Brian Evenson
Encyclopedia
Brian Evenson is an American academic and writer of both literary fiction
and popular fiction. He has received degrees from Brigham Young University
(BA) and the University of Washington
(MA and PhD). After leaving a teaching position at BYU, he held positions at Oklahoma State University, Syracuse University and University of Denver
. He is currently the Chair of the Literary Arts Program at Brown University
. He is also a senior editor of the Conjunctions
literary journal published by Bard College
and has participated in Naropa University
's Summer Writing Program and The Juniper Summer Writing Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst's MFA Program for Poets & Writers
.
Formerly a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Evenson left both the Church and a teaching position at Brigham Young University following controversy surrounding his first book, Altmann's Tongue.
es specializing in literary fiction, some of Evenson's work has also appeared in the horror
genre press and he has contributed a media tie-in novel to the Aliens
franchise and the Dead Space (video game)
video game franchise.
Evenson's work has been compared to that of J. G. Ballard
, Jorge Luis Borges
, Paul Bowles
, Franz Kafka
, William S. Burroughs
, Cormac McCarthy
, Robert Coover
and Edgar Allan Poe
(among others).
Literary fiction
Literary fiction is a term that came into common usage during the early 1960s. The term is principally used to distinguish "serious fiction" which is a work that claims to hold literary merit, in comparison from genre fiction and popular fiction . In broad terms, literary fiction focuses more upon...
and popular fiction. He has received degrees from Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
(BA) and the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
(MA and PhD). After leaving a teaching position at BYU, he held positions at Oklahoma State University, Syracuse University and University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
. He is currently the Chair of the Literary Arts Program at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
. He is also a senior editor of the Conjunctions
Conjunctions
Conjunctions, is a biannual American literary journal based at Bard College. It was founded in 1981 and is currently edited by Bradford Morrow....
literary journal published by Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
and has participated in Naropa University
Naropa University
Naropa University is a private American liberal arts university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher and Oxford University scholar Chögyam Trungpa, it is named for the eleventh-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda.Naropa describes itself as...
's Summer Writing Program and The Juniper Summer Writing Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst's MFA Program for Poets & Writers
MFA Program for Poets & Writers
The MFA Program for Poets & Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a graduate creative writing program.-History:The MFA Program for Poets & Writers was founded in the 1960s by poet Joseph Langland and is part of the English Department at the University of Massachusetts...
.
Formerly a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Evenson left both the Church and a teaching position at Brigham Young University following controversy surrounding his first book, Altmann's Tongue.
Overview
Evenson is a prolific writer of short stories, novellas, and novels. He has also translated several works of literature from French into English. His own works of fiction often feature characters struggling with moral, religious, and epistemological problems. Violence and black humor are common elements of his narratives. His work is subtly philosophical, many of his recurrent themes of virtuality and "sensation" being traceable to Deleuze & Guattari's Capitalism and Schizophrenia, and several of his books have epigraphs from philosopher Alphonso Lingis. Although most often published by small pressSmall press
Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts...
es specializing in literary fiction, some of Evenson's work has also appeared in the horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
genre press and he has contributed a media tie-in novel to the Aliens
Aliens (novel series)
The Aliens novels are an extension of the Alien franchise. Up until 1998, the novels were published by Bantam Books and were all adaptations of various comics previously published by Dark Horse Comics...
franchise and the Dead Space (video game)
Dead Space (video game)
Dead Space is a survival horror third-person shooter video game, developed by EA Redwood Shores for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was made available on Steam on October 20, 2008...
video game franchise.
Evenson's work has been compared to that of J. G. Ballard
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
, Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
, Paul Bowles
Paul Bowles
Paul Frederic Bowles was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator.Following a cultured middle-class upbringing in New York City, during which he displayed a talent for music and writing, Bowles pursued his education at the University of Virginia before making various trips to Paris...
, Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
, William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
, Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy is an American novelist and playwright. He has written ten novels, spanning the Southern Gothic, Western, and modernist genres. He received the Pulitzer Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction for The Road...
