Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
,
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
) is a Canadian
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...
writer. Jarman's work includes the novel ''Salvage King, Ya!'', the short story collection ''Knife Party at the Hotel Europa'' and the travel book ''Ireland's Eye.''
A graduate of the
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...
, Jarman has taught at the
University of New Brunswick
The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...
and the
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...
.
Jarman's writing has won the O. Henry Award, the Gold National Magazine Award in nonfiction, the Jack Hodgins Fiction Prize, and has been a finalist for the
Journey Prize
The Journey Prize (officially called The Writers' Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize) is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short stories published b ...
. Jarman has been awarded the Maclean-Hunter Endowment Award twice.
Personal life
Though native to Edmonton, Jarman has travelled extensively across the country and the world, visiting places such as
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, the United States and
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. Telegraphjournal: Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada] accessed 26 October 2010. Jarman's natural interest in literature led him to pursue the craft of writing. Before becoming a teacher, Jarman worked as a truck driver and considered writing as a hobby. His personal interests include
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...
,
cycling
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
, and
hockey
''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
. Jarman is also a musician and is part of a local blues band, Toredown.
Mark Anthony Jarman is a Yaddo Fellow and has taught at the University of Victoria, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and the University of New Brunswick. He is fiction editor of
The Fiddlehead
''The Fiddlehead'' is a Canadian literary magazine, published four times annually at the University of New Brunswick. It is the oldest Canadian literary magazine which is still in circulation.
History and profile
''The Fiddlehead'' was establ ...
.
Style of writing
Jarman credits his style of writing to his experience at the
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...
, and cites author
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 ...
as being a significant influence on his style.Short Story Month Q&A: Mark Anthony Jarman accessed 22 October 2010. Jarman has stated that he prefers writing
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
as he "finds novels cumbersome".Review of My White Planet by Mark Anthony Jarman , Quill & Quire accessed 22 October 2010. Literature
critic
A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...
Steven W. Beattie, on reviewing his short story collection'' My White Planet'', stated that Jarman's writing differentiates from the norm of classic
Canadian literature
Canadian literature is written in several languages including Canadian English, English, Canadian French, French, and various Indigenous Canadian languages. It is often divided into French- and English-language literatures, which are rooted in th ...
and focuses on "the delirious and courageous use of language to create startling effects".
Jarman's short stories have been known to explore a variety of different themes, including
war
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
,
crisis
A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...
and Canadian culture (notably
hockey
''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
). Beattie, reviewing one of the stories in the ''My White Planet'' collection, noted "'A Nation Plays Chopsticks' may be the finest explanation for Canadian's love affair with hockey I've ever read".
Notable works
Jarman's books have been received positively, and have won and been nominated for a number of awards. One of his short story collections, ''19 Knives'', was met with acclaim and chosen as 'book of the year' by
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
newspaper. Jarman's writings have also earned him the O. Henry Award and Best American Essays, Gold National Magazine Award in nonfiction and have won the Maclean-Hunter Endowment Award twice.Mark Anthony Jarman: Banff Centre accessed 24 October 2010. He has also won the Jack Hodgins Fiction Prize, and has been included in The Journey Prize Anthology and Best Canadian Stories. Furthermore, Jarman's ''Salvage King, Ya!'' is placed on Amazon Canada's 50 Essential Canadian books as well as number one on their best hockey fiction list.Anansi.ca: author accessed 24 October 2010.
Jarman is the author of ''Knife Party at the Hotel Europa'' (
Goose Lane Editions
Goose Lane Editions is a Canadian Publishing, book publishing company founded in 1954 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick as Fiddlehead Poetry Books by Fred Cogswell and a group of students and faculty from the University of ...
), ''My White Planet'', ''19 Knives'', ''New Orleans Is Sinking'', ''Dancing Nightly in the Tavern'', and the travel book ''Ireland's Eye''. He has also published articles in ''Walrus'', ''Canadian Geographic'', ''The Barcelona Review'', ''Vrij Nederland'' and reviews for ''The Globe and Mail''.
He won the
ReLit Award The ReLit Awards are Canadian literary prizes awarded annually to book-length works in the novel, short-story and poetry categories."Three indie writers honoured by ReLit Awards". ''The Globe and Mail'', July 19, 2007. Founded in 2000 by Newfoundla ...
short fiction in 2001 for ''19 Knives''."New literary prize recognizes smaller success stories". ''
Calgary Herald
The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network.
History
''The C ...
'', June 18, 2001. He also received nominations in the same category for ''My White Planet'' in 2009, ''Knife Party at the Hotel Europa'' in 2016, and ''Czech Techno'' in 2021."38 books shortlisted for 2021 ReLit Awards"
CBC Books
CBC Arts () is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's diverse artistic communitie ...
, April 19, 2021.
Publications
* 1984: ''Dancing Nightly in the Tavern'' (Presse Porcépic) (stories)
* 1986: ''Killing the Swan'' (Presse Porcépic) (poems)
* 1997: ''Salvage King Ya!'' (Anvil Press) (novel)
* 1998: ''New Orleans is Sinking'' (Oberon)
hardcover
A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as casebound (At p. 247.)) book is one bookbinding, bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other clo ...
,
paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...
(stories)
* 2000: ''19 Knives'' (House of Anansi) (stories)
* 2002: ''Ireland's Eye: Travels'' (House of Anansi) (non-fiction)
* 2008: ''My White Planet'' (Thomas Allen) (stories)
* 2015: ''Knife Party at the Hotel Europa'' (Goose Lane Editions) (stories)
* 2022: ''Touch Anywhere to Begin'' (Goose Lane Editions) (non-fiction/travel)
* 2024: ''Burn Man'' (