Mary Hood
Encyclopedia
Mary Hood is an award-winning fiction writer of predominantly Southern literature
, who has authored two short story collections - How Far She Went and And Venus is Blue - and a novel, Familiar Heat. She also regularly publishes essays and reviews in literary and popular magazines.
, on September 16, 1946, to William Charles Hood and Mary Adella Katherine Rogers Hood.
Hood’s father was an aircraft worker, originally from Manhattan, New York. Her mother was a Latin teacher, originally from rural Cherokee County, Georgia
. The two met during WWII at a USO event in Brunswick.
At the age of two, Hood and her family moved from coastal Brunswick to White, Georgia
, where they briefly lived with her maternal grandfather, Claude Montgomery Rogers, who was a Methodist minister. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Douglas County, and, subsequently, multiple other places across rural north and south Georgia.
Hood graduated from Worth County High School in Sylvester, Georgia
, and then moved to Clayton County just outside of Atlanta, where she commuted back and forth to Georgia State University
.
After obtaining a degree in Spanish and working for two years as a librarian in Douglasville, Georgia
, Hood bought land and moved to Cherokee County near Woodstock, Georgia
.
Hood lived in Woodstock (in the small lake community of Little Victoria on the banks of Lake Allatoona
) for 30 years, where she witnessed the small, rural town turn into a bedroom community for burgeoning Atlanta – much of which is fictionally chronicled in her short story collection And Venus is Blue.
In the early 2000s, she left the now metro-Atlanta-Woodstock area for the quiet countryside of Jackson County, Georgia
, where she currently resides.
) at the University of Mississippi
, Oxford. She was the first writer-in-residence at Berry College
in 1997-1998, Reinhardt University in 2001 and Oxford College of Emory University
in 2009. Additionally, she was the visiting writer at Centre College
in Kentucky in 1999 and has taught classes at the University of Georgia
. In the spring of 2010, she held the Ferrol Sams
Distinguished Chair of English at Mercer University
.
Kennesaw State University
in Georgia named her the Writer of the Decade in honor of the tenth anniversary of the Contemporary Literature and Writing Conference.
and Eudora Welty
.
Prince of Tides author Pat Conroy
proclaims: "Mary Hood is not a good writer, she is a great writer."
, Joanne Woodward
and Sydney Pollack
. Additionally, Peter Fonda
and Jane Fonda
have expressed interest in her fiction. A screenplay
adaptation has been written for her novel Familiar Heat.
Three of her stories, Virga, Leaving Room and Witnessing, were published in The Georgia Review in 2000, 2006 and 2010, respectively.
Many of Hood's work has been translated into Dutch, French, Japanese and Swedish.
Southern literature
Southern literature is defined as American literature about the Southern United States or by writers from this region...
, who has authored two short story collections - How Far She Went and And Venus is Blue - and a novel, Familiar Heat. She also regularly publishes essays and reviews in literary and popular magazines.
Family and home
Mary Hood was born in Brunswick, GeorgiaBrunswick, Georgia
Brunswick is the major urban and economic center in southeastern Georgia in the United States. The municipality is located on a harbor near the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles north of Florida and 70 miles south of South Carolina. Brunswick is bordered on the east by the Atlantic...
, on September 16, 1946, to William Charles Hood and Mary Adella Katherine Rogers Hood.
Hood’s father was an aircraft worker, originally from Manhattan, New York. Her mother was a Latin teacher, originally from rural Cherokee County, Georgia
Cherokee County, Georgia
As of the census of 2000, there were 141,903 people, 49,495 households, and 39,200 families residing in the county. The population density was 335 people per square mile . There were 51,937 housing units at an average density of 123 per square mile...
. The two met during WWII at a USO event in Brunswick.
At the age of two, Hood and her family moved from coastal Brunswick to White, Georgia
White, Georgia
White is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, United States. The population was 693 at the 2000 census. As of the 2005 census the population was estimated at 716. Although the population of White may look minor, the area just north and just south of White boost White's population to a staggering 4,200...
, where they briefly lived with her maternal grandfather, Claude Montgomery Rogers, who was a Methodist minister. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Douglas County, and, subsequently, multiple other places across rural north and south Georgia.
Hood graduated from Worth County High School in Sylvester, Georgia
Sylvester, Georgia
Sylvester is the county seat of Worth County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,990 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat and business center of Worth County and is claimed to be the Peanut Capital of the World due to its ability to produce more peanuts per acre than anywhere...
, and then moved to Clayton County just outside of Atlanta, where she commuted back and forth to Georgia State University
Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
.
After obtaining a degree in Spanish and working for two years as a librarian in Douglasville, Georgia
Douglasville, Georgia
The city of Douglasville is the county seat of Douglas County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 30,961...
, Hood bought land and moved to Cherokee County near Woodstock, Georgia
Woodstock, Georgia
Woodstock is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 23,896 at the 2010 census.Originally a stop on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Woodstock is now considered part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
.
