps best known for his Burke series of hardboiled mysteries; Another Life<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> constituted the finale to the series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After completing the Burke novels, Vachss began two new series. Vachss released the first novel in the Dell & Dolly trilogy, entitled Aftershock, in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The second novel, Shockwave, was released in 2014,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Signwave, the final book, was published in June 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Departing from Vachss' familiar urban settings, the trilogy focuses on Dell, a former soldier and assassin, and Dolly, a former nurse with Doctors Without Borders and the love of Dell's life. While living in the Pacific Northwest, Dell and Dolly use their war-honed skills to maintain a "heads on stakes" barrier against the predators who use their everyday positions in the community as camouflage to attack the vulnerable.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Cross series uses distinctive supernatural aspects to further explore Vachss' argument that society's failure to protect its children is the greatest threat to the human species. In 2012, Vachss' published Blackjack: A Cross Novel,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> featuring the mercenary Cross Crew, introduced in earlier Vachss short stories as Chicago's most-feared criminal gang. Urban Renewal, the second novel in the Cross series, came out in 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The third in the series, Drawing Dead, was released in 2016.

In addition to the Aftershock, Burke, and Cross series, Vachss wrote several stand-alone works. The first novel he published outside the Burke series was Shella. Released in 1993, Shella was the most polarizing of his works in terms of critical response.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Vachss often referred to Shella as his "beloved orphan"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> until the 2004 release of The Getaway Man,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a tribute to the Gold Medal paperback originals of the 1960s. In 2005, Vachss released the epic Two Trains Running,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a novel which takes place entirely during a two-week span in 1959, a critical period in American history. In form, Two Trains Running presents as a work composed entirely of transcribed surveillance tapes,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> akin to a collage film constructed only of footage from a single source. His 2009 novel, Haiku,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> focuses on the troubled lives of a band of homeless men in New York City, struggling to connect with and protect each other. In 2010, Vachss published two books: his novel The Weight,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is a noir romance involving a professional thief and a young widow in hiding. Heart Transplant,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> an illustrated novel in an experimental design, tells the story of an abused and bullied young boy who finds his inner strength with the help of an unexpected mentor. That's How I Roll,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> released in 2012, chronicles the death-row narrative of a hired killer as he reveals the secrets of his past, both horrifying and tender.

Vachss collaborated on works with authors Jim Colbert (Cross, 1995)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Joe R. Lansdale (Veil's Visit, 1999).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also created illustrated works with artists Frank Caruso (Heart Transplant, 2010)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Geof Darrow (Another Chance to Get It Right, 1993;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Shaolin Cowboy Adventure Magazine, 2014).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Vachss' graphic novel, Underground, was released in November 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Vachss also wrote non-fiction, including numerous articles and essays on child protection<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a book on juvenile criminology.<ref>Archived at GhostarchiveTemplate:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineTemplate:Cbignore: Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> His books have been translated into 20 languages, and his shorter works have appeared in many publications, including Parade, Antaeus, Esquire, Playboy, and The New York Times.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Vachss' literary awards include the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for Strega [as La Sorcière de Brooklyn]; the Falcon Award, Maltese Falcon Society of Japan, for Strega; the Deutscher Krimi Preis for Flood [as Kata]; and the Raymond Chandler Award for his body of work.

Andrew Vachss was a member of PEN and the Writers Guild of America. His autobiographical essay was added by invitation to Contemporary Authors in 2003.

Child protection

Many of Vachss' novels feature the shadowy, unlicensed investigator Burke, an ex-con, career criminal, and deeply conflicted character. About his protagonist, Vachss said:

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Vachss coined the phrase "Children of the Secret", which refers to abused children, of whatever age, who were victimized without ever experiencing justice, much less love and protection.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the Burke novels, some of these Children of the Secret have banded together as adults into what Vachss called a "family of choice".<ref>Archived at GhostarchiveTemplate:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineTemplate:Cbignore: Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Their connection is not biological, and they form very loyal bonds. Most are career criminals; none allows the law to come before the duty to family.

Vachss originated the term "Circle of Trust."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which has since entered general circulation. Vachss coined the term to combat the mistaken over-emphasis on "stranger danger,"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a bias that prevents society from focusing on the most common way children are accessed for victimization:

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Another term Vachss originated is "Transcenders."

