David Means (born October 17, 1961) is an American short story writer and novelist based in Nyack, New York. His stories have appeared in many publications, including ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', '' The New Yorker'', and '' Harper's''. They are frequently set in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

or the Rust Belt, or along the Hudson River in New York.

Biography

Born in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

, Means graduated from Loy Norrix High School in 1980. He received his bachelor's degree in 1984 from the College of Wooster, where his I.S. was "Bullfighting in Boston and other Poems". He went to graduate school at Columbia University, where he received an MFA in poetry. He has been a part-time member of the English department at Vassar College since 2001. Means is married with two children.

Work

''Contemporary Authors'' writes: "With Means's second collection, ''Assorted Fire Events: Stories'', he was compared favorably to such esteemed writers as Raymond Carver and Alice Munro and praised by critics for his sharp prose." James Wood, in ''The London Review of Books'' notes that "Means' language offers an exquisitely precise and sensuous register of an often crazy American reality. Sentences gleaming with lustre are sewn through the stories. One will go a long way with a writer possessed of such skill. You can hear the influence of Flannery O'Connor in Means' prose: in the scintillating shiver of the beautiful imagery, in the lack of sentimentality, in the interest in grotesque violence, and gothic tricksterism."

Eileen Battersby Eileen Battersby ( Whiston; 4 June 1956 – 23 December 2018) was the chief literary critic of '' The Irish Times''. She sometimes divided opinion, having been described by John Banville as "the finest fiction critic we have", while attracti ...

in '' The Irish Times'' has compared Means' work to that of Eudora Welty and

John Cheever John William Cheever (May 27, 1912 – June 18, 1982) was an American short story writer and novelist. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs". His fiction is mostly set in the Upper East Side of Manhattan; the Westchester suburbs; ...

. His first novel is ''Hystopia''. It was long listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2016.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''

Hystopia ''Hystopia'' is a 2016 novel by David Means. The novel was described by literary critic Christian Lorentzen as "a counterfactual narrative by a Vietnam veteran about his experience in a therapeutic, psychedelics-based trauma recovery program init ...

'' (2016)

Short fiction

;Collections *''A Quick Kiss of Redemption'' (1991) *''Assorted Fire Events'' (2000) *''The Secret Goldfish'' (2004) *''The Spot'' (2010) *''Instructions for a Funeral'' (2019) *''Two Nurses, Smoking'' (2022) **"Clementine, Carmelita, Dog" **"Are You Experienced?" **"Two Nurses, Smoking" **"Vows" **"Lightning Speaks!" **"The Red Dot" **"I Am Andrew Wyeth!" **"First Encounter" **"Stopping Distance" **"The Depletion Prompts" ;Uncollected Short Stories * ;Anthologies *''Fakes: An Anthology of Pseudo-Interviews, Faux-Lectures, Quasi-Letters, "Found" Texts, and Other Fraudulent Artifacts'', edited by David Shields and Matthew Vollmer, W. W. Norton, 2012

Awards

* Los Angeles Times Book Prize (2000) for ''Assorted Fire Events'' * National Book Critics Circle Award (Finalist, 2000) for ''Assorted Fire Events'' * The Pushcart Prize (2001) *

O. Henry Prize The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American short-story writer O. Henry. The ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' is an annual collection of the year's twenty bes ...

(2006) for "Sault Ste. Marie" * Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award (Shortlist, 2005) for ''The Secret Goldfish'' *O. Henry Prize (2011) for "The Junction"

References

External links

New York Times interview with David MeansThe Guardian (London) review of The SpotTime Out review of The SpotInterview with David Means

"Elective Mute" (Story)
from

* Ponteri, Jay
"David Means and the Secret Mystery"
'' Loggernaut'', 2005. Long interview discussing the author's work.
Radio interview in which David Means discusses his book ''Assorted Fire Events'' and reads his short story ''The Woodcutter''

Short story "The Knocking" at ''The New Yorker''

2010 Short story collection "The Spot"Essay about stories by David Means David Means reads "Chef's House" by Raymond Carver/New Yorker/short interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Means, David 1961 births American short story writers College of Wooster alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Living people Writers from Kalamazoo, Michigan People from Nyack, New York The New Yorker people Vassar College faculty