BORDEN, William (Vickers) 1938–

PERSONAL: Born January 27, 1938, in Indianapolis, IN; son of Harold Rudolph (an employee of the Internal Revenue Service) and Elizabeth Margaret (a secretary; maiden name, Vickers) Borden; married Nancy Lee Johnson (a psychologist), December 17, 1960; children: Andrew James, Sara Elise, Rachel Lynne Purcell; three grandchildren. Ethnicity: "White." Education: Columbia University, A.B., 1960; University of California—Berkeley, M.A., 1962.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—10514 Turtle River Lake Rd. N.E., Bemidji, MN 56601. Agent—Malaga Baldi, Malaga Baldi Agency, 2112 Broadway, Ste. 403, New York, NY 10023. E-mail—wborden@paulbunyan.net.

CAREER: University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, instructor, 1962–64, assistant professor, 1966–70, associate professor, 1970–82, professor of English, 1982–96, Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor, 1994–. Playwrights' Center, Minneapolis, MN, member of board of directors and playwright in residence, 1981–82, 1983–84, working resident playwright, 1982–83, core playwright, 1985–; Listening Winds Theatre, Bemidji, MN, playwright in residence, 1992–, member of board of directors, 1993–; Headwaters School of Music and the Arts, member of board of directors, 1998–, president, 1999–2000. Grand Forks Committee on Human Rights, member, 1970–73, chair, 1971–72; Grand Forks Herald, member of community editorial board, 1988–89.

MEMBER: PEN, Dramatists Guild, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, Authors Guild.

AWARDS, HONORS: Midwest Playwrights Program, award winner, 1981, for The Last Prostitute, award finalist, 1982, for Tap Dancing across the Universe, and 1983, for Loon Dance; Stanley Drama Award and finalist for San Jose State College Playwriting Contest, both 1981, for The Last Prostitute; American Radio Theater Award, best light comedy, 1981, for The Last President; Midwest Radio Theater Workshop Awards, 1982, for I Want to Be an Indian, and 1985, for Garage Sale; Unicorn Theater Playwriting Contest Award, Towngate Theater Playwriting Award, and finalist for Sergel Drama Award, all 1982, for Tap Dancing across the Universe; Performing Arts Repertory Theater Contest Award, 1982, for Unicorn; PEN Syndicated Fiction Award, 1985, for short story "Looking for the Safe Place"; Writer's Voice Competition for short story "Lap Dancers, 1998."

WRITINGS:

PLAYS

Unicorn (children's play), commissioned in Minneapolis, MN, by Playwrights' Center, 1981.

The Last Prostitute, first produced in New York, NY, at Raft Theater, 1982.

Tap Dancing across the Universe, first produced in Kansas City, MO, at Unicorn Theater, 1982.

I Want to Be an Indian (one-act), first produced as a radio play in Columbia, MO, by KOPN-FM Radio, 1982, then produced in Louisville, KY, at Actors Theater, 1982.

Jumping (one-act), first produced in Montville, NJ, at Barn Theater, 1983.

May Day (one-act), first produced in New York, NY, at Starfive Theater, 1984.

The Only Woman Awake Is the Woman Who Has Heard the Flute, produced in Denver, CO, at Changing Scene Theater, 1984.

Garage Sale (one-act), first produced in Washington, DC, at Source Theater, 1985.

Loon Dance, first produced in Arcata, CA, at Humboldt State University Theater, 1988.

Turtle Island Blues (play; produced 1991), Listening Winds Theater Press (Bemidji, MN), 2000.

Food for Love, 1996.

Also author of This Morning We Kill God, 1964, The Last President (radio play), 1982, When the Meadowlark Sings, 1988, Anna's Stone, 1989, Meet Again, 1990, Quarks, 1990, Don't Dance Me Outside, 1993, The Alien Hypothesis, 1994, and Food for Love, 1996.

OTHER

Superstoe (novel), Gollancz (England), 1967, Harper (New York, NY), 1968, reprinted, Orloff Press, 1996.

Teenage Sexuality (video script), KAVT (Austin, MN), 1983.

Drugs (video script), commissioned by Minnesota Institute, 1983.

Sakakawea: The Woman with Many Names (libretto), first produced in Grand Forks, ND, 1989.

Slow Step and Dance (poetry), Loonfeather Press, 1992.

Eurydice's Song (poetry), St. Andrews Press, 1999.

Also author of I Want to Be an Indian (film script based on his play of the same title). Work represented in anthologies, including From Seedbed to Harvest, Men Talk, and The Hungry Poet's Cookbook. Contributor of short stories, poetry, essays, and travel articles to periodicals, including New Orleans Review, Louisville Review, Milkweed Chronicle, Dakotah Territory, Wind Chimes, and Ford Times. Also author of short stories, including "Looking for the Safe Place" and "Lap Dancers, 1998." Fiction editor, North Dakota Quarterly, beginning 1984.

ADAPTATIONS: The play The Last Prostitute was optioned and produced by Universal Pictures, shown on Lifetime Television and on video.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Publishers Weekly, December 18, 1995, review of Superstoe, p. 45.