Editing Pat Conroy (section)

==Writing career==
As a graduate of The Citadel's Corps of Cadets, his experiences at The Citadel provided the basis for two of his best-known works, the novel ''[[The Lords of Discipline]]'' and the memoir ''[[My Losing Season]]''.<ref name="NYT-obit">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/05/books/pat-conroy-who-wove-his-family-strife-into-novels-of-carolina-dies-at-70.html|title=Pat Conroy, Author of 'The Prince of Tides' and 'The Great Santini,' Dies at 70|last=Grimes|first=William|date=March 5, 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630000450/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/05/books/pat-conroy-who-wove-his-family-strife-into-novels-of-carolina-dies-at-70.html|archive-date=June 30, 2018|author-link=William Grimes (journalist)}}</ref> The latter details his [[1966–67 The Citadel Bulldogs basketball team|senior year]] on the school's underdog basketball team, which won the longest game in the history of [[Southern Conference]] basketball against rival [[Virginia Military Institute]] in quadruple overtime in 1967.

His first book, ''[[The Boo (book)|The Boo]]'', is a collection of anecdotes about cadet life centering on Lt. Colonel [[Thomas Nugent Courvousie]], who had served as Assistant Commandant of Cadets at The Citadel from 1961 to 1968;<ref name=Boo>{{cite web|url=http://pao.citadel.edu/courvoisie|title=Lt. Col. Thomas Nugent Courvoisie - The Boo - passes away|access-date=July 7, 2007}}</ref> Courvoisie was the inspiration for the fictional character Colonel Thomas Berrineau, a.k.a. "The Bear", in ''The Lords Of Discipline''. Conroy began the book in 1968, after learning that Lt. Colonel Courvoisie had been removed from his position as assistant commandant and given a job in the warehouse; he paid to self-publish the book, borrowing the money from a bank.<ref name="NYT-obit"/><ref>Robertson, Brewster Milton (March 4, 2016). "[http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-ca-jc-conroy-books-capture-his-personal-pain-20160304-htmlstory.html ''From the Archives:'' Pat Conroy's books capture his personal pain, and 'Beach Music' is no exception]." ''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved March 5, 2016. Review of ''Beach Music'', originally published in ''The Times'' on June 27, 1995.</ref><ref>Conroy, Pat (May 3, 2006). "[http://www.citadel.edu/root/conroy_booeulogy Pat Conroy's eulogy to Lt. Col. Thomas Nugent Courvoisie]." ''The Citadel Newsroom''. The Citadel. Retrieved March 5, 2016.</ref>

After graduating from The Citadel, Conroy taught [[English studies|English]] in [[Beaufort, South Carolina]]; while there he met and married Barbara Jones, a young widow of the [[Vietnam War]] who was pregnant with her second child.<ref>Hoefer, Anthony D., Jr. (2008). "[https://books.google.com/books?id=VymaAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA228&lpg=PA228 Conroy, Pat]." ''The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Volume 9: Literature''. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. p. 228-229.</ref> He then accepted a job teaching children in a one-room schoolhouse on remote [[Daufuskie Island, South Carolina|Daufuskie Island]], [[South Carolina]]. 
 
Conroy was fired at the conclusion of his first year on the island for his unconventional teaching practices, including his refusal to use [[corporal punishment]] on students, and for his lack of respect for the school's administration. He later wrote ''[[The Water Is Wide (book)|The Water Is Wide]]'' based on his experiences as a teacher. The book won Conroy a humanitarian award from the [[National Education Association]] and an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.anisfield-wolf.org/|title=Home|website=Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards}}</ref> It was also made into a feature film, ''[[Conrack (1974 film)|Conrack]]'', starring [[Jon Voight]] in 1974. [[Hallmark Cards|Hallmark]] produced a television version of the book in 2006.

In 1976, Conroy published his novel, ''[[The Great Santini (novel)|The Great Santini]]''. The main character of the novel is [[U.S. Marine Corps|Marine]] fighter pilot Colonel "Bull" Meecham, who dominates and terrorizes his family. Bull Meecham also psychologically abuses his teenage son Ben. The character is based on Conroy's father Donald. (According to ''My Losing Season'', Donald Conroy was even worse than the character depicted in ''Santini''.<ref>Newsom, Jim. "Winter Reading", ''Port Folio Weekly'', December 17, 2002.</ref><ref>O'Neill, Molly. "Pat Conroy's Tale: Of Time and 'Tides'", ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 22, 1991.</ref>)

