Allen Wier
Encyclopedia
Allen Wier is an American writer
and a professor at the University of Tennessee
.
Wier was born in 1946 in San Antonio, Texas
and spent parts of his childhood in Louisiana
and Mexico
. He taught at Longwood College, Carnegie-Mellon University, Hollins College
, the University of Texas, Florida International University
, and the University of Alabama
where he directed the Master of Fine Arts
program in Creative Writing.
In 2003, Wier was inducted into the prestigious Fellowship of Southern Writers
along with Barry Hannah
and Yusef Komunyakaa
among others. He is widely published in anthologies and periodicals, including The New York Times
, Ploughshares
, and The Southern Review.
Wier was previously married to the poet Dara Wier
.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and a professor at the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
.
Wier was born in 1946 in San Antonio, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and spent parts of his childhood in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. He taught at Longwood College, Carnegie-Mellon University, Hollins College
Hollins University
Hollins University is a four-year institution of higher education, a private university located on a campus on the border of Roanoke County, Virginia and Botetourt County, Virginia...
, the University of Texas, Florida International University
Florida International University
Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...
, and the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
where he directed the Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
program in Creative Writing.
In 2003, Wier was inducted into the prestigious Fellowship of Southern Writers
Fellowship of Southern Writers
The Fellowship of Southern Writers is a literary organization founded in 1987 in Chattanooga, Tennessee by 21 Southern writers and other literary luminaries...
along with Barry Hannah
Barry Hannah
Howard Barry Hannah was an American novelist and short story writer from Mississippi.The author of eight novels and five short story collections , Hannah worked with notable American editors and publishers such as Gordon Lish, Seymour Lawrence, and Morgan Entrekin...
and Yusef Komunyakaa
Yusef Komunyakaa
Yusef Komunyakaa is an American poet who currently teaches at New York University and is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Komunyakaa is a recipient of the 1994 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, for Neon Vernacular and the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. He also received the Ruth Lilly...
among others. He is widely published in anthologies and periodicals, including The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Ploughshares
Ploughshares
Ploughshares is an American literary magazine founded in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, Ploughshares has been based at Emerson College in the heart of Boston...
, and The Southern Review.
Wier was previously married to the poet Dara Wier
Dara Wier
Dara Wier is an American poet and the author of eleven books of poetry, including most recently SELECTED POEMS from Wave Books. Awards include the Jerome J. Shestack Poetry Prize from the American Poetry Review, Pushcart Prize, San Francisco Poetry Center Prize. Her work is in Best American Poetry...
.
Education
- Baylor UniversityBaylor UniversityBaylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
(BA) - Louisiana State UniversityLouisiana State UniversityLouisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
(MA) - Bowling Green University (MFA)
Awards
- Awarded the 27th John Dos Passos Prize for Literature, presented in November, 2008
- Special mention for his short story "The Taste of Dirt" in the Pushcart PrizePushcart PrizeThe Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured....
volume 2005 - Inducted into the Fellowship of Southern WritersFellowship of Southern WritersThe Fellowship of Southern Writers is a literary organization founded in 1987 in Chattanooga, Tennessee by 21 Southern writers and other literary luminaries...
in 2003 - University of Tennessee Distinguished Teaching Chair, 2000–2003
- University of Tennessee Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Achievement, 1998
- Robert Penn Warren Award for Fiction—Fellowship of Southern Writers, 1997
- Travel Writer of the Year--Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel, 1994
- Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in Fiction - Dobie-Paisano Fellowship--University of Texas and Texas Institute of Letters
- Breadloaf Fellowship
- Texas Institute of Letters Award in Short Fiction
- National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Fellowship
Books
- Blanco (LSU Press 1978, Avon/Bard 1980, and Harper & Row 1989)
- Things About to Disappear (LSU Press 1978 and Avon/Bard 1980)
- Departing as Air (Simon & Schuster, 1983)
- A Place for Outlaws (Harper & Row, 1989)
- Tehano (Southern Methodist University Press, 2006)
Other publications
- (editor) Walking on Water and other stories (University of Alabama Press 1996)
- (editor) Voicelust: Eight Contemporary Writers on Style (University of Nebraska Press 1985)
External links
- Allen Wier's website
- Allen Wier at the University of Tennessee
- Allen Wier at The Knoxville Writers' Guild
- Selection from "Departing as Air" in Ploughshares
- http://www.amazon.com/s?index=books&rank=-relevance%2C%2Bavailability%2C-daterank&field-author-exact=Allen%20Wier/Allen Wier's books on AmazonAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
] - A review of Tehano in the Denver Post