Brian Evenson

Brian Evenson
Brian Evenson
Born	(1966-08-12)August 12, 1966 Ames, Iowa,U.S.
Pen name	B. K. Evenson
Occupation	Novelist, professor
Education	Brigham Young University(BA) University of Washington(MA,PhD)
Genre	Literary fiction,popular fiction
Notable works	Father of Lies Last Days
Notable awards	Guggenheim Fellowship,2017

Brian Evenson(born August 12, 1966) is an American academic and writer of bothliterary fictionandpopular fiction,some of the latter being published underB. K. Evenson.His fiction is often described asliterary minimalism,but also draws inspiration fromhorror,weird fiction,detective fiction,science fictionandcontinental philosophy.Evenson makes frequent use ofdark humorand often features characters struggling with thelimits and consequences of knowledge.He has also written non-fiction, and translated several books by French-language writers into English.

Since 2016 he has taught in the School of Critical Studies at theCalifornia Institute of the Arts,both in the Creative Writing MFA program and in the Aesthetics and Politics MA Program.

Biography

Brian Evenson was born August 12, 1966, inAmes, Iowa.His father, William Evenson, was a longtime professor of physics atBrigham Young University(BYU) and later an administrator at the same school.As a young man, Brian Evenson served atwo-year missionforthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints(LDS Church) in France and Switzerland.

He received degrees from BYU (BA) and theUniversity of Washington(MA and PhD). After leaving a teaching position at BYU, he held positions atOklahoma State University,Syracuse University,and theUniversity of Denverbefore being hired atBrown University.He was Professor of Literary Arts at Brown from 2003 to 2015.

BYU controversy

While teaching at BYU, Evenson was involved in a controversy surrounding his first bookAltmann's Tongue(1994).While a new professor of creative writing atBrigham Young University(BYU), Brian Evenson publishedAltmann's Tongue,which included scenes of violence such as characters who are forced to eat mutilated tongues and who attempt to cut off their own limbs.Evenson stated that his book contract was a "significant factor" in his being hired, and he included some stories from the collection in his application.A graduate student complained anonymously to church leaders that the work promoted the "enjoyment" of violence, while Evenson argued that his fiction accentuated violence to show its horror and "thus allow it to be condemned."A senior faculty member planned to tell church authorities that Evenson knew that future, similar publications would "bring repercussions," even though Evenson had not said this.Evenson resigned from BYU in 1995, and left the church formally in 2000.His case, along with others, was included in a report by theAmerican Association of University Professors,which argued thatacademic freedomwas stifled at BYU.

Writing style and influences

Evenson's Ph.D is in both literature andcritical theory,and his work is subtly philosophical, particularly influenced bycontinental philosophy.Many of Evenson's recurrent themes of virtuality and "sensation" being traceable to Deleuze & Guattari'sCapitalism and Schizophrenia.Altmann's Tongueopened with an epigraph byJulia Kristeva;Dark Propertyfeatured quotes in untranslated German fromMartin Heidegger;and several of Evenson's books have epigraphs from philosopherAlphonso Lingis.However, Evenson has stated that he intends any philosophical elements to be fully integrated into his fiction rather than promoting any particular viewpoint, and has argued that reading philosophical works directly is more rewarding than reading philosophy that is veiled as fiction.

Some of Evenson's work explores his Mormon heritage, often from a critical perspective or examining controversial subject matter. For example, the main character ofThe Open Curtain(2006) becomes preoccupied with a murder committed in the early 1900s byWilliam Hooper Young,a grandson of 19th-century Mormon leaderBrigham Young,whileImmobility(2012) takes place in a post-apocalyptic Utah and features some esoteric elements ofLDS theology.Nonetheless, Evenson has asserted that he maintains a measure of respect for devout believers in the LDS Church and does not intend to casually offend or provoke them.

Evenson's work has been compared to that ofJ. G. Ballard,Jorge Luis Borges,Paul Bowles,Franz Kafka,William S. Burroughs,Cormac McCarthy,Robert CooverandEdgar Allan Poe(among others).Evenson has expressed admiration for horror novelistPeter Straub,and for crime fiction in thehardboiledgenre, both past masters likeDashiell HammettandJim Thompson,and contemporary practitioners likeAndrew Vachss.

