Stephen Dixon
Encyclopedia
Stephen Dixon is the critically acclaimed author of several novel
s and short stories
.
Dixon has been nominated for the National Book Award
twice, in 1991 for Frog and in 1995 for Interstate. Dixon was one of seven children in the family. His work, characterized by mordant humor, long sentences, and a frank attention to human sexuality, has also earned him a Guggenheim Fellowship, the American Academy Institute of Arts and letters Prize for Fiction, the O. Henry Award, and the Pushcart prize. His novel I (McSweeneys 2002) outraged many with its cryptic humor, long unintelligible sentences, and a playfulness with language that served more to confuse than to delight the reader. He graduated from the City College of New York in 1958 and is a former faculty member of Johns Hopkins University
. Before becoming a full-time writer Dixon worked a plethora of odd jobs ranging from bus driver to bartender. In his early 20s he worked as a journalist and in radio, interviewing such monumental figures as JFK, Richard Nixon and Khrushchev. He has cited Fyodor Dostoevsky
, Thomas Mann
, Franz Kafka
, Ernest Hemingway
, and Anton Chekhov
as his favorite authors.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s and short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
.
Biography
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
twice, in 1991 for Frog and in 1995 for Interstate. Dixon was one of seven children in the family. His work, characterized by mordant humor, long sentences, and a frank attention to human sexuality, has also earned him a Guggenheim Fellowship, the American Academy Institute of Arts and letters Prize for Fiction, the O. Henry Award, and the Pushcart prize. His novel I (McSweeneys 2002) outraged many with its cryptic humor, long unintelligible sentences, and a playfulness with language that served more to confuse than to delight the reader. He graduated from the City College of New York in 1958 and is a former faculty member of Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
. Before becoming a full-time writer Dixon worked a plethora of odd jobs ranging from bus driver to bartender. In his early 20s he worked as a journalist and in radio, interviewing such monumental figures as JFK, Richard Nixon and Khrushchev. He has cited Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky was a Russian writer of novels, short stories and essays. He is best known for his novels Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov....
, Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
, 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...
, 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...
, and Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
as his favorite authors.
Novels
- Work (Street Fiction Press, 1977)
- Too Late (Harper & Row, 1978)
- Fall & Rise (North Point Press, 1985)
- Garbage (Cane Hill Press, 1988)
- Frog (British American Publishing, 1991)
- Interstate (Henry HoltHenry Holt and CompanyHenry Holt and Company is an American book publishing company. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt...
, 1995) - Gould (Henry Holt, 1997)
- 30: Pieces of a Novel (Henry Holt, 1999)
- Tisch (Red Hen PressRed Hen PressRed Hen Press is an American non-profit press specializing in the publication of literary fiction and poetry located in Pasadena, California. Founded by Kate Gale, the mission of Red Hen Press is to discover, publish, and promote works of literary excellence that have been overlooked by mainstream...
, 2000) (his first completed novel, written 1961-1969) - I. (McSweeney'sMcSweeney'sMcSweeney's is an American publishing house founded by editor Dave Eggers.Apart from its book list, McSweeney's is responsible for four regular publications: the quarterly literary journal,...
, 2002) - Old FriendsOld FriendsOld Friends is a Big Finish original novella collection, featuring Bernice Summerfield, a character from the spin-off media based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Stories:-External links:*...
(Melville House PublishingMelville House PublishingMelville House Publishing is an independent publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The company was founded in 2001 by the husband and wife team of Dennis Loy Johnson and Valerie Merians in Hoboken, New Jersey, a location Johnson jokingly called "the Left Bank" of New York City...
, 2004) - Phone Rings (Melville House PublishingMelville House PublishingMelville House Publishing is an independent publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The company was founded in 2001 by the husband and wife team of Dennis Loy Johnson and Valerie Merians in Hoboken, New Jersey, a location Johnson jokingly called "the Left Bank" of New York City...
, 2005) - End of I. (McSweeney's, 2006)
- MeyerMeyer- Companies :* Meyer Corporation* Fred Meyer, Inc., American hypermarket chain; currently a subsidiary of Kroger* Meyer Sound Laboratories- Places :* Meyer Township, Michigan* Meyer, Illinois, unincorporated community in Adams County, Illinois, USA...
(Melville House PublishingMelville House PublishingMelville House Publishing is an independent publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The company was founded in 2001 by the husband and wife team of Dennis Loy Johnson and Valerie Merians in Hoboken, New Jersey, a location Johnson jokingly called "the Left Bank" of New York City...
, 2007)
Story collections
- No Relief (Street Fiction Press, 1976)
- Quite Contrary: The Mary and Newt Story (Harper & Row, 1979)
- 14 Stories (Johns Hopkins, 1980)
- Movies: Seventeen Stories (North Point Press, 1983)
- Time to Go (Will and Magna Stories) (Johns Hopkins, 1984)
- The Play and Other Stories (Coffee House PressCoffee House PressCoffee House Press is a nonprofit independent press based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The press’s goal is to "produce books that celebrate imagination, innovation in the craft of writing, and the many authentic voices of the American experience." It is widely considered to be among the top five...
, 1988) - Love and Will: Twenty Stories (Paris ReviewParis ReviewThe Paris Review is a literary quarterly founded in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen and George Plimpton. Plimpton edited the Review from its founding until his death in 2003. In its first five years, The Paris Review published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip Larkin, V. S...
Editions / British American Publishing, 1989) - All Gone: 18 Short Stories (Johns Hopkins, 1990)
- Friends: More Will and Magna Stories (Asylum Arts, 1990)
- Long Made Short (Johns Hopkins, 1994)
- The Stories of Stephen Dixon (Henry Holt, 1994)
- Man on Stage: Play Stories (Hi Jinx Press, 1996)
- Sleep (Coffee House PressCoffee House PressCoffee House Press is a nonprofit independent press based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The press’s goal is to "produce books that celebrate imagination, innovation in the craft of writing, and the many authentic voices of the American experience." It is widely considered to be among the top five...
, 1999) - The Switch (Rain Taxi, 1999) (a single story; Rain Taxi Brainstorm Series, Number 3)
- What Is All This?: The Uncollected Stories of Stephen Dixon (Fantagraphics, 2010)
Interviews and Articles
- Comprehensive career interview with Fifth Wednesday Journal.
- 2002 profile of Dixon in The Johns Hopkins News-Letter
- "The Plug", Dixon on Thomas Bernhard, at Rain Taxi
- 1997 article about Dixon in The Johns Hopkins News-Letter
- Excerpt from the novel I., at McSweeney's Internet Tendency, with links to other excerpts, and to comments on Dixon's work by Jonathan LethemJonathan LethemJonathan Allen Lethem is an American novelist, essayist and short story writer. His first novel, Gun, with Occasional Music, a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was published in 1994. It was followed by three more science fiction novels...
and J. Robert LennonJ. Robert LennonJohn Robert Lennon is an American novelist, short story writer, musician and composer.Lennon was raised in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. He earned a B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.F.A. from the University of Montana...
. - February 2007 article about Dixon in Baltimore City Paper
- http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/an-interview-with-stephen-dixon/Dixon interviewed by Tao LinTao LinTao Lin is an American writer. He was born of Taiwanese parents and grew up on the East Coast of the USA.He is the author of two novels, Eeeee Eee Eeee and Richard Yates ; a novella, Shoplifting from American Apparel ; a short story collection, Bed ; and two poetry collections, you are a little...
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