Hood lived in Woodstock (in the small lake community of Little Victoria on the banks of Lake Allatoona
Lake Allatoona
Lake Allatoona is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir in Georgia, located in northwestern metro Atlanta. The lake is mostly in southwestern Cherokee County, but a significant part is in southeastern Bartow County, and a small part in Cobb County near Acworth. Cartersville is the nearest...
) for 30 years, where she witnessed the small, rural town turn into a bedroom community for burgeoning Atlanta – much of which is fictionally chronicled in her short story collection And Venus is Blue.
In the early 2000s, she left the now metro-Atlanta-Woodstock area for the quiet countryside of Jackson County, Georgia
Jackson County, Georgia
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population in 2000 was 41,589. Explosive growth is evident with a population of 63,544 in the 2009 Census estimates. The county seat is Jefferson.-History:...
, where she currently resides.
Awards
- Flannery O'Connor Award for Short FictionFlannery O'Connor Award for Short FictionThe Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction is an annual prize awarded by the University of Georgia Press named in honor of the American short story writer and novelist Flannery O'Connor....
(1984) (How Far She Went) - The Southern Review /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...
Short Fiction Award (1984)(How Far She Went) - National Magazine AwardNational Magazine AwardThe National Magazine Awards are a series of US awards that honor excellence in the magazine industry. They are administered by the American Society of Magazine Editors and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City...
in fiction (1986) "Something Good for Ginnie" - Lillian Smith Book AwardLillian Smith Book AwardJointly presented by the Southern Regional Council and the University of Georgia Libraries, the Lillian Smith Book Awards honor those authors who, through their outstanding writing about the American South, carry on Smith's legacy of elucidating the condition of racial and social inequity and...
(1987) (And Venus is Blue) - Dixie Council of Authors and Journalists Author-of-the-Year Award (1987)(And Venus is Blue)
- Townsend Prize for Fiction (1988)(And Venus is Blue)
- The Whiting Writers' AwardWhiting Writers' AwardThe Whiting Writers' Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation and has been presented since 1985. As of 2007, winners receive US $50,000.-External links:**...
(1994) - Robert Penn Warren Award (2001)
Career
In 1996, she held the Grisham Chair (after John GrishamJohn Grisham
John Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
) at the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
, Oxford. She was the first writer-in-residence at Berry College
Berry College
Berry College is an American accredited, private, four-year liberal arts college located in Mount Berry, unincorporated Floyd County, Georgia, north of Rome. It was founded in 1902 by Martha Berry.-Location:Berry College is located on U.S...
in 1997-1998, Reinhardt University in 2001 and Oxford College of Emory University
Oxford College of Emory University
Oxford College is a two-year residential college specializing in the foundations of liberal arts education, and is one of nine divisions of Emory University. The college is located on Emory University's original 1836 campus in Oxford, Georgia, 38 miles east of the main Atlanta campus...
in 2009. Additionally, she was the visiting writer at Centre College
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, USA, a community of approximately 16,000 in Boyle County south of Lexington, KY. Centre is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution. Centre was founded by Presbyterian leaders, with whom it maintains a loose...
in Kentucky in 1999 and has taught classes at the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
. In the spring of 2010, she held the Ferrol Sams
Ferrol Sams
Ferrol Aubrey Sams, Jr. is an American physician and novelist born in Fayette County, Georgia, U.S.A.-Early life and education:...
Distinguished Chair of English at Mercer University
Mercer University
Mercer University is an independent, private, coeducational university with a Baptist heritage located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music,...
.
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw State University, also referred to as KSU, Kennesaw, or Kennesaw State, is a public, coeducational, comprehensive university that is part of the University System of Georgia. The university's main campus is located in Kennesaw, Georgia, United States, approximately north of Atlanta...
in Georgia named her the Writer of the Decade in honor of the tenth anniversary of the Contemporary Literature and Writing Conference.
Identity
Mary Hood has said of Southerners on how they approach identity:Comparison and praise
Mary Hood's work has been compared to that of Carson McCullersCarson McCullers
Carson McCullers was an American writer. She wrote novels, short stories, and two plays, as well as essays and some poetry. Her first novel The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter explores the spiritual isolation of misfits and outcasts of the South...
and Eudora Welty
Eudora Welty
Eudora Alice Welty was an American author of short stories and novels about the American South. Her novel The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous awards. She was the first living author to have her works published...
.
Prince of Tides author Pat Conroy
Pat Conroy
Pat Conroy , is a New York Times bestselling author who has written several acclaimed novels and memoirs. Two of his novels, The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini, were made into Oscar-nominated films.-Early life:...
proclaims: "Mary Hood is not a good writer, she is a great writer."
Disambiguation
Mary Hood the fiction writer should not be confused with Dr. Mary Hood, author of the Joyful Home Schooler and other books. These are two separate individuals.Hollywood
Mary Hood's work has been tapped by Hollywood - with interest in How Far She Went by Paul NewmanPaul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
, Joanne Woodward
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman...
and Sydney Pollack
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he later taught acting...
