Robert Coover
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Robert Lowell Coover (February 4, 1932 – October 5, 2024) was an American novelist, short story writer, and T. B. Stowell Professor Emeritus in Literary Arts at
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
. He is generally considered a writer of fabulation and
metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction that emphasizes its own narrative structure in a way that inherently reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and story ...
. He became a proponent of
electronic literature Electronic literature or digital literature is a genre of literature where digital capabilities such as interactivity, multimodality or Generative literature, algorithmic text generation are used aesthetically. Works of electronic literature ar ...
and was a founder of the Electronic Literature Organization.


Background

Coover was born in
Charles City, Iowa Charles City is a city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Iowa, United States. Charles City is a significant commercial and transportation center for the area. U.S. Route 18 in Iowa, U.S. Routes 18 and U.S. Route 218, 218, Iowa Highway 14, ...
. He attended
Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...
, received his B.A. in
Slavic Studies Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic peoples, Slavic peoples, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or ...
from
Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...
in 1953, then served in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
from 1953 to 1957, where he became a
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
. He received an M.A. in General Studies in the
Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...
from the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
in 1965. In 1968, he signed the "
Writers and Editors War Tax Protest Tax resistance, the practice of refusing to pay taxes that are considered unjust, has probably existed ever since rulers began imposing taxes on their subjects. It has been suggested that tax resistance played a significant role in the collapse o ...
" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. Coover served as a teacher or writer in residence at many universities. He taught at Brown University from 1981 to 2012.


Literary career

Coover's first novel was '' The Origin of the Brunists'', in which the sole survivor of a mine disaster starts a religious cult. His second book, '' The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop.'', deals with the role of the creator. The eponymous Waugh, a shy, lonely accountant, creates a baseball game in which rolls of the dice determine every play, and dreams up players to attach those results to. Coover's 1969 short story collection ''Pricksongs and Descants'' contains the celebrated metafictional story "The Babysitter," which was adapted into the 1995 movie of the same title, directed by Guy Ferland. Coover's best-known work, '' The Public Burning'', deals with the case of
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Julius Rosenberg (May 12, 1918 – June 19, 1953) and Ethel Rosenberg (born Greenglass; September 28, 1915 – June 19, 1953) were an American married couple who were convicted of First Chief Directorate, spying for the Soviet Union, including ...
in terms that have been called
magic 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 re ...
. Half of the book is devoted to the mythic hero
Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (with the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the United States, depicting the federal government of the United States, federal government or the country as a whole. Since the early 19th centu ...
of tall tales, dealing with the equally fantastic Phantom, who represents international
Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
. The alternate chapters portray the efforts of
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
to stage the execution of the Rosenbergs as a public event in
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
. As reviewer Thomas R. Edwards wrote in ''
The 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 ...
'', "Astonishingly, Nixon is the most interesting and sympathetic character in the story." Coover's 1982
novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...
''Spanking the Maid'' remained one of his favorites; asked in an interview "Which of your books will get you into heaven?", Coover quipped, "''Spanking the Maid''. God's deep into S&M." A later novella, ''Whatever Happened to Gloomy Gus of the Chicago Bears'' (1987), offers an alternate Nixon, one who is devoted to football and sex with the same doggedness with which he pursued political success in this reality. The theme anthology ''A Night at the Movies'' includes the story "You Must Remember This", a piece about ''
Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
'' that features an explicit description of what Rick and Ilsa did when the camera wasn't on them. ''Pinocchio in Venice'' returns to mythical themes. In 1987 he was the winner of the
Rea Award for the Short Story The Rea Award for the Short Story is an annual award given to a living United States, American or Canada, Canadian author chosen for unusually significant contributions to short story fiction. The Award The Rea Award is named after Michael M. Rea ...
. In 2021, Coover, in a collaboration with
Art Spiegelman Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman ( ; born February 15, 1948), professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazin ...
, released ''Street Cop''.


