Crime writer Elmore John Leonard Jr. (1925–2013) was born on this day in New Orleans and grew up around Detroit, the city that shaped his ear for dialogue and earned him the nickname “the Dickens of Detroit.”

A master of lean prose, Leonard stripped away the unnecessary, letting his characters do the talking. “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it,” he said — a simple rule that made his style unmistakable.

His stories — sharp, witty, and human — unfolded in novels like Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and Rum Punch, adapted into the Tarantino film Jackie Brown. His dialogue crackled with rhythm and truth, capturing the real speech and moral ambiguity of everyday hustlers and dreamers.

Leonard once said, “I try to leave out the parts that readers tend to skip.” Behind that humor was a lifetime of discipline — writing longhand, revising by typewriter, and listening closely until his characters spoke for themselves.

His pages remind us that art is rewriting, refining, and trusting the ear within. Each word a choice, each line a rhythm of honesty and life.