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Howard Bahr

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Howard Bahr

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1946 （Meridian, Mississippi, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Meridian, Mississippi (birthplace) → Oxford, Mississippi (curator of Rowan Oak) → Tullahoma, Tennessee (instructor at Motlow State College) → Jackson, Mississippi (residence)

Career

Occupations
novelist, teacher, curator, editor
Active Years
1970-
Affiliations
University of Mississippi (faculty), Motlow State College (instructor), Belhaven University (creative writing instructor), Rowan Oak (curator)
Influenced By
William Faulkner

Education

University of Mississippi
English
Degree: B.A., M.A.
Period: 1970年代初頭
Country: United States
Received B.A. and M.A. from the University of Mississippi.

Awards

W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction
1998
Work: The Black Flower
Organization: American Library Association (ALA)
Result: 受賞
Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction
Work: The Judas Field
Organization: Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Home for Christmas

1987 Children's literature

A short children's story about family and homecoming, first published in 1987 and reissued in 1997 with new illustrations.

familyhomecomingChristmas

The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War

1997 War novel / Historical fiction

Set during the 1864 Battle of Franklin, the novel portrays the horror of battle and the suffering of soldiers; it was named a New York Times Notable Book.

American Civil Warhorror of battlecomradeship and loss

The Year of Jubilo

2000 Historical fiction

Set in the fictional Mississippi town of Cumberland immediately after the Civil War, the novel examines the dehumanizing effects of war on Southern society.

postwar societyreconstruction and conflictmemory and trauma

The Judas Field

2006 Historical fiction

Through the eyes of a participant who returns to the Battle of Franklin in the 1880s to recover a body, the novel revisits the horrors of 1864 and explores memory and atonement.

memory of battleguilt and atonementremembrance of the lost

Pelican Road

2008 Railroad novel / Historical fiction

Set at Christmas 1940, the novel is named for a 207-mile stretch of railroad between Meridian, Mississippi, and New Orleans, and explores railroads and regional life.

railroadscommunitychanging times

Bibliography

  • Home for Christmas (1987)
  • The Black Flower (1997)
  • The Year of Jubilo (2000)
  • The Judas Field (2006)
  • Pelican Road (2008)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realistic detailed narrativemeticulous depictions of battlenarrative rooted in the Southern literary tradition
Recurring Motifs
American Civil Warmemory of battlerailroadsloss and regeneration

Legacy

Bahr is recognized for his novels focused on the American Civil War and contributed to literary preservation as curator of Rowan Oak. Works such as The Black Flower and The Year of Jubilo received critical acclaim and were named New York Times Notable Books.

Museums

  • Rowan Oak (William Faulkner House) Oxford, Mississippi, USA

Archives

  • University of Mississippi Archives – Howard Bahr Collection
  • Howard Bahr Papers, Special Collections at The University of Southern Mississippi (de Grummond Children's Literature Collection)

Trivia

  • Served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.
  • Worked for several years on the railroads.
  • Received B.A. and M.A. from the University of Mississippi and served as curator of Rowan Oak for nearly twenty years.
  • Best known for novels centered on the American Civil War.
  • The Black Flower received the W.Y. Boyd Literary Award in 1998.
  • The Judas Field received the Michael Shaara Award.
  • Has taught at Motlow State College and Belhaven University.