James Laughlin Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 18 (1971) Winner
Stephen J. Dobyns
スティーブン・J・ドビンズ
Stephen J. Dobyns
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1941-02-19 （Orange, New Jersey, U.S.）
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- New Jersey (raised) → Michigan (raised) → Virginia (raised) → Pennsylvania (raised)
Career
- Occupations
- poet, novelist, professor, reporter
- Active Years
- 1964-
- Affiliations
- Sarah Lawrence College, Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers, University of Iowa, Syracuse University, Boston University
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shimer College (Shimer Great Books School) | — | — | — | — | United States |
| Wayne State University | — | — | 学士 | 在学〜1964 | United States |
| University of Iowa (Iowa Writers' Workshop) | — | Creative Writing (MFA program) | MFA | 〜1967 | United States |
Shimer College (Shimer Great Books School)
Country:
United States
Transferred later to Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Degree:
学士
Period:
在学〜1964
Year of Graduation:
1964
Country:
United States
Transferred and graduated in 1964
University of Iowa (Iowa Writers' Workshop)
Creative Writing (MFA program)
Degree:
MFA
Period:
〜1967
Year of Graduation:
1967
Country:
United States
Completed Iowa Writers' Workshop MFA
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Lamont Poetry Selection (Concurring Beasts) | Concurring Beasts | — | — | 受賞 |
| 1984 | National Poetry Series (Black Dog, Red Dog) | Black Dog, Red Dog | — | — | 受賞 |
| 1988 | Melville Cane Award (Cemetery Nights) | Cemetery Nights | — | — | 受賞 |
Lamont Poetry Selection (Concurring Beasts)
1972
Work:
Concurring Beasts
Result:
受賞
National Poetry Series (Black Dog, Red Dog)
1984
Work:
Black Dog, Red Dog
Result:
受賞
Melville Cane Award (Cemetery Nights)
1988
Work:
Cemetery Nights
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
National Poetry Series
1 appearances
Works
Major Works
Concurring Beasts
1972 PoetryAn early poetry collection that uses humor and absurdity to meditate on life and art.
absurditymeditations on lifehumor
Black Dog, Red Dog
1984 PoetryA poetry collection selected by the National Poetry Series, composed of short and fragmentary poems.
memoryexistence
Cemetery Nights
1987 PoetryWinner of the Melville Cane Award; a collection of poems dealing with night and death.
deathnightmelancholy
Cold Dog Soup
1985 Novel (black humor/satire)A novel of black humor later adapted into films in the United States and France.
satireabsurditythe strangeness of modern life
Adaptations
- [Film] Cold Dog Soup (film adaptation) / Doggy Bag (French adaptation)
The Two Deaths of Señora Puccini
1988 NovelA novel exploring fate and death; adapted into the 1995 film 'Two Deaths'.
deathfatehuman relationships
Adaptations
- [Film] Two Deaths (1995)
The Church of Dead Girls
1997 Novel (mystery/gothic)A novel about a small town's hysterical reaction to the disappearance of teenage girls.
mass hysterianostalgiafear
Is Fat Bob Dead Yet?
2015 MysteryA private detective novel that was named one of Publishers Weekly's Best Mysteries of 2015.
detective fictionhuman relationships
Bibliography
- Concurring Beasts
- Griffon: Poems
- Heat Death
- The Balthus Poems
- Black Dog, Red Dog
- Cemetery Nights
- Body Traffic
- Velocities: New and Selected Poems, 1966-1992
- Common Carnage
- Pallbearers Envying the One Who Rides
- The Porcupine's Kisses
- Mystery, So Long
- Winter's Journey
- The Day's Last Light Reddens the Leaves of the Copper Beech
- A Man of Little Evils
- Dancer With One Leg
- Cold Dog Soup
- A Boat Off the Coast
- The Two Deaths of Senora Puccini
- The House on Alexandrine
- After Shocks/Near Escapes
- The Wrestler's Cruel Study
- The Church of Dead Girls
- Boy in the Water
- Eating Naked
- The Burn Palace
- Is Fat Bob Dead Yet?
- Best Words, Best Order: Essays on Poetry
- Next Word, Better Word: The Craft of Writing Poetry
Adaptations
- Cold Dog Soup (US film) / Doggy Bag (French film)
- Two Deaths (1995 film)
- Wild Turkey (film based on short story)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- uses humor and absurdityjournalistic terseness and observational voice
- Recurring Motifs
- absurditydeath and nightnostalgia and small-town atmosphere
Legacy
A writer of both poetry and novels showing a wide stylistic range—using humor and absurdity to probe deeper themes. Known for detective series as well as literary recognition; his legacy is complicated by a 1995 sexual harassment controversy.
Trivia
- In 1995, while at Syracuse University, he was suspended for two years over a sexual harassment allegation and later resigned.
- Concurring Beasts was a Lamont Poetry Selection.
- Black Dog, Red Dog was selected for the National Poetry Series.
- Cemetery Nights won the Melville Cane Award (year varies by source).
- Cold Dog Soup has been adapted into films in the U.S. and France.
- Is Fat Bob Dead Yet? was named one of Publishers Weekly's Best Mysteries of 2015.