*Do you remember where you were when you first heard that E. Lynn Harris had died?
As we approach the first year anniversary of the author’s passing and the debut of his final novel, “In My Father’s House,” many will without a doubt recall Thursday, July 23, 2009 as if it were only yesterday.
Born Everette Lynn Harris on June 20, 1955, E. Lynn Harris will be remembered for numerous attributes: A New York Times best selling author, a wonderful son, brother, uncle, great friend and a generous celebrity. However, his legacy will also be heralded as a most courageous champion; someone who opened the door to reveal a way of life that has had an impact on many lives. And while we will never know for sure that the “down-low” would not have eventually revealed itself, it was arguably the authentic storytelling of E. Lynn Harris that made audiences return repeatedly to learn more.
EUR’s Lee Bailey recently spoke with two of Mr. Harris’ closest friends, who described their relationship with the author and humanitarian; the type of person he was outside of his celebrity; the special name he gave to his “5 best girlfriends,” how he felt about family; his personality and how it affected his writing.
One of these girlfriends is U. S. District Court Judge Vanessa D. Gilmore. No slouch in her own right, Judge Gilmore may be best known for presiding over the Enron Broadband trial in 2005 where, according to Wikipedia, she declared a mistrial after jurors were unable to reach a consensus.
“Lynn and I met in 1977 right after we had both graduated from college. I was living in Houston and he was living in Dallas. I worked with his friend Butch Carroll. When Lynn and I met, we became fast friends. He really was my brother from another mother,” says the judge who has also authored a coloring book for children of incarcerated parents. “In those early days, we all had great jobs and loved spending our free time just having fun. We started a group called FBWTTR – which stood for, For Blacks Who Think They’re Rich. Our motto was, we’re not, we only think we are. But we were rich in friends. Lynn supported me all through law school so when he said he wanted to quit his job to write full time, I did everything I could to be supportive of him. We sold his first book from the trunk of my car at beauty shops. I never dreamed in those early days that he would become such a successful writer, but I think Lynn always dreamed big.”
Admired for the respect he showed his fans – often remembering birthdays and other important details; his support of upcoming writers and his love for the Arkansas Razorbacks at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he was the first Black, male cheerleader, Harris had a hard time landing a book deal after completing his first novel, “Invisible Life.”
Thank goodness for Martha Levin at Doubleday, who apparently green-lighted the Anchor Books publication!
“Lynn was very disciplined about his writing, continues Judge Gilmore. “As close as we were, there were certain hours of the day that I knew I should not call him unless it was an emergency. Even then, however, he was always happy to hear from my son and would stop whatever he was doing to spend time with him. He loved his friends and family but more than anything, he loved the Arkansas Razorbacks. During football season he would arrange his entire life to make sure that he didn’t miss any games…During the last several years of his life he worked as a volunteer cheer coach while he was working at the University teaching writing.”
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As we approach the first year anniversary of the author’s passing and the debut of his final novel, “In My Father’s House,” many will without a doubt recall Thursday, July 23, 2009 as if it were only yesterday.
Born Everette Lynn Harris on June 20, 1955, E. Lynn Harris will be remembered for numerous attributes: A New York Times best selling author, a wonderful son, brother, uncle, great friend and a generous celebrity. However, his legacy will also be heralded as a most courageous champion; someone who opened the door to reveal a way of life that has had an impact on many lives. And while we will never know for sure that the “down-low” would not have eventually revealed itself, it was arguably the authentic storytelling of E. Lynn Harris that made audiences return repeatedly to learn more.
EUR’s Lee Bailey recently spoke with two of Mr. Harris’ closest friends, who described their relationship with the author and humanitarian; the type of person he was outside of his celebrity; the special name he gave to his “5 best girlfriends,” how he felt about family; his personality and how it affected his writing.
One of these girlfriends is U. S. District Court Judge Vanessa D. Gilmore. No slouch in her own right, Judge Gilmore may be best known for presiding over the Enron Broadband trial in 2005 where, according to Wikipedia, she declared a mistrial after jurors were unable to reach a consensus.
“Lynn and I met in 1977 right after we had both graduated from college. I was living in Houston and he was living in Dallas. I worked with his friend Butch Carroll. When Lynn and I met, we became fast friends. He really was my brother from another mother,” says the judge who has also authored a coloring book for children of incarcerated parents. “In those early days, we all had great jobs and loved spending our free time just having fun. We started a group called FBWTTR – which stood for, For Blacks Who Think They’re Rich. Our motto was, we’re not, we only think we are. But we were rich in friends. Lynn supported me all through law school so when he said he wanted to quit his job to write full time, I did everything I could to be supportive of him. We sold his first book from the trunk of my car at beauty shops. I never dreamed in those early days that he would become such a successful writer, but I think Lynn always dreamed big.”
Admired for the respect he showed his fans – often remembering birthdays and other important details; his support of upcoming writers and his love for the Arkansas Razorbacks at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he was the first Black, male cheerleader, Harris had a hard time landing a book deal after completing his first novel, “Invisible Life.”
Thank goodness for Martha Levin at Doubleday, who apparently green-lighted the Anchor Books publication!
“Lynn was very disciplined about his writing, continues Judge Gilmore. “As close as we were, there were certain hours of the day that I knew I should not call him unless it was an emergency. Even then, however, he was always happy to hear from my son and would stop whatever he was doing to spend time with him. He loved his friends and family but more than anything, he loved the Arkansas Razorbacks. During football season he would arrange his entire life to make sure that he didn’t miss any games…During the last several years of his life he worked as a volunteer cheer coach while he was working at the University teaching writing.”
more>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