Electronic literature

Coover was a supporter of early
electronic literature Electronic literature or digital literature is a genre of literature where digital capabilities such as interactivity, multimodality or Generative literature, algorithmic text generation are used aesthetically. Works of electronic literature ar ...
, and was one of the founders of the Electronic Literature Organization. He taught electronic literature at
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
and organized events such as the Technology Platforms for 21st Century Literature (TP21CL), held at Brown in 1999. In 1992 he published the essay "The End of Books" in ''
The 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 ...
'', making a mainstream audience aware of the new genre for perhaps the first time. The "now infamous" essay "roiled the literary scene and declaimed the imminent demise of the novel". Many scholars of electronic literature reference the essay, for instance J. Yellowlees Douglas in the title of her book, ''The End of Books–Or Books Without End? Reading Interactive Narratives''. In 1993, Coover published a second ''New York Times'' essay on electronic literature titled "Hyperfiction: Novels for the Computer". Coover established the
Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...
program in Digital Language Arts at
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
, and helped bring a string of writers of electronic literature to the university, including John Cayley, Talan Memmott,
Noah Wardrip-Fruin Noah Wardrip-Fruin is a professor in the Computational Media department of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is an advisor for the Expressive Intelligence Studio. He is an alumnus of the Literary Arts MFA program and Special Graduate S ...
, William Gillespie, and Samantha Gorman. Talan Memmott was Brown University's first graduate fellow of electronic writing.


Personal life and death

Coover's wife was the noted needlepoint artist Pilar Sans Coover. They have three children, including Sara Caldwell. Coover died at a care home in
Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...
, England, on October 5, 2024, at the age of 92.


Bibliography


Novels

*'' The Origin of the Brunists'' (1966) *'' The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop.'' (1968) *'' A Political Fable'' (1968); reprinted as ''The Cat in the Hat for President: A Fable'' (2018) *'' The Public Burning'' (1977) *''Spanking the Maid'' (1982) *'' Gerald's Party'' (1986) *''Whatever Happened to Gloomy Gus of the Chicago Bears?'' (1987) *''Pinocchio in Venice'' (1991) *''Dr. Chen's Amazing Adventure'' (1991) *''John's Wife'' (1996) *''Briar Rose'' (1996) *''Ghost Town'' (1998) *'' The Adventures of Lucky Pierre: Director's Cut'' (2002) *''The Grand Hotels (of Joseph Cornell)'' (2002) *''Stepmother'' (2004) *''Noir'' (2010) *'' The Brunist Day of Wrath'' (2014) *'' Huck Out West'' (2017) *''The Enchanted Prince'' (2018) *''Street Cop'' (with
Art Spiegelman Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman ( ; born February 15, 1948), professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazin ...
) (2021) *'' Open House'' (2023) Collections * *'' In Bed One Night & Other Brief Encounters'' 1983. , * * * Uncollected Stories *“Blackdamp.” ''Noble Savage,'' no. 4 (October 1961), 218–29. *“The Square Shooter and the Saint: A Story about Jerusalem.” ''Evergreen Review'', no. 25 (July/August 1962): 92–101. *“Dinner with the King of England.” ''Evergreen Review'', no. 27 (November/December 1962): 110–18. *“D.D. Baby.” ''Cavalier'', July 1963, 53–56, 93. *“Neighbours.” ''Argosy (UK)'', January 1966, 129–33. *“Letter from Patmos.” ''Quarterly Review of Literature'', no. 16, 1969, 29–31. *“That the Door Opened.” ''Quarterly Review of Literature'', no. 16, 1969, 311–17. *“The Reunion.” ''Iowa Review'' 1.4 (Fall 1970): 64–67. *“Party Talk: Unheard Conversation at ''Gerald’s Party. Fiction International'' 18.2 (Spring 1990): 187–203. *“A Sudden Story.” ''TriQuarterly'', no. 78, Spring/Summer 1990, 396. *“Touch.” ''Paris Review'' 40.149 (Winter 1998): 155–59. *“The Photographer.” ''Fence Magazine'' 2.2 (Fall/Winter 1999–2000): 30–41. *“On Mrs. Willie Masters.” ''Review of Contemporary Fiction'' 24.3 (Fall 2004): 10–23. *“Ten Minutes in the Orxatería La Valenciana.” ''Storie, Afternoon Anthology'', no. 42/43, 2008, 227. *“Red-Hot Ruby.” ''Conjunctions'', no. 50, Spring 2008, 450–69.
The Case of the Severed Hand
" ''Harper's Magazine,'' June 2008.
White-Bread Jesus
. ''Harper's Magazine'', December 2008.
The War Between Sylvania and Freedonia
" ''Harper’s Magazine'', July 2010, 62–66.
An Encounter
. ''Fortnightly Review'', 2010.
The Old Man
.''Fortnightly Review,'' 2011. *“The Box.” ''Conjunctions'', no. 56, Spring 2011, 221–27.
Matinée
. ''New Yorker'', July 25, 2011, 67–71.
Vampire
. ''Granta,'' October 21, 2011.
The Colonel’s Daughter
. ''New Yorker'', September 2, 2013.
The Frog Prince
. ''New Yorker'', January 27, 2014.
The Waitress
. ''New Yorker'', May 19, 2014.
The Crabapple Tree
. ''New Yorker'', January 12, 2015.
The Hanging of the Schoolmarm
. ''New Yorker'', November 28, 2016.
The Wall
. ''Conjunctions'', no. 68, Spring 2017.
The Boss
. ''New Yorker'', August 2, 2017.
M*rphed
. ''Granta'', October 20, 2017.
Treatments
. ''New Yorker'', April 30, 2018.
Hulk
. ''Granta'', June 10, 2019.
Citizen Punch
. ''New Yorker'', July 18, 2019.


