Chuck Kinder
Encyclopedia
Charles Alfonso Kinder, II (born 1946) is an American
novelist.
Chuck Kinder was born October 8 in Montgomery, West Virginia
to Charles Alfonso and Eileen Reba (Parsons) Kinder. He was educated at West Virginia University
(BA, MA) and Stanford University
. Kinder has taught at Waynesburg College and Stanford, and at the University of Pittsburgh
since 1980, where he is currently a professor of English.
At Stanford Kinder became close friends with fellow students Raymond Carver
, Larry McMurtry
, and Scott Turow
. His relationship with Carver inspired his novel 2001 Honeymooners: A Cautionary Tale, which for nearly twenty years had vexed Kinder and had grown, uncontrollably, into a sprawling manuscript of over 3,000 pages at one point. Kinder's struggle with this manuscript was local legend at the University of Pittsburgh
. Michael Chabon
, once an undergraduate student of Kinder's, used it as inspiration for the character Grady Tripp in the 1995 novel Wonder Boys
, while Robert Clark Young
, who met Kinder through Raymond Carver, satirized Kinder's struggle with the 3,000-page manuscript in the prize-winning essay One Writer’s Big Innings.
Kinder is married to Diane Cecily Blackmer. They reside in Pittsburgh.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist.
Chuck Kinder was born October 8 in Montgomery, West Virginia
Montgomery, West Virginia
Montgomery is a city in West Virginia, along the Kanawha River. Most of the city is in Fayette County, with the remainder in Kanawha County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 1,942 ....
to Charles Alfonso and Eileen Reba (Parsons) Kinder. He was educated at West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
(BA, MA) and Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. Kinder has taught at Waynesburg College and Stanford, and at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
since 1980, where he is currently a professor of English.
At Stanford Kinder became close friends with fellow students Raymond Carver
Raymond Carver
Raymond Clevie Carver, Jr. was an American short story writer and poet. Carver is considered a major American writer of the late 20th century and also a major force in the revitalization of the short story in the 1980s....
, Larry McMurtry
Larry McMurtry
Larry Jeff McMurtry is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas...
, and Scott Turow
Scott Turow
Scott F. Turow is an American author and a practicing lawyer. Turow has written eight fiction and two nonfiction books, which have been translated into over 20 languages and have sold over 25 million copies...
. His relationship with Carver inspired his novel 2001 Honeymooners: A Cautionary Tale, which for nearly twenty years had vexed Kinder and had grown, uncontrollably, into a sprawling manuscript of over 3,000 pages at one point. Kinder's struggle with this manuscript was local legend at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
. Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....
, once an undergraduate student of Kinder's, used it as inspiration for the character Grady Tripp in the 1995 novel Wonder Boys
Wonder Boys
Wonder Boys is a 1995 novel by the American writer Michael Chabon. It was adapted into a film in 2000.-Plot summary:Pittsburgh professor and author Grady Tripp is working on an unwieldy 2,611 page manuscript that is meant to be the follow-up to his successful, award-winning novel The Land...
, while Robert Clark Young
Robert Clark Young
Robert Clark Young is an American author of novels, essays, short stories and journalism. Recurring themes in Young's fiction include the relation between alcoholism, the abuse of power, and institutional dysfunction in American life, while his nonfiction has recently focused on eldercare topics...
, who met Kinder through Raymond Carver, satirized Kinder's struggle with the 3,000-page manuscript in the prize-winning essay One Writer’s Big Innings.
Kinder is married to Diane Cecily Blackmer. They reside in Pittsburgh.
Works
- Snakehunter, a novel (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1973)
- The Silver Ghost, a novel (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1979)
- Honeymooners: A Cautionary Tale, a novel (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2001)
- Last Mountain Dancer: Hard-Earned Lessons in Love, Loss, and Honky-Tonk Outlaw Life, creative nonfiction (New York: Carroll & Graf, 2004)
Sources
Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2003. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000150152.External links
- http://www.english.pitt.edu/people/faculty/kinder.html Kinder bio on Pitt English Department Web site
- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/06/28/DD159592.DTL&type=books San Francisco Chronicle review of Kinder's Honeymooners: A Cautionary Tale