Randall Kenan - American author (March 12, 1963 – August 28, 2020) best known for his novel '' A Visitation of Spirits'' and his collection of stories ''Let the Dead Bury Their Dead'' named a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Notable Book in 1992, and ''The Fire This Time''. He was the recipient of a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

, a

Whiting Award The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, ...

, and the

John Dos Passos Prize The John Dos Passos Prize is an annual literary award given to American writers. The Prize was founded at Longwood University in 1980 and is meant to honor John Dos Passos by recognizing other writers in his name. The prize is administered by a ...

Biography

Early life

Randall Kenan was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, at six weeks old Kenan moved to

Duplin County, North Carolina Duplin County ( )
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Wallace Wallace may refer to: People * Clan Wallace in Scotland * Wallace (given name) * Wallace (surname) * Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back * Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name Wa ...

. Kenan's grandparents ran a dry-cleaning business, and most of the time they were too busy to take care of Kenan themselves, so they hired someone to take care of him. On the weekends, Kenan's great-aunt Mary and great-uncle Redden would take him to their family farm which was located in

Chinquapin, North Carolina Chinquapin is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located adjacent to the Northeast Cape Fear River in Duplin County, North Carolina, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of ...

, only about 15 miles east of Wallace. When Kenan was three years old, his great-uncle Redden died unexpectedly, and Kenan's grandfather suggested to his great-aunt Mary that she keep Kenan because she was alone. Kenan recalled the conversation, after which he remained with his great-aunt Mary for the remainder of his adolescent years. Kenan's great-aunt Mary, whom he eventually called "Mama", became a mentor for him, and she taught him how to read at the age of four. Mary was a kindergarten teacher, so she heavily supported education and began Kenan's education at a young age. He grew up loving to read everything, ranging from novels to comic books to the Bible, and he eventually developed a love for storytelling. Kenan attended the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, beginning in the fall of 1981 and he graduated in 1985 with degrees in English and Creative Writing. In his freshman year of college Kenan was pursuing a physics degree, but found himself confused on what to pursue because he was not enjoying his classes. He then decided to enroll in a writing class led by Max Steele, an editor for ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

''. Kenan also studied with the author

Doris Betts Doris Betts (June 4, 1932 – April 21, 2012) was a short story writer, novelist, essayist and Alumni Distinguished Professor Emerita at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was the author of three short story collections and six novels ...

, who tried to get Kenan a job in publishing in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Her efforts were not immediately successful, and it was not until a few months after graduation that Kenan received an offer to work for the book publisher

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

in New York City.

Professional life

Kenan was hired at Random House originally because the company "had gotten into trouble with the Equal Opportunity Commission" and they wanted to increase the number of minorities they had working at the company. After doing odd jobs at Random House, Kenan was able to secure a job at

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

as a receptionist, where he had opportunities to study his craft. Kenan worked at Knopf for only two months before he was promoted to assistant to the executive vice president, where he remained in that position for five years. While in the assistant position, until 1989, Kenan had the opportunity to edit dozens of books, which helped him improve in his own craft of storytelling. The experience working at Knopf helped Kenan in finalizing what would become his first published novel, ''A Visitation of Spirits'', in 1989. After publishing ''A Visitation of Spirits'', Kenan began teaching at three universities part time. He taught at

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

once a week each, which gave him plenty of time to work on his own writing. Kenan was a full-time professor of English at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He also served as a visiting writer or writing in residence at a number of other universities, including the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

, the

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, and the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

Writings

Kenan's first novel, '' A Visitation of Spirits'', was published in 1989. While a few critics praised the book, it did not receive much attention; however, this situation changed with the publication in 1992 of Kenan's second book, a collection of short stories titled ''Let the Dead Bury Their Dead''. The stories, based in the fictional community of Tims Creek, focused on (among other things) what it meant to be poor, black, and gay in the southern United States. The book was hailed as a revival of classic

southern literature Southern United States literature consists of American literature written about the Southern United States or by writers from the region. Literature written about the American South first began during the colonial era, and developed significan ...

and was nominated for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' Book Award for Fiction, was a finalist for the

National Book Critics Circle The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) is an American nonprofit organization (501(c) organization, 501(c)(3)) with more than 700 members. It is the professional association of American book review editors and critics, known primarily for the N ...