. Additionally, Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda is an American actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda...
and Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
have expressed interest in her fiction. A screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
adaptation has been written for her novel Familiar Heat.
Current projects and recent publications
Mary Hood is currently working on a novel titled The Other Side of the River, as well as a short story collection tentatively titled Survival, Evasion, and Escape.Three of her stories, Virga, Leaving Room and Witnessing, were published in The Georgia Review in 2000, 2006 and 2010, respectively.
Novella
And Venus is Blue (Ticknor & Fields, 1986) - title story from the short story collection is the novellaNovella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
Short Story Collections
- How Far She Went (University of Georgia PressUniversity of Georgia PressThe University of Georgia Press or UGA Press is a publishing house and is a member of the Association of American University Presses.Founded in 1938, the UGA Press is a division of the University of Georgia and is located on the campus in Athens, Georgia, USA...
, 1984) - And Venus is Blue (Ticknor & Fields, 1986)
Forewords, Contributing Chapters, Published Essays
- Rosiebelle Lee Wildcat Tennessee by Raymond Andrews - Foreword by Mary Hood (University of Georgia PressUniversity of Georgia PressThe University of Georgia Press or UGA Press is a publishing house and is a member of the Association of American University Presses.Founded in 1938, the UGA Press is a division of the University of Georgia and is located on the campus in Athens, Georgia, USA...
, Reprint, 1988) - Why Stop? - Essay by Mary Hood (The Gettysburg ReviewThe Gettysburg ReviewThe Gettysburg Review is a quarterly literary magazine featuring short stories, poetry, essays and reviews. Work appearing in the magazine often is reprinted in "best-of" anthologies and receives awards....
, Winter 1988) (The Best American Essays, 1989) - The Sacrilege of Alan Kent by Erskine CaldwellErskine CaldwellErskine Preston Caldwell was an American author. His writings about poverty, racism and social problems in his native South like the novels Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre won him critical acclaim, but they also made him controversial among fellow Southerners of the time who felt he was...
- Foreword by Mary Hood, Wood Engravings by Ralph Frizzell (University of Georgia Press, 1995) - "Tropic of Conscience," an historical essay on Northwest Georgia for The New Georgia Guide (University of Georgia Press 1996)
Anthologies Containing Work
- The Best American Essays (1989)
- Best American Short Stories
- Stories: Contemporary Southern Short Fiction edited by Donald Hays (1989)
- Editor's Choice
- Georgia Voices: Fiction edited by Hugh Ruppersburg (1992)
- Homeplaces: Stories of the South by Women Writers edited by Mary Ellis Gibson (1991)
- The Literary Dog: Great Contemporary Dog Stories edited by Jeanne Schinto (1990)
- New Stories from the South
- The Pushcart Prize Anthology
- Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft by Janet Burroway (1992, 3rd ed.)
Magazines Featuring Hood's Prose
- Art & Antiques
- Gray's Sporting Journal: The Bird Hunting Book (August 2000) with Clyde EdgertonClyde EdgertonClyde Edgerton is an American author and English literature professor.Born in Durham, North Carolina, his books are known for endearing characters, small-town Southern dialogue and realistic fire and brimstone religious sermons...
, O. Victor Miller, Bailey WhiteBailey WhiteJune Bailey White is an American author and a regular radio commentator for the National Public Radio program All Things Considered....
and John Yow - Harper's Magazine
- North American Review
- Southern Magazine
Literary Reviews Featuring Hood's Work
- The Georgia Review
- The Gettysburg ReviewThe Gettysburg ReviewThe Gettysburg Review is a quarterly literary magazine featuring short stories, poetry, essays and reviews. Work appearing in the magazine often is reprinted in "best-of" anthologies and receives awards....
- Kenyon Review
- Ohio Review
- Yankee
Interviews
- Wired for Books: Audio Interview with Mary Hood by Don Swaim (1987)
- North Georgia Oral History Series: Interview with Mary Hood by Dede Yow, Thomas A. Scott and Sallie Ellison Loy (Kennesaw State UniversityKennesaw State UniversityKennesaw State University, also referred to as KSU, Kennesaw, or Kennesaw State, is a public, coeducational, comprehensive university that is part of the University System of Georgia. The university's main campus is located in Kennesaw, Georgia, United States, approximately north of Atlanta...
Oral History Project 1999)
Many of Hood's work has been translated into Dutch, French, Japanese and Swedish.
Reviews
- How Far She Went - briefly noted in The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
60/49 (21 January 1985) : 93
External links
- The New Georgia Encyclopedia
- PBS River of Song: On Being a Southern Writer
- The Southern Register: Spring 1996
- Southern Writers at Century's End
- Library Thing author profile
- Wired for Books Interview with Don Swaim
- Reinhardt College Release
- The Books - review and praise for Familiar Heat
- pif magazine review of And Venus is Blue
- Centre College Release
- Southern Scribe: A Portrait of Southern Writers by Curt Richter