''The Great Santini'' caused friction within the Conroy family, who felt that he had betrayed family secrets by writing about his father. According to Conroy, members of his mother's family would picket his book signings, passing out pamphlets asking people not to buy the novel.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-12-vw-2560-story.html|title=Novelist Turns Adversity Into Profit : Pat Conroy's Family Is the Stuff of Fiction|date=1986-12-12|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> The friction contributed to the failure of his first marriage.<ref>[http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writerdetails.asp?cid=586909 Barnes and Noble author biography page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408223413/http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writerdetails.asp?cid=586909 |date=2009-04-08 }}. Accessed 22 October 2009.</ref> However, the book also eventually helped repair Conroy's relationship with his father, and they became very close. His father, looking to prove that he was not like the character in the book, changed his behavior drastically.<ref>[https://lcweekly.com/arts/books/pat-conroy-qnothings-off-the-recordq/ Pat Conroy interview], lcweekly.com; accessed July 13, 2023.</ref>

According to Conroy, his father would often sign copies of his son's novels, "I hope you enjoy my son's latest work of fiction." He would underline the word "fiction" five or six times. "That boy of mine sure has a vivid imagination. Ol' lovable, likable Col. Don Conroy, USMC (Ret.), the Great Santini."<ref>Conroy, Pat (2010). - ''My Reading Life'' (Chapter 6), Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group; {{ISBN|9780385533843}}.</ref> The novel was made into a [[The Great Santini|film of the same name]] in 1979, starring [[Robert Duvall]].

Publication of ''[[The Lords of Discipline]]'' in 1980 upset many of his fellow graduates of [[The Citadel (military college)|The Citadel]], who felt that his portrayal of campus life was highly unflattering. The novel was adapted for the screenplay of a [[The Lords of Discipline (film)|1983 film]] of the same name, starring [[David L. Keith|David Keith]] as Will McLean and [[Robert Prosky]] as Colonel "Bear" Berrineau. The rift was not healed until 2000, when Conroy was awarded an honorary degree and asked to deliver the commencement address the following year.

In 1986, Conroy published ''[[The Prince of Tides (novel)|The Prince of Tides]]'' about Tom Wingo, an unemployed South Carolina teacher who goes to New York City to help his sister, Savannah, a poet who has attempted [[suicide]], to come to terms with their past. The novel was made into a [[The Prince of Tides|film of the same name]] in 1991. Directed by [[Barbra Streisand]], the film was nominated for seven [[Academy Awards]], including [[Best Picture]].

In 1995, Conroy published ''[[Beach Music (novel)|Beach Music]]'', a novel about an American [[expatriate]] living in [[Rome]] who returns to South Carolina upon news of his mother's [[terminal illness]]. The story reveals his attempt to confront personal demons, including the suicide of his wife, the subsequent custody battle with his in-laws over their daughter, and the attempt by a film-making friend to rekindle old friendships which were compromised during the days of the Vietnam War.

In 2002, Pat Conroy published ''[[My Losing Season]]'' where he takes the reader through his last year playing basketball, as point guard and captain of the Citadel Bulldogs. ''The Pat Conroy Cookbook'', published in 2004, is a collection of favorite recipes accompanied by stories about his life, including many stories of growing up in South Carolina. In 2009, Conroy published ''[[South of Broad]]'', which again uses the familiar backdrop of [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]] following the suicide of newspaperman Leo King's brother, and alternates narratives of a diverse group of friends between 1969 and 1989.

In May 2013, Conroy was named [[editor]]-at-large of Story River Books, a newly created fiction division of the [[University of South Carolina Press]].<ref name="usc">{{cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/57213-pat-conroy-named-editor-at-large-for-usc-press.html|title=Pat Conroy Named Editor-at-Large for USC Press|last=Crutcher|first=Paige|date=May 13, 2013|publisher=[[Publishers Weekly]]|access-date=May 31, 2013}}</ref> In October 2013, four years after being first publicized,<ref name="USA Today">{{cite web|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2009-08-10-pat-conroy-profile_N.htm|title=Pat Conroy returns to familiar turf with 'South of Broad'|last=Minzesheimer|first=Bob|date=August 10, 2009|publisher=[[USA Today]]|access-date=October 28, 2013}}</ref> Conroy published a memoir called ''[[The Death of Santini]]'', which recounts the volatile relationship he shared with his father up until his father's death in 1998.<ref name="AP">{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/7012d8c176864e46ad0199ddde4c1b4f|title=Conroy Memoir About His Father Coming In October|website=[[Associated Press News]] |access-date=October 20, 2013}}</ref>

Conroy was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame on March 18, 2009.<ref name="hof">{{cite web|url=http://www.theofficialschalloffame.com/inductees_a-g.html|title=South Carolina Hall Of Fame: Pat Conroy|access-date=May 31, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507021741/http://www.theofficialschalloffame.com/inductees_a-g.html|archive-date=May 7, 2013}}</ref>