Max Apple (born October 22, 1941) is an American
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one 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 oldest t ...
writer,
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while othe ...
, and
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...
at
The University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
.
Biography
Apple was born to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...
, and received his B.A. (1963) and Ph.D (1970) from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. Apple taught creative writing at
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universit ...
in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, for 29 years, where he held the Fox Chair in English. After retiring from Rice University, Apple moved to Philadelphia, where he teaches at
The University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
.
[An Interview with Writer Max Apple]
" ''The Daily Pennsylvanian'', Spring 2002 (accessed 4-27-12) Along with his published novels and short story collections, he wrote the screenplays for ''
Smokey Bites the Dust
''Smokey Bites the Dust'' is a 1981 car chase film from New World Pictures directed by Charles B. Griffith. Despite the title, the film is not connected to the ''Smokey and the Bandit'' series.
Plot
The stock plot deals with Roscoe Wilton (Jimmy ...
'', ''
The Air Up There
''The Air Up There'' is a 1994 American sports comedy film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and starring Kevin Bacon and Charles Gitonga Maina with Yolanda Vazquez as Sister Susan.
Plot
Jimmy Dolan is a college basketball assistant coach who wan ...
'', and ''
Roommates'' (based on his 1994 biography ''Roommates: My Grandfather's Story'').
Bibliography

* ''The Oranging of America and Other Stories'' (1976)
* ''Zip: A Novel of the Left and the Right'' (1978)
* ''Free Agents'' (1984)
* ''The Propheteers'' (1987)
* ''Roommates: My Grandfather's Story'' (1994)
* ''I Love Gootie: My Grandmother's Story'' (1998)
* ''The Jew of Home Depot and Other Stories'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007)
[Here](_blank)
at the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...
.
See also
*
History of the Jews in Houston
The Jewish community of Houston, Texas has grown and thrived since the 1800s. As of 2008 Jews lived in many Houston neighborhoods and Meyerland is the center of the Jewish community in the area.
History
Until 1880 Houston had a smaller Jewish ...
Notes
References
External links
An Interview with Writer Max Apple
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apple, Max
1941 births
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American male writers
American male screenwriters
Jewish American writers
Rice University faculty
University of Michigan alumni
University of Pennsylvania faculty
Living people
Pew Fellows in the Arts
American male novelists
American male short story writers
Writers from Grand Rapids, Michigan
20th-century American short story writers
Novelists from Pennsylvania
Novelists from Texas
Novelists from Michigan
21st-century American Jews