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Dogs

Another important theme that pervades Vachss' work is his love of dogs, particularly breeds considered "dangerous," such as Doberman pinschers, rottweilers, and especially pit bulls.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Throughout his writings,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Vachss asserted that with dogs, just as with humans, "you get what you raise."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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He was a passionate advocate against animal abuse such as dog-fighting,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and against breed-specific legislative bans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With fellow crime writer James Colbert, Vachss trained dogs to serve as therapy dogs for abused children. The dogs have a calming effect on traumatized children. Vachss noted that using these particular breeds further increases the victims' feelings of security; their "dangerous" appearance, in combination with the extensive therapy training, makes them excellent protection against human threats.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During her time as chief prosecutor, Alice Vachss regularly brought one such trained dog, Sheba, to work with abused children being interviewed at the Special Victims Bureau.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

When Vachss was 7 years old, an older boy swung a chain at his right eye. The resulting injuries damaged the eye muscles and resulted in his wearing an eyepatch.<ref>Rahner, Mark "Vachss' Work Emanates From His Own Cold Rage" Seattle Times (October 15, 2000). Retrieved on 3-09-14.</ref> According to Vachss, removing it had the effect of a strobe light flashing in his face. Vachss also had a small blue heart tattooed on his right hand.<ref>Dundas, Zach "The Haunted World of Andrew Vachss" Willamette Week (November 17, 1999). Retrieved on 2-09-13.</ref>

Vachss' wife, Alice, was a sex crimes prosecutor, and she later became Chief of the Special Victims Bureau in Queens, New York. She is the author of the nonfiction book Sex Crimes: Ten Years on the Front Lines Prosecuting Rapists and Confronting Their Collaborators, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She has continued her work as Special Prosecutor for Sex Crimes in rural Oregon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He died of coronary artery disease on November 23, 2021, at the age of 79 at his residence in Pacific Northwest.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Honors and awards

Professional honors and awards

  • A/V Peer Review (highest rating) by Martindale-Hubbell<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 2004, LL.D. (Hon.) Case Western Reserve University<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 2003, First Annual Harvey R. Houck Award (Justice for Children)
  • 2003, First Annual Illuminations Award (St. Vincent's Center National Child Abuse Prevention Program)
  • 1994, Childhelp Congressional Award<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 1976, John Hay Whitney Foundation Fellow
  • 1970, Industrial Areas Foundation Training Institute Fellow

Literary honors and awards

Bibliography

The Burke series

  1. Flood (1985)
  2. Strega (1987)
  3. Blue Belle (1988)
  4. Hard Candy (1989)
  5. Blossom (1990)
  6. Sacrifice (1991)
  7. Down in the Zero (1994)
  8. Footsteps of the Hawk (1995)
  9. False Allegations (1996)
  10. Safe House (1998)
  11. Choice of Evil (1999)
  12. Dead and Gone (2000)
  13. Pain Management (2001)
  14. Only Child (2002)
  15. Down Here (2004)
  16. Mask Market (2006)
  17. Terminal (2007)
  18. Another Life (2008)

The Cross series

  1. Blackjack: A Cross Novel (2012)
  2. Urban Renewal: A Cross Novel (2014)
  3. Drawing Dead: A Cross Novel (2016)

The Aftershock trilogy

  1. Aftershock (2013)
  2. Shockwave (2014)
  3. Signwave (2015)

Other novels

  • Shella (1993)
  • Batman: The Ultimate Evil (1995)
  • The Getaway Man (2003)
  • Two Trains Running (2005)
  • Haiku (2009)
  • The Weight (2010)
  • A Bomb Built in Hell (2012; set in the Burke universe, originally written in 1973 but refused by publishers on grounds of being "too violent"; first published as a German translation, Eisgott, in 2003)
  • That's How I Roll (2012)
  • Carbon (2019)
  • Blood Line (2022)

Novelettes

  • The Questioner (2018)

Short story collections

  • Born Bad (1994)
  • Everybody Pays (1999)
  • Proving It (2001) audiobook collection.
  • Dog Stories – online collection.
  • Mortal Lock (2013)

Comic books and graphic novels

  • Hard Looks (1992–93) – ten-issue series.
  • Andrew Vachss' Underground (1993–1994) – four-issue series of illustrated and non-illustrated short stories. Contains Vachss' "Underground" stories (that are also featured in Born Bad), as well as stories by other authors that exist within Vachss' "Underground" world.
  • Batman: The Ultimate Evil (1995) – two-issue adaptation of the novel.
  • Cross (1995) – seven-issue series with James Colbert.
  • Predator: Race War (1993) – five-issue series; (1995) collected edition.
  • Alamaailma (1997) – Finnish graphic novel, illustrating two of the "Underground" short stories from Born Bad.
  • Hard Looks (1996, 2002) – trade paperback.
  • Another Chance To Get It Right: A Children's Book for Adults (1993, 1995) (reprinted with additional material and new cover, 2003, 2016)
  • Heart Transplant (2010)
  • Underground (2014)

Plays

  • Placebo (in Antaeus, 1991)
  • Warlord (in Born Bad, 1994)
  • Replay (in Born Bad, 1994)

Non-fiction

  • The Life-Style Violent Juvenile: The Secure Treatment Approach (Lexington, 1979)
  • The Child Abuse-Delinquency Connection — A Lawyer's View (Lexington, 1989)
  • Parade Magazine articles (1985–2006)

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References

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