John Dos Passos Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 19 (1999) Winner
Eric Kraft
エリック・クラフト
Erikku Kurafuto
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- null
- Died
- null
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Manhattan, New York, USA
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, writer
- Active Years
- 1989-
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Herb ’n’ Lorna
1989 Fiction (series)Peter Leroy reconstructs the lives of his maternal grandparents and their animated erotic jewelry business.
memoryfamilyimagination
Reservations Recommended
1990 Fiction (series)An imagined adult life of Peter's childhood friend Matthew Barber, who is vice president of a toy company by day and a restaurant reviewer by night.
perspectivedouble life
Little Follies
1992 Collection of novellas/short storiesA collection of previously published novellas that consolidate fragments of the Peter Leroy universe.
recollectionself-fashioning
Where Do You Stop?
1992 FictionPeter, attempting to complete a school assignment thirty years late, revisits memories of the teacher who challenged him.
timeeducation
What a Piece of Work I Am
1993 FictionFocuses on Ariane, six years older than Peter, who has undertaken an unusual theatrical experiment of living her life before a crowd for many years.
theatricalityidentity
At Home with the Glynns
1995 FictionPeter revisits the Glynn twins and takes on an unusual job involving doctoring sketches and hiding a secret.
secretscreation
Leaving Small's Hotel
1998 FictionPeter and his wife Albertine attempt to save their beloved hotel from looming costs; Peter reads fifty stories over fifty nights.
attachmentpower of stories
Inflating a Dog
2002 FictionPeter's mother attempts to keep a boat and her entrepreneurial dreams afloat while Peter tries to resuscitate a slowly sinking boat.
entrepreneurshiploss and revival
Passionate Spectator
2004 FictionNow living in Manhattan, Peter is summoned for jury duty and uses the moment to enter the mind of Matthew Barber in the present; he later assumes the identity of Bertram W. Beath in Miami.
personhoodobservation
Flying
2009 Fiction (trilogy of novellas)A trilogy of novellas juxtaposing Peter's early aerocycle travels with Peter and his wife revisiting that territory in the present.
journeyrecollection
Bibliography
- Herb ’n’ Lorna
- Reservations Recommended
- Little Follies
- Where Do You Stop?
- What a Piece of Work I Am
- At Home with the Glynns
- Leaving Small's Hotel
- Inflating a Dog
- Passionate Spectator
- Flying
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- metafictionalhumor and satirereflective/memoir-like narration
- Recurring Motifs
- memory and imaginationblurring of author/character boundariesscenes of American life
Legacy
Eric Kraft is an American writer known for the 'Personal History of Peter Leroy' series; he is noted for metafictional explorations of memory, imagination, and self-fashioning. While not noted for major prize wins, critics recognize his distinct humor and intellectual play.
Archives
- Official website and publisher archives
Quotes
-
'The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy' is one large work of fiction composed of many interconnected parts.
Source: Official website (series description)
Trivia
- Frequently frames the fictional world as the memoirs or works of the fictional narrator Peter Leroy.
- Maintains an official website (http://www.erickraft.com/).
- Signature image is publicly available.