Breece D'J Pancake
Encyclopedia
Breece D'J Pancake was an American
author of short fiction. Pancake was a native of West Virginia and published several stories in The Atlantic Monthly
during his lifetime. He died in 1979 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
, the youngest child of Clarence "Wicker" Pancake and Helen Frazier Pancake, and was raised in Milton, West Virginia
. Pancake briefly attended West Virginia Wesleyan College
in Buckhannon before transferring to Marshall University
in Huntington
where he completed a bachelor's degree in English education in 1974. After graduating from Marshall he spent time out West, visiting his sister in Santa Fe. As a graduate student he studied at the University of Virginia
's creative writing program under John Casey
and James Alan McPherson
. Pancake also worked as an English teacher at two Virginia military academies, Fork Union
and Staunton
.
While at the University of Virginia, Pancake deliberately styled himself as an uncultured hillbilly
, distancing himself from the mostly erudite students at the prestigious school. He was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting, fishing and camping. Pancake was a devout fan of the music of folk singer Phil Ochs
, who had attended Staunton Military Academy, where Pancake later taught. His favorite song was Ochs' "Jim Dean of Indiana". Ochs committed suicide exactly one day less than three years before Pancake.
The unusual middle name "D'J" originated from a misprint of Pancake's middle initials by The Atlantic Monthly
(D.J., for Dexter John) when Pancake's first published story, Trilobites was published in 1977. Pancake decided not to correct it. Dexter is Pancake's middle name, while John is the name Pancake adopted after converting to Catholicism
in his mid-20s.
Pancake died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Charlottesville, Virginia
on the eve of his personal hero Phil Ochs
suicidal-death. His death was officially labeled a suicide, although some family members and childhood friends believe his death was accidental, others, including UVA faculty member John Casey, insist they received suicide notes from him, recognizable only in hindsight. http://www.wvwc.edu/lib/wv_authors/authors/a_pancake.htm Pancake was buried in Milton.
". It was reprinted in 2002 with a new afterword by Andre Dubus III. Pancake was posthumously nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake.
His vivid, compact style has been compared to that of Ernest Hemingway
. Most of his stories are set in rural West Virginia
and revolve around characters and naturalistic settings, often adapted from his own past. His stories received acclaim from readers and critics. The Atlantics editor recalled receiving letters that "drifted in for months - asking for more stories - inquiring for collected stories, or simply expressing admiration and gratitude ... in 30-something years at The Atlantic, I cannot recall a response to a new author like the response to this one."
Among the writers who claim Pancake as a strong influence are Chuck Palahniuk
, author of Fight Club
and Andre Dubus III
, author of House of Sand and Fog
. After Pancake's death, author Kurt Vonnegut
wrote in a letter to John Casey
, "I give you my word of honor that he is merely the best writer, the most sincere writer I've ever read. What I suspect is that it hurt too much, was no fun at all to be that good. You and I will never know."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author of short fiction. Pancake was a native of West Virginia and published several stories in The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,...
during his lifetime. He died in 1979 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Biography
Breece Dexter Pancake was born in South Charleston, West VirginiaSouth Charleston, West Virginia
South Charleston is a city in Kanawha County, West Virginia, U.S. The population was 13,450 at the 2010 census. South Charleston was established in 1906, but not incorporated until 1919 by special charter enacted by the West Virginia Legislature...
, the youngest child of Clarence "Wicker" Pancake and Helen Frazier Pancake, and was raised in Milton, West Virginia
Milton, West Virginia
Milton is a town in Cabell County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,206 at the 2000 census.Milton is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649...
. Pancake briefly attended West Virginia Wesleyan College
West Virginia Wesleyan College
West Virginia Wesleyan College is a regionally accredited private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Buckhannon, West Virginia, United States. It has an enrollment of about 1,400 students from 35 U.S. states and 26 countries. The school was founded in 1890 by the West Virginia Conference of...
in Buckhannon before transferring to Marshall University
Marshall University
Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....
in Huntington
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
where he completed a bachelor's degree in English education in 1974. After graduating from Marshall he spent time out West, visiting his sister in Santa Fe. As a graduate student he studied at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
's creative writing program under John Casey
John Casey
John Casey may refer to:* John Casey , British academic and a writer for The Daily Telegraph* John Casey , fictional character portrayed by Adam Baldwin on the television show Chuck...
and James Alan McPherson
James Alan McPherson
-External links:*...
. Pancake also worked as an English teacher at two Virginia military academies, Fork Union
Fork Union Military Academy
Fork Union Military Academy is a private, military boarding school located in the town of Fork Union, Virginia. The school is more commonly known by its acronym FUMA ....
and Staunton
Staunton Military Academy
Staunton Military Academy was an all-male military academy located in Staunton, Virginia for much of its 116-year history. The school closed in 1976. Many notable American political and military leaders are graduates...
