Jimmy Lee Chandler (July 19, 1941 – August 10, 2017) was a Southern poet (see Southern literature) and novelist from Tennessee. Chandler's poetry evolved from the post-beat generation through the underground scene. His 276-page poetry collection Smoke & Thunder, was published in 2003. In 2006 he published his first novel, Parallel Blues.[1]
Chandler's works of poetry and prose have been published in a variety of magazines, newspapers and e-zines. Most notably, his poetry earned a coveted role in The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry anthology, edited by Alan Kaufman and S. A. Griffin, in 1999. The 685-page Outlaw Bible gives voice to unconventional poets from the beat poetry of the 1950s to the current age.
Chandler is included in the Tennessee State Library and Archives' Bibliography of Tennessee Local History Sources, Tennessee Authors of Adult Fiction, Poetry & Drama: 1970's - Present.[2] Additionally, four of his poetry collections are cataloged in the Brown University library.[3]
Chandler's poems, almost without fail, are autobiographical in nature, as are most of his stories, while others are based on characters he's known in settings with which he is familiar.[4]
"In short, I basically write what I know about, which is, or should be, the first rule of writing ... [M]ost of my poetry is of the 'meat' poet school-that is, it has its roots in reality, in happenings and occurrences. I'm a firm believer in that old adage, 'write what you know.' And what do we know better than the things we've been a part of?" (The McKenzie Banner, article chronicling his inclusion into the Tennessee State Library and Archives).
Chandler was the editor and publisher of Thunder Sandwich, an online magazine that featured the works of select writers of prose and poetry.
Chandler worked as a journalist for the Suburban News Bureau in St. Louis, Missouri, before returning to Tennessee in 1985, where for 15 years he was a reporter for The McKenzie Banner.
As a reporter for The McKenzie Banner, Chandler covered the murder of Dennis Brooks, Jr. in Huntingdon, Tennessee. He later wrote a book about the murder entitled Death on a Dark Highway: The Murder of Dennis Brooks, Jr.
Chandler was featured in an episode of the WE series Women Behind Bars. He was interviewed as a true crime writer and expert on the Brooks murder case.