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John Dufresne (born January 30, 1948) is an American author of
French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...
descent born in
Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 census, making it the second- most populous city in New England after ...
. He graduated from Worcester State College in 1970 and the
University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkans ...
in 1984. He is a professor in the Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing program of the English Department at
Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...
. In 2012, he won a
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowships to professionals who have demonstrated exceptional ...
Fellowship for his work.


Books

Dufresne's first novel, ''Louisiana Power and Light'' (1994), was named as one of ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''' notable books of the year, as was his second novel, ''Love Warps the Mind a Little'' (1997). Dufresne's third novel, ''Deep in the Shade of Paradise'' (2002), was a
Book Sense IndieBound is a marketing movement for independent bookstores launched in 2008 by the American Booksellers Association. With resources targeted for "indie" booksellers, it promotes fiscal localism. IndieBound's curated reading lists include the I ...
Top Ten of the Year selection. It contains some of the same characters in ''Louisiana Power and Light'', although in an interview with writer Max Ruback, which appeared in the Winter 2001 issue of the literary magazine ''Turnrow'', Dufresne has said that he does not consider ''Deep in the Shade of Paradise'' to be a sequel. Both of these novels, however, developed from a long short story in Dufresne's first collection, ''The Way that Water Enters Stone'' (1991). Dufresne published a second short story collection, ''Johnny Too Bad'', in 2005. The title story of the book had previously been chosen for compilation in ''New Stories from the South: The Year's Best, 2003''. In 2003, he also published ''The Lie That Tells a Truth: A Guide to Writing Fiction''. Dufresne published a fourth novel, ''Requiem, Mass.'', in 2008. All of his books were published originally by
W. W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly ''The Norton A ...
, which kept them in print except for his first book of short stories, ''The Way that Water Enters Stone''. Plume, an imprint of Dutton-Signet, a division of
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year. ''Love Warps the Mind A Little'' (in 1998) and ''Deep in the Shade of Paradise'' (in 2003). In 1998, Dufresne collaborated with
Carl Hiaasen Carl Hiaasen (; born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. He began his career as a newspaper reporter and by the late 1970s had begun writing novels in his spare time, both for adults and for young-adult readers. Two of his no ...
,
Dave Barry David McAlister Barry (born July 3, 1947) is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for the ''Miami Herald'' from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comi ...
,
Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense th ...
and nine other
South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...
writers on ''Naked Came the Manatee'', a detective novel published by
Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains p ...
, a division of
Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
. Dufresne's short story "This is the Age of Beautiful Death" appears in the online journal '' Blackbird''. His essay "To Knit a Knot, Or Knot: A Beginner's Yarn" appears in the anthology ''Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting'', published by W. W. Norton & Company in November 2013.


Plays and screenplays

Dufresne's screenplay ''Freezer Jesus'', based on another story in his first short story collection, won in the
Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. The universit ...
Summer Film Project's 2002 screenwriting contest and was produced that year by the project. The cinematographer, Jack Anderson, has a long list of Hollywood credits. After being selected for several other festivals, it was featured at
Saugatuck, Michigan Saugatuck is a city in Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 865 at the 2020 census. The city is within Saugatuck Township, but is administratively autonomous. Originally a lumber town and port, Saugatuck, along wi ...
's 2006 Waterfront Film Festival. Dufresne's play, ''Trailerville'', premiered at the
Off-off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...
Blue Heron Theatre in 2005. In the summer of 2007,
Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. The universit ...
produced the film ''To Live and Die In Dixie'', with a screenplay by Dufresne. Jack Anderson was again hired as cinematographer, with Harper Philbin as director. The film was released in 2008.


References


External links


Dufresne's website - includes a blog on literature and politics.
*
Trailerville
' *
To Live and Die in Dixie
'
Waterfront Film Festival
*

Flowers, Charles ''Miami Monthly'', (undated, accessed August 14, 2006).
''Blackbird'': an online journal of literature and the arts


{{DEFAULTSORT:Dufresne, John 1948 births American people of French-Canadian descent Living people 20th-century American novelists American male screenwriters University of Arkansas alumni Florida International University faculty Worcester State University alumni 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male novelists American male dramatists and playwrights American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Florida Screenwriters from Florida