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Charles Baxter (author)

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Charles Baxter (born May 13, 1947) is an American novelist, essayist, and poet.

Biography

Baxter was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to John and Mary Barber (Eaton) Baxter. He graduated from Macalester College in Saint Paul. In 1974 he received his PhD in English from the University at Buffalo with a thesis on Djuna Barnes, Malcolm Lowry, and Nathanael West.

Career

Teaching

Baxter taught high school in Pinconning, Michigan for a year before beginning his university teaching career at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He then moved to the University of Michigan, where for many years he directed the Creative Writing MFA program. He currently teaches at the University of Minnesota and in the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers.

Works

Novels

  • First Light (1987). An eminent astrophysicist and her brother, a small-town Buick salesman, discover how they grew so far apart and the bonds of love that still keep them together.
  • Shadow Play (1993). As his wife does gymnastics and magic tricks, his crazy mother invents her own vocabulary, and his aunt writes her own version of the Bible, Five Oaks Assistant City Manager Wyatt Palmer tries to live a normal life and nearly succeeds, but...
  • The Feast of Love (2000) (Pantheon Books), a reimagined Midsummer Night's Dream, a story told through the eyes of several different people.[1] Nominated for the National Book Award. A film version of the book, starring Morgan Freeman, Fred Ward and Greg Kinnear and directed by Robert Benton, was released in 2007.
  • Saul and Patsy (2003). A teacher's marriage and identity are threatened by a dangerously obsessed teenage boy at his school.
  • The Soul Thief (2008). A graduate student's complicated relationships lead to a disturbing case of identity theft, which ultimately leads the man to wonder if he really is who he thinks he is.[2]

Short story and essay collections

  • Harmony of the World (1984). Winner of the Associated Writing Programs Award.
  • Through The Safety Net (1985)
  • Gryphon (1985)
  • A Relative Stranger (1990)
  • Believers (1997)
  • Burning Down The House: Essays on Fiction (1997)
  • Gryphon: New and Selected Stories (2011)[3]
  • There's Something I Want You to Do: Stories (February 2015)[4]

Non-fiction

  • The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot (2007). Winner of the 2008 Minnesota Book Award for General Non-fiction.

Poetry collections

  • Imaginary Paintings (1989)
  • The South Dakota Guidebook (1974)
  • Chameleon (1970)

Edited works

  • A William Maxwell Portrait: Memories and Appreciations (2004)
  • Bringing the Devil to His Knees: The Craft of Fiction and the Writing Life (2001)
  • Best New American Voices 2001 (2001)
  • The Business of Memory (1999)

Honors and awards

  • Finalist for The Story Prize for There's Something I Want You to Do, 2016
  • National Book Award (Finalist) for The Feast of Love, 2000
  • The Award in Literature, American Academy of Arts and Letters, 1997
  • Ohio University Spring Literary Festival (Honoree), 1995
  • The Cohen Award for the best essay published in Ploughshares, 1994
  • The Daniel A. Pollack-Harvard Review award to Shadow Play, 1994
  • The Gettysburg Review nonfiction prose award for "Fiction and the Inner Life of Objects," 1994
  • Michigan Author of the Year Award, 1993
  • Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Foundation Fellowship, 1992–95
  • Lawrence Foundation Award, 1991
  • Arts Foundation of Michigan Award, 1991
  • Guggenheim Fellowship, 1985–86
  • Michigan Council for the Arts Grant, 1984
  • National Endowment for the Arts Grant, 1983
  • Lawrence Foundation Award, 1982

References

  • Greasley, Philip A. (2001). Dictionary of Midwestern Literature Volume One: The Authors. Indiana: Indiana University Press. p. 54. ISBN 0-253-33609-0.
  1. ^ "The Feast Of Love (review)". Archived from the original on May 9, 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-22. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ http://josephpeschel.com/pdf/The%20Soul%20Thief%20from%20The%20Star.pdf
  3. ^ http://josephpeschel.com/pdf/web_gryphon.pdf
  4. ^ http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-101-87001-3
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