Award, and was named a ''

'' Notable Book. The short-story collection also brought renewed attention to his first novel, which was likewise set in Tims Creek. Kenan’s work is widely recognized for blending elements of Black Southern life with speculative and supernatural motifs. Though he did not become a traditional science fiction or fantasy writer, Kenan was a lifelong fan of those genres. He grew up in

, where he was deeply immersed in comic books, fairy tales, and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

. As a child, he aspired to emulate authors such as

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. Clarke co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A ...

and

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

, and he remained an avid comic book collector throughout his life. His writing reflects these influences through its engagement with

Afrofuturism Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, philosophy of science, and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technoculture ...

magical realism Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical rea ...

, and popular culture. Scholars have increasingly read Kenan’s fiction through the lens of Black

queer studies Queer studies, sexual diversity studies, or LGBTQ studies is the study of topics relating to sexual orientation and gender identity usually focusing on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender dysphoric, asexual, aromantic, queer, question ...

and Afrofuturist discourse, noting how his use of fantasy, folklore, and biblical allusion interrogates race, sexuality, and southern religious traditions. His work is known for exploring queer transformation, historical trauma, and the supernatural as metaphors for societal alienation and personal identity crises. In 1993, Kenan published a young adult biography of gay African-American novelist and essayist

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...

. Kenan frequently stated that Baldwin was one of his idols. He then spent several years traveling across the United States and Canada collecting oral histories of African Americans, which he published in ''Walking on Water: Black American Lives at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century'' (1999). Kenan won a number of writing awards, including a

, a

, the

Sherwood Anderson Sherwood Anderson (September 13, 1876 – March 8, 1941) was an American novelist and short story writer, known for subjective and self-revealing works. Self-educated, he rose to become a successful copywriter and business owner in Cleveland and ...

Award, the

, and the Rome Prize from the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

. In 2007, Kenan published ''The Fire This Time,'' a non-fiction book whose title references James Baldwin's 1963 ''

The Fire Next Time ''The Fire Next Time'' is a 1963 non-fiction book by James Baldwin, containing two essays: "My Dungeon Shook: Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation" and "Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region of My Mind". Th ...

''. In August 2020, Kenan published ''If I Had Two Wings'', a short-story collection. In August 2022, ''Black Folk Could Fly: Selected Writings'' was published posthumously. The book is a collection of essays written by Kenan, largely published in "magazines and quarterlies."

Death

Kenan died on August 28, 2020, at his home in Hillsborough, North Carolina, aged 57. At his death, he left an unfinished book titled ''There's a Man Going 'Round Taking Names''.

Bibliography

* '' A Visitation of Spirits'', Grove Press, 1989; Vintage, 2000 (). Kenan's first novel. * ''Let the Dead Bury Their Dead'', Harcourt, Brace, 1992 (). Short story collection. * ''James Baldwin: American Writer (Lives of Notable Gay Men & Lesbians)'', Chelsea House Publications, 1993, 2005 (). Young adult biography. * ''A Time Not Here: The Mississippi Delta'', Twin Palms Publishers, 1997 (). Kenan wrote the text for this collection of photographs by Norman Mauskoff. * ''Walking on Water: Black American Lives at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century'', Alfred A. Knopf, 1999; Vintage, 2000 (). Nominated for the Southern Book Award. * ''The Fire This Time'',

Melville House Publishing Melville House Publishing is an American independent publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The company was founded in 2001 and is run by the husband-and-wife team of Dennis Loy Johnson and Valerie Merians in Hoboken, New Jersey. ...

, 2007 () * ''If I Had Two Wings'', W. W. Norton & Company, 2020 (). Longlisted for the National Book Award. * ''Black Folk Could Fly: Selected Writings'', W. W. Norton & Company, 2022 (). Essay collection, with an introduction by

Tayari Jones Tayari Jones (born November 30, 1970) is an American author and academic known for '' An American Marriage'', which was a 2018 Oprah's Book Club Selection and won the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction. Jones is a graduate of Spelman College, the Un ...

. Published posthumously.

References

External links

Randall Kenan's homepage at the University of North Carolina

* ttp://www.whiting.org/awards/winners/randall-kenan#/ Profile at The Whiting Foundation* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenan, Randall 1963 births 2020 deaths 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American biographers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century African-American writers 21st-century American biographers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers African-American male writers African-American novelists American gay writers American male biographers American male novelists American male short story writers Duke University faculty Historians from New York (state) Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction winners African-American LGBTQ people LGBTQ people from New York (state) LGBTQ people from North Carolina Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from North Carolina People from Duplin County, North Carolina Sarah Lawrence College faculty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Writers from Brooklyn