William Larry Brown (July 9, 1951 – November 24, 2004) was an American novelist, non-fiction and short story writer. He won numerous awards, including the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters award for fiction, the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Award, and Mississippi's Governor's Award For Excellence in the Arts. He was also the first two-time winner of the Southern Book Award for Fiction. His notable works include '' Dirty Work'', ''Father and Son'', ''Joe'', and ''

Big Bad Love ''Big Bad Love'' is a 2001 film directed by Arliss Howard, who co-wrote the script with his brother, James Howard, based on a collection of short stories of the same name by Larry Brown.Debra Winger Debra Lynn Wingerhttps://www.pressreader.com/usa/closer-weekly/20200511/282084868951188https://www.discountmags.com/magazine/closer-weekly-may-11-2020-digital/in-this-issue/99961 (born May 16, 1955)https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Inter ...

and

Arliss Howard Leslie Richard "Arliss" Howard (born October 18, 1954) is an American actor, screenwriter, and film director. He is known for his roles in the films ''Full Metal Jacket'' (1987), '' Tequila Sunrise'' (1988), '' The Lost World: Jurassic Park'' (19 ...

. In 2013 a film adaptation of '' Joe'' was released, featuring

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various ac ...

. Independent filmmaker Gary Hawkins has directed an award-winning documentary of Brown's life and work in ''The Rough South of Larry Brown'' (2011).

Life and writing

Larry Brown was born on July 9, 1951, and grew up near

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, Lafayette County. Founded i ...

. He graduated from high school in Oxford, but did not want to go to college, opting instead for a stint in the Marines. Many years later, he took a creative writing class from the University of Mississippi. Brown worked at a small stove company before joining the city fire department in Oxford. An avid reader, Brown began writing in 1980 in his spare time while he worked as a firefighter (at City Station No.1 on North Lamar Blvd.) His nonfiction book ''On Fire'' describes how Brown, having trouble with sleeping at the fire station, would stay up to read and write while the other firefighters slept. His duties as a firefighter included answering fire alarms on the University of Mississippi campus and in the city of Oxford, including

Rowan Oak Rowan Oak is William Faulkner's former home in Oxford, Mississippi. It is a primitive Greek Revival house built in the 1840s by Colonel Robert Sheegog, an Irish immigrant planter from Tennessee. Faulkner purchased the house when it was in disrepai ...

—the home of

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most ...

, but now a museum. Faulkner died in 1962—on Larry Brown's 11th birthday. By his own account Brown wrote five unpublished novels, including the first one he wrote about a man-eating bear loose in

Yellowstone Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

. Brown used these kinds of personal experiences when talking to beginning writers. He could tell them not to become discouraged, if only to judge by the rather unceremonious false starts to his own writing career. Brown also indicated that he wrote hundreds of short stories before he began to be published. His first publication was a short story that appeared in the June 1982 issue of biker magazine ''

Easyriders ''Easyriders'' is an American motorcycle magazine, founded in 1970. It was published monthly by Paisano Publications for over 50 years. In addition to its coverage of motorcycles (particularly Harley-Davidsons) and related activities, ''Easyrider ...

''. His first books were two collections of short stories: ''Facing the Music'' (1988) and ''

Father and Son Father and Son or Fathers and Sons may refer to: Literature * ''Father and Son'' (book), a 1907 memoir by Edmund Gosse *Father and Son (comics), cartoon characters created by E. O. Plauen * ''Fathers and Sons'' (novel), an 1862 novel by Ivan Tur ...

'' (1996), '' Joe'' (1991), ''

Fay A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, o ...

'' (2000), and '' The Rabbit Factory'' (2003). His later works, especially, are marked by gritty realism, sudden and shocking violence, and dischronic narrative. Brown responded to criticism regarding the "brutality" in his work by saying, "Well that's fine. It's ok if you call it brutal, but just admit by God that it's honest." In March 2007, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill published Brown's unfinished novel, '' A Miracle of Catfish''. Although Brown died before finishing the book, the final page of the published version includes his notes about how he wanted the novel to end. The novel includes a lengthy introduction by Brown's editor, Shannon Ravenel, discussing her work on the project and her work with Brown over the years. Except for the novel ''The Rabbit Factory,'' all of Brown's books were published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, now a division of

Workman Publishing Workman Publishing Company, Inc., is an American publisher of trade books founded by Peter Workman. The company is comprised of either imprints: Workman, Workman Children’s, Workman Calendars, Artisan, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill and Algonq ...

. The paperback editions of Brown's books were issued by various publishers, including

Warner Books Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hache ...

, Algonquin, Holt, and

Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Ho ...

, 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 Ger ...

. Brown's nonfiction includes ''On Fire'' (1995), on the subject of his 17 years (1973–1990) as a firefighter, and ''

Billy Ray's Farm Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a young ...

'' (2001). For one semester, Brown taught as a writer-in-residence in the creative writing program at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

, temporarily taking over the position held by his friend

Barry Hannah Barry Hannah (April 23, 1942 – March 1, 2010) was an American novelist and short story writer from Mississippi.Kellogg, Carolyn (March 2, 2010)"Author Barry Hannah, 67, has died" ''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved May 18, 2013. Hannah was born in ...

. He later served as visiting writer at the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

in Missoula. He taught briefly at other colleges throughout the United States. He has been compared to other Southern writers, including

Cormac McCarthy Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr., July 20, 1933) is an American writer who has written twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays and three short stories, spanning the Western fiction, Western and Apocalyptic and post-apocalypt ...

, and

Harry Crews Harry Eugene Crews (June 7, 1935 – March 28, 2012) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. He often made use of violent, grotesque characters and set them in regions of the Deep South. Life Harry Crews was born June 7, 1 ...

. In interviews and some of his essays, Brown cited these authors, along with

Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern writer who often ...

Raymond Carver Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He contributed to the revitalization of the American short story during the 1980s. Early life Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mi ...

, and

Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted ...

, as influences. Brown had also cited contemporary music as an influence, and his tastes were broad. He appeared with the Texas alt-rock band fronted by

Alejandro Escovedo Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, including punk ...

, a good friend of his. Brown cited the lyrics of

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

as an influence. He had friends in the film industry, including

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller '' One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, ...

. Brown died of an apparent heart attack at his home in the Yocona community, near Oxford, in November 2004.

Works

*''Facing the Music'' (1988) – short stories *'' Dirty Work'' (1989) – novel *''Big Bad Love'' (1990) – short stories *''Joe'' (1991) – novel *''On Fire'' (1993) – memoir *''Father and Son'' (1996) – novel *''Fay'' (2000) – novel *''Billy Ray's Farm: Essays from a Place Called Tula'' (2001) - essays *''The Rabbit Factory'' (2003) – novel *''A Miracle of Catfish'' (2007) – novel *''Tiny Love: The Complete Stories of Larry Brown'' (2019) - short stories

References

External links

Larry Brown at The Mississippi Writer's PageLarry Brown Collection (MUM00051)
The University of Mississippi Department of Archives and Special Collections

* ttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280079/ ''The Rough South of Larry Brown'' Internet Movie Database(2002) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Larry 1951 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American novelists Novelists from Mississippi People from Oxford, Mississippi 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers Writers of American Southern literature 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers