Biography

He was a natural story-teller who credited his time in the Marines with giving him time to read. After leaving the military, he graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in journalism. He started out as a night police reporter for the Memphis Commercial Appeal and eventually became London bureau chief for the New York Herald Tribune.

In June 2020, a few months after his death, Portis was the subject of an eloquent, personal front-page tribute by best-selling author Donna Tartt on the cover of the New York Times Book Review, appropriately titled "True Grit.".

Portis abruptly quit his Herald Tribune post in the early 1960s , returning to his native Arkansas, gaining a bit of a reputation as a "recluse.".

After high school, Portis worked as an auto mechanic, until 1952, when at age 18, he joined the Marines over the objections of his father, who was a teacher. He served in the Korean war and left the service as a sergeant.

Ron Rosenbaum of Esquire Magazine profiled Portis as America's "least-known great writer.".