Evan Shelby Connell Jr. (August 17, 1924 – January 10, 2013) was a U.S. novelist, short-story writer, essayist and author of epic historical works. He also published under the name Evan S. Connell Jr. In 2009, Connell was nominated for the

Man Booker International Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize was announced ...

, for lifetime achievement. On April 23, 2010, he was awarded a ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' Book Prize: the Robert Kirsch Award, for "a living author with a substantial connection to the American West, whose contribution to American letters deserves special recognition."

Background

Connell was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the only son of Evan S. Connell, Sr. (1890–1974), a physician, and Ruth Elton Connell. He had a sister, Barbara (Mrs. Matthew Zimmermann), to whom he dedicated his novel ''Mrs. Bridge'' (1959). He graduated from Southwest High School in Kansas City in 1941. He started undergraduate work at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

but joined the Navy in 1943 and became a pilot. After the end of World War II, he graduated from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

in 1947, with a B.A. in English. He studied creative writing at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York and Stanford University in California. He never married, and lived and worked in San Francisco and Sausalito, California from 1954 to 1989, when he moved to Santa Fe, N.M. Connell was found dead on January 10, 2013, at an assisted-living facility in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Career

Connell's novels '' Mrs. Bridge'' (1959) and ''Mr. Bridge'' (1969) are bittersweet, gently satirical portraits of a conventional, unimaginative upper middle-class couple living in Kansas City from the 1920s to the 1940s. The couple tries to live up to societal expectations and to be good parents, but they are sadly incapable of bridging the emotional distance between themselves and their children, and between each other. The pair of novels was adapted as a 1990

Merchant-Ivory Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant (1936–2005) and director James Ivory (b. 1928). Merchant and Ivory were life and business partners from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. During their ...

motion picture, ''

Mr. and Mrs. Bridge ''Mr. & Mrs. Bridge'' is a 1990 American drama (film and television), drama film based on the novels by Evan S. Connell of the same name. It is directed by James Ivory, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, and produced by Ismail Merchant. ...

'', starring Paul Newman and

Joanne Woodward Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American actress. A star since the Golden Age of Hollywood, Woodward made her career breakthrough in the 1950s and earned esteem and respect playing complex women with a charact ...

. Critics gave the film mostly positive reviews. Connell's 1960 novel, ''The Patriot'', is the story of Melvin Isaacs, aged 17, and his experiences in naval aviation school during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Melvin faces the terrifying reality of training and the likelihood of his "washing out" (failing). Melvin's attempts to communicate the realities of his experience to his father are rebuffed. The characters of Melvin and his father Jacob are similar in many respects to those of Douglas and Mr. Bridge. Though not well reviewed, ''The Patriot'' contains some rewarding social satire and impressive scenes of aviation. Connell's 1984 sweeping account of

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

and the Battle of the Little Bighorn, '' Son of the Morning Star'', earned critical acclaim, was a bestseller, and was adapted as a television film/miniseries in 1991. The film won four Emmy Awards.

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhap ...

described Connell as "a writer of fine style and amazing variety".

Legacy and honors

* 1959, ''Mrs. Bridge'' was a finalist for the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

in fiction. * 1974, ''Points for a Compass Rose'' was a finalist for the

in poetry. * 2009, he was nominated for the third

, for lifetime achievement. * 2010, he received the ''

'' Book Prize: the Robert Kirsch Award.

Bibliography

*"I'll Take You To Tennessee," in ''Stanford Short Stories Nineteen Forty-Nine.'' Edited by

Wallace Stegner Wallace Earle Stegner (February 18, 1909 – April 13, 1993) was an American novelist, short story writer, environmentalism, environmentalist, and historian, often called "The Dean of Western Writers". He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and the U. ...

. (1949) *''The Anatomy Lesson'' (1957) (short stories) *'' Mrs. Bridge'' (1959) *''The Patriot'' (1960) *''Notes From A Bottle Found on the Beach at Carmel'' (1962) (poetry) *''At The Crossroads'' (1965) (short stories) *''The Diary of a Rapist'' (1966) * "Here it is", in ''Why Work Series'', editor

Gordon Lish Gordon Lish (born February 11, 1934 in Hewlett, New York) is an American writer. As a literary editor, he championed many American authors, particularly Raymond Carver, Barry Hannah, Amy Hempel, Rick Bass, and Richard Ford. He is the father of t ...

(1966) *''Mr. Bridge'' (1969) *''Points for A Compass Rose'' (1973) (poetry) *''The Connoisseur'' (1974) *''Double Honeymoon'' (1976) *''A Long Desire'' (1979) (essays) *''White Lantern'' (1981) (essays) *"''Saint Augustine's Pigeon: The Selected Stories of Evan S. Connell''" (1982) *'' Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Bighorn'' (1985, ) (non-fiction) *''The Alchymist's Journal'' (1991, republished in 2006 as ''Alchymic Journals'') *''The Collected Stories of Evan S. Connell'' (1995) *''Deus Lo Volt'' (2000, ) *''The Aztec Treasure House: New and Selected Essays'' (2001, )(non-fiction) *''Francisco Goya: A Life'' (2004, ) *''Lost in Uttar Pradesh'' (2008, )

References

*''Literary Alchemist: The Writing Life of Evan S. Connell,'' by Steve Paul (2021, ) (biography)

External links

Mark Oppenheimer, "An Era of Awkward Oppression: Evan Connell's Wasps, Spent and Repressed, Offer the Truest View of American Alienation"
''Believer'', February 2005
Salon.com piece on ConnellSpecial issue on Connell: Three articles about him
''Open Letters Monthly: an Arts and Literature Review'', August 2008: Sam Sacks, "Familiar Wishes"; Steve Donoghue, "Gathering Driftwood"; and John Cotter, "Backyard Arcana"

*SPRING2014 the Paris Review, "A Visit with Evan Connell" p. 248-265, Gemma Sief.
I Am a Lover
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connell, Evan S. 1924 births 2013 deaths Writers from Kansas City, Missouri 20th-century American novelists Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters University of Kansas alumni Dartmouth College alumni Columbia University alumni Stanford University alumni American male biographers 20th-century American poets 20th-century American biographers American male novelists American male essayists American male poets American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American essayists 20th-century American male writers United States Navy pilots of World War II