Awards

• 1995National Endowment for the ArtsCreative Writer's Fellowship
• 1998O. Henry Awardfor "Two Brothers"
• 2007Edgar Awardfinalist forThe Open Curtain
• 2007International Horror Guild AwardforThe Open Curtain
• 2007Shirley Jackson Awardnomination forLast Days
• 2010ALA/RUSAprize for Best Horror novel of 2009 forLast Days
• 2010World Fantasy Awardfinalist (for 2009) for short story collectionFugue State
• 2017Shirley Jackson Awardnomination forThe Warren
• 2017Guggenheim Fellowship
• 2019Shirley Jackson AwardforSong for the Unraveling of the World
• 2020World Fantasy AwardforSong for the Unraveling of the World

Bibliography

Works of fiction

• Altmann's Tongue(1994, Knopf; Bison Books reprint 2002)
• Din of Celestial Birds(1997)
• Prophets and Brothers(1997)
• Father of Lies(1998; Coffee House Press reprint 2016)
• Contagion(2000)
• Dark Property(2002)
• The Wavering Knife: Stories(2004)
• The Open Curtain(2006; Coffee House Press reprint 2016)
• Aliens: No Exit(2008) as B. K. Evenson
• BABY LEG(2009)New York Tyrant Press
• Last Days(2009, Underland Press' debut novel, expanded fromThe Brotherhood of Mutilation;Coffee House Books reprint 2016)
• Fugue State: Stories(2009, Coffee House Press; with illustrations byZak Sally)
• Dead Space: Martyras B. K. Evenson (2010, Tor)
• Immobility(2012,Tor Books)
• Windeye: Stories(2012)
• Dead Space: Catalystas B. K. Evenson (October 2012)
• The Lords of Salemas B. K. Evenson, withRob Zombie(March 2013)
• A Collapse of Horses: Stories(2016, Coffee House Press)
• The Warren(2016, Tor)
• Feral,as B.K. Evenson, with James Demonaco (2017, Anchor)
• The Deaths of Henry King,withJesse BallandLilli Carré(2017, Uncivilized Books)
• "Gatekeeper" (short story),Whose Future is It?,chapter 2 (2018)
• "Abomata" (short story),Whose Future is It?,chapter 6 (2018)
• "Wanderers After The Light" (short story),Whose Future is It?,chapter 12 (2018)
• Song for the Unraveling of the World: Stories(2019, Coffee House Press)
• The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell: Stories(2021, Coffee House Press)
• "The Fourth Scene" (short story),Howls From the Dark Ages(2022, HOWL Society Press)

Works of non-fiction

• Understanding Robert Coover(2003)
• Ed Vs. Yummy Fur (or, What Happens When a Serial Comic Becomes a Graphic Novel)(2014)
• Raymond Carver's What We Talk About When We Talk About Love(2018)
• Reports(Chapbook, 2018)

Works of translation

• "Painting" by Jean Frémon (1999)
• Introduction toThe Passion of Martin Fissel BrandtbyChristian Gailly[translated by Melanie Kemp] (2002)
• Giacometti: Three Essaysby Jacques Dupin (2003)
• Mountain Rby Jacques Jouet (2004)
• Red Hazeby Christian Gailly [co-translated with David Beus] (2005)
• Electric FleshbyChristophe Claro(2006)
• "The Paradoxes of Robert Ryman" by Jean Frémon (2008)
• Donogoo-Tonka, or the Miracles of SciencebyJules Romains(2009)
• Bunker AnatomybyChristophe Claro(2010)
• In the Time of the Blue BallbyManuela Draeger[co-translated with Valerie Evenson] (2011)
• The Last of the EgyptiansbyGerard Macé(2011)
• The Botanical Gardenby Jean Frémon (2012)
• Incidents in the NightbyDavid B.[co-translated with Sarah Evenson] (2014)
• Prisoner of the Vampires of MarsbyGustave Le Rouge[co-translated with David Beus] (2015)

Recordings

• Altmann's Tongueby Brian Evenson withXingu Hill& Tamarin (2005). Currently available from many legal mp3 sites (Amie Street, Emusic, iTunes, Amazon etc.). Also, available as a CD.

External links

• Brian Evensonat theInternet Speculative Fiction Database
• Brian Evenson Papers.Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.