Plays

*''The Kid'' (1970) *''Love Scene'' (1971) *''Rip Awake'' (1972)
''A Theological Position''
(1972, )


Other

*''The Water Pourer'' (1972) An unpublished chapter from ''The Origin of the Brunists'', signed by author and limited to 300 copies. 22 pages. * (essay) *
The Bad Book"
On the Bible


Awards and honors

*1967 William Faulkner Foundation Award for notable first novel for ''The Origin of the Brunists'' *1987
Rea Award for the Short Story The Rea Award for the Short Story is an annual award given to a living United States, American or Canada, Canadian author chosen for unusually significant contributions to short story fiction. The Award The Rea Award is named after Michael M. Rea ...


See also

* List of electronic literature authors, critics, and works * Digital poetry * E-book#History *
Electronic literature Electronic literature or digital literature is a genre of literature where digital capabilities such as interactivity, multimodality or Generative literature, algorithmic text generation are used aesthetically. Works of electronic literature ar ...
*
Hypertext fiction Hypertext fiction is a genre of electronic literature characterized by the use of hypertext links that provide a new context for non-linearity in literature and reader interaction. The reader typically chooses links to move from one node of text to ...
*
Interactive fiction Interactive fiction (IF) is software simulating environments in which players use text Command (computing), commands to control Player character, characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narrati ...
* Literatronica


References


External links


Faculty Home Page at Brown University
*– Interview *

*– Novelist Robert Coover's keynote address at the Electronic Literature in Europe seminar (elitineurope.net), September 13, 2008. Introduced by Scott Rettberg. Videography by Martin Arvebro. * Radio Interview * Bookworm Interviews (Audio) with Michael Silverblatt
December 2005December 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coover, Robert 1932 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers American male novelists American male short story writers American postmodern writers American tax resisters Brown University faculty Electronic literature critics Indiana University Bloomington alumni Iowa Writers' Workshop faculty Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Military personnel from Iowa Novelists from Iowa People from Charles City, Iowa The New Yorker people United States Navy officers Writers from Providence, Rhode Island