World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Ronald Sukenick

ロナルド・スケニック

Ronald Sukenick

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1932-07-14 （New York City (Brooklyn), U.S.）
Died
2004-07-22 age 72
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Residence History
Brooklyn, New York City → Boulder, Colorado (University of Colorado) → Austin, Texas (archives at Harry Ransom Center) → Montpellier, France (teaching at Paul Valéry University) → Jerusalem (Hebrew University visiting)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Literary theorist, Professor, Editor, Publisher
Active Years
1956-2004
Affiliations
American Book Review (founder/publisher), Fiction Collective (founder; now Fiction Collective Two), Modern Language Association (executive council), National Book Critics Circle (executive council)
Memberships
Modern Language Association, National Book Critics Circle
Influenced By
Wallace Stevens, Roland Barthes (ideas around 'death of the author')
Influenced
Generations of experimental/avant-garde fiction writers (e.g., Raymond Federman), Writers and editors associated with Fiction Collective / FC2

Education

Midwood High School
Country: United States
Public high school in Brooklyn, New York
Cornell University
Country: United States
Attended and graduated (details/year not specified)
Brandeis University
English
Degree: Ph.D.
Year of Graduation: 1962
Country: United States
Ph.D. in English (dissertation on Wallace Stevens)

Awards

Guggenheim Fellowship
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A Wallace Stevens Handbook

1962 Criticism / Academic

An introductory handbook on Wallace Stevens; related to his early doctoral work.

poetic interpretationmodern poetry studies

Wallace Stevens: Musing the Obscure

1967 Criticism / Academic

A critical study analyzing the works of Wallace Stevens, examining obscurity in his poetry.

poeticshermeneutics

Up

1968 Novel (experimental)

An early experimental novel that challenges traditional novel forms using fragmentation and self-reference.

self-referenceboundaries between reality and fiction

Death of the Novel and Other Stories

1969 Short story collection / experimental fiction

A collection of short stories centered on the theme of the 'death of the novel,' questioning narrative forms and authorship.

deconstruction of narrativeabsence of the author

Out

1973 Novel (experimental)

An experimental novel from the 1970s using shifting narrators and perspectives to unsettle fixed notions.

shifts of perspectivelimits of language

98.6

1975 Novel

An experimental novel; while the title refers to body temperature, the narrative crosses personal and social themes.

body and identitysocial observation

Long Talking, Bad Conditions, Blues

1978 Novella

A novella that portrays characters through dialogue and fragmented narration.

dialoguefragmentation

Blown Away

1986 Novel

A 1980s novel that attempts to fuse narrative experimentation with cultural criticism.

cultural critiquenarrative experimentation

The Endless Short Story

1986 Short story collection

A collection that includes attempts to expand and redefine the short story form.

form expansionboundaries of story

Down and In - Life in the Underground: Bohemian to Hip to Beat to Rock and Punk - Mutiny in American Culture

1987 Autobiography / Cultural criticism

Autobiographical in part, discussing American underground culture from bohemianism to punk.

underground cultureself-memoir

Doggy Bag: A Collection of Stories

1994 Short story collection

A 1990s collection of short stories containing diverse experimental techniques.

experimental fictionfragments

Degenerative Prose: Writing Beyond Category (editor)

1995 Edited volume / criticism

An edited volume on writing beyond category, co-edited with Mark Amerika.

genre-crossingexperimental writing

In the Slipstream: An FC2 Reader (editor)

1999 Edited reader

An FC2 reader collecting works from Fiction Collective Two, co-edited with Curtis White.

introduction to experimental fictioneditorial activity

Mosaic Man

1999 Novel

A later novel using mosaic-like fragmented narration.

fragmentationmemory

Narralogues: Truth in Fiction

2000 Criticism / Theory

Theoretical reflections on 'truth' in fiction.

fiction theorytruthfulness

Cows

2001 Novel

Published by a digital arts press; continues his experimental narrative practice.

experimentationcultural motifs

Last Fall

2005 Novel (posthumous)

Published posthumously; may include unfinished work or edited manuscripts.

posthumous worksretrospective

For the Invisible, Against Thinking (short story, posthumous)

2007 Short story (posthumous publication)

A short story included posthumously, with collaboration by Julia Frey.

posthumouscollaboration

Bibliography

  • A Wallace Stevens Handbook (1962)
  • Wallace Stevens: Musing the Obscure (1967)
  • Up (1968)
  • Death of the Novel and Other Stories (1969)
  • Out (1973)
  • 98.6 (1975)
  • Long Talking, Bad Conditions, Blues (1978)
  • In Form: Digressions on the Act of Fiction (1985)
  • Blown Away (1986)
  • The Endless Short Story (1986)
  • Down and In (1987)
  • Doggy Bag (1994)
  • Degenerative Prose (1995, ed.)
  • In the Slipstream (1999, ed.)
  • Mosaic Man (1999)
  • Narralogues: Truth in Fiction (2000)
  • Cows (2001)
  • Last Fall (2005, posthumous)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
experimental / avant-garde styleself-referential / metafictional techniquesfragmented narration
Recurring Motifs
blurred boundary between author and characterinsertion of family and selfdenial/reconstruction of reality

Health

  • Inclusion body myositis
    晩年〜2004年（死亡時）
    Caused muscle weakness and was reported as a contributing factor to his death

Legacy

A controversial writer who championed experimental fiction; through founding American Book Review and Fiction Collective he promoted and published writers outside the commercial mainstream.

Academic Societies

  • Modern Language Association
  • National Book Critics Circle

Archives

  • Harry Ransom Center (University of Texas at Austin) archives

Quotes

  • I have only forty fans, but they're all fanatics.
    Source: New York Times obituary (Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, 2004) and other sources (2004)

Trivia

  • Founder of American Book Review and co-founder of Fiction Collective (now FC2).
  • Completed a Ph.D. on Wallace Stevens at Brandeis University in 1962.
  • Posthumous publications and contributions appeared after his death (e.g., included in a 2007 anthology).