, Robert Coover
Robert Coover
Robert Lowell Coover is an American author and professor in the Literary Arts program at Brown University. He is generally considered a writer of fabulation and metafiction.-Life and works:...
and Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
(among others).
Awards
- In 1995, Evenson received a Creative Writer's Fellowship from the 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...
(NEA). - In 1998, he received an O. Henry Award for his story "Two Brothers".
- In 2005, he received an International Horror Guild Award for best story collection for The Wavering Knife.
- In 2007, His novel The Open Curtain was chosen as one of the ten best books of 2006 by Time Out New York.
- In 2007, The Open Curtain was also a finalist for an Edgar Award and an International Horror Guild Award.
- In 2007, His translation of ClaroChristophe ClaroChristophe Claro, better known as Claro , is a French writer and translator. He studied at the Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux, before working as a publishers' proofreader . He is one of the leading promoters of contemporary American literature in France. His translations in French include works by William...
's Electric Flesh was a finalist for the French American Foundation's Translation Prize. - In 2009, His novel Last Days was nominated for a Shirley Jackson AwardShirley Jackson AwardThe Shirley Jackson Awards are literary awards named after Shirley Jackson in recognition of her legacy in writing. These awards for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic are presented at Readercon, an annual conference on imaginative...
- In 2010, His novel Last Days won the ALA/RUSA prize for Best Horror novel of 2009.
- In 2010, His short story collection Fugue State was a finalist for the 2009 World Fantasy Award.
Works of Fiction
- Altmann's Tongue (1994)
- Din of Celestial Birds (1997)
- Prophets and Brothers (1997)
- Father of LiesFather of LiesFather of Lies is a 1998 novel by Brian Evenson. This psychological thriller describes moral corruption in a conservative religious sect which shares some of the characteristics of the LDS Church....
(1998) - Contagion and Other Stories (2000)
- Dark Property: An Affliction (2002)
- The Brotherhood of Mutilation (2003)
- The Wavering Knife (2004)
- The Open Curtain (2006)
- Aliens: No Exit (2008) as B.K. Evenson
- Last Days (2009, Underland PressUnderland PressUnderland Press is a publishing company owned by Victoria Blake. Victoria Blake is a writer and the former prose editor for Dark Horse Comics....
' debut novel, expanded from The Brotherhood of Mutilation) - Fugue State (2009) (with illustrations by Zak Sally)
- "Pariah" in Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe as B.K. Evenson (2009)
- Baby Leg: A Novella (2009)
- Dead Space: Martyr as B.K. Evenson (2010)
Works of Translation
- The Passion of Martin Fissel Brandt by Christian Gailly (2002)
- Giacometti: Three Essays by Jacques Dupin (2003)
- Mountain R by Jacques Jouet (2004)
- Red Haze by Christian Gailly [co-translated with David Beus] (2005)
- Electric Flesh by Christophe ClaroChristophe ClaroChristophe Claro, better known as Claro , is a French writer and translator. He studied at the Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux, before working as a publishers' proofreader . He is one of the leading promoters of contemporary American literature in France. His translations in French include works by William...
(2006) - Donogoo-Tonka, or the Miracles of Science by Jules RomainJules RomainJules Romain may refer to:* Giulio Romano, alias "Jules Romain", Italian painter, of the 16th century* Jules Romain , author and graduate of the École Normale Supérieure...
(2009)
Recordings
- Altmann's Tongue by Brian Evenson with Xingu HillXingu HillXingu Hill is a musical project of musician John Sellekaers.During the last ten years, John has released about forty records on various labels . Sellekaers has also recorded under names such as Dead Hollywood Stars, Ambre, Urawa, Uncotones, Moonsanto and Ammo...
& Tamarin (2005). Currently available from many legal mp3 sites (Amie Street, Emusic, iTunes, Amazon etc.). Also, available as a CD.
See also
- William Hooper YoungWilliam Hooper YoungWilliam Hooper Young was a convicted American murderer. In 1903, he was convicted of the "Pulitzer Murder" in New York City and was sentenced to life imprisonment.-Early life:...