.
While at the University of Virginia, Pancake deliberately styled himself as an uncultured hillbilly
Hillbilly
Hillbilly is a term referring to certain people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia but also the Ozarks. Owing to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of...
, distancing himself from the mostly erudite students at the prestigious school. He was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting, fishing and camping. Pancake was a devout fan of the music of folk singer Phil Ochs
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs was an American protest singer and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice...
, who had attended Staunton Military Academy, where Pancake later taught. His favorite song was Ochs' "Jim Dean of Indiana". Ochs committed suicide exactly one day less than three years before Pancake.
The unusual middle name "D'J" originated from a misprint of Pancake's middle initials by The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,...
(D.J., for Dexter John) when Pancake's first published story, Trilobites was published in 1977. Pancake decided not to correct it. Dexter is Pancake's middle name, while John is the name Pancake adopted after converting to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
in his mid-20s.
Pancake died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
on the eve of his personal hero Phil Ochs
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs was an American protest singer and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice...
suicidal-death. His death was officially labeled a suicide, although some family members and childhood friends believe his death was accidental, others, including UVA faculty member John Casey, insist they received suicide notes from him, recognizable only in hindsight. http://www.wvwc.edu/lib/wv_authors/authors/a_pancake.htm Pancake was buried in Milton.
Writing
Pancake published six short stories in his lifetime, mostly in The Atlantic. These and six stories left unpublished at his death were later collected in The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake, a 178 page volume published by Little, Brown and Company in 1983. This includes the short story "Time and AgainTime and Again (short story)
"Time and Again" is a short story by Breece D'J Pancake which was published in 1977. This American Gothic tale includes a murder man whose poor victims end up being fed to his hogs. The short story appears in "American Gothic Tales" which is edited by Joyce Carol Oates.- Summary :The story opens...
". It was reprinted in 2002 with a new afterword by Andre Dubus III. Pancake was posthumously nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake.
His vivid, compact style has been compared to that of Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
. Most of his stories are set in rural West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
and revolve around characters and naturalistic settings, often adapted from his own past. His stories received acclaim from readers and critics. The Atlantics editor recalled receiving letters that "drifted in for months - asking for more stories - inquiring for collected stories, or simply expressing admiration and gratitude ... in 30-something years at The Atlantic, I cannot recall a response to a new author like the response to this one."
Among the writers who claim Pancake as a strong influence are Chuck Palahniuk
Chuck Palahniuk
Charles Michael "Chuck" Palahniuk is an American transgressional fiction novelist and freelance journalist. He is best known for the award-winning novel Fight Club, which was later made into a film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter...
, author of Fight Club
Fight Club (novel)
Fight Club is a 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk. It follows the experiences of an unnamed protagonist struggling with insomnia. Inspired by his doctor's exasperated remark that insomnia is not suffering, he finds relief by impersonating a seriously ill person in several support groups...
and Andre Dubus III
Andre Dubus III
Andre Dubus III is an American novelist and writer of short stories. He is a member of the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.-Early life and career:...
, author of House of Sand and Fog
House of Sand and Fog (novel)
House of Sand and Fog is a 1999 novel by Andre Dubus III. It was selected for Oprah's Book Club in 2000 and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction.-Plot:...
. After Pancake's death, author Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
wrote in a letter to John Casey
John Casey
John Casey may refer to:* John Casey , British academic and a writer for The Daily Telegraph* John Casey , fictional character portrayed by Adam Baldwin on the television show Chuck...
, "I give you my word of honor that he is merely the best writer, the most sincere writer I've ever read. What I suspect is that it hurt too much, was no fun at all to be that good. You and I will never know."
Quotes
From a letter to his mother, Helen Pancake, that Breece wrote in Charlottesville, where he was studying writing:Awards and honors
- Governor's Fellowship in Fiction Writing from University of Virginia 1976
- Jefferson Society Fiction Award from University of Virginia 1977,
- Hoyns Fellowship for Fiction Writing from University of Virginia 1978
- WV Library Association Annual Book Award 1983 (posthumous)
External links
- Biography from West Virginia Wesleyan College
- Essay on Pancake in Mississippi Review by Cynthia Kadohata
- The complete text of Pancake's "Trilobites"
- The complete text of Pancake's "In the Dry"
- The complete text of Pancake's "The Honored Dead"
- The complete text of Pancake's "Hollow"
- The New York Times Review of The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake by Joyce Carol Oates