Clyde Edgerton
Encyclopedia
Clyde Edgerton is an American
author
and English literature
professor
.
Born in Durham, North Carolina
, his books are known for endearing characters, small-town Southern
dialogue and realistic fire and brimstone
religious sermons. His books are full of humor, while still respecting the characters' integrity.
He grew up in the small, rural town of Bethesda, North Carolina
. He was the only child of Truma and Ernest Edgerton, who came from families of cotton
and tobacco
farmer
s, respectively.
In 1962 Edgerton enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
, eventually major
ing in English. During this time he was a student in the Air Force
ROTC
program where he learned to fly a small plane. After graduating in 1966, he entered the Air Force and served five years as a fighter pilot
in the United States, Korea
, Japan
and Thailand
.
After his time in service, Edgerton got his Master's degree
in English and began a job as an English teacher at his old high school. Soon after, he also earned a doctorate
.
He decided to become a writer in 1978 after watching Eudora Welty
read a short story on public television.
Publication of Edgerton's first novel, Raney, the plot of which revolves around the marriage of a Free Will Baptist and an Episcopalian, ultimately led to Edgerton's leaving the teaching staff at Campbell University
in Buies Creek, North Carolina (a Baptist institution). His later work, Killer Diller, is a thinly-veiled satire of that university and its administration, with whom Edgerton clashed over Raney.
All of Edgerton’s works are influenced in some way by his personal experiences. While much of his prose feels like reading a slice-of-life narrative, there is one text that is less Edgerton, and more “life” – his novel Redeye. Inspired by a visit to the Mesa Verde and Anasazi cliff dwellings, Clyde Edgerton uses that as a central location for the events of his story. The text is set in 1890s Colorado, and required an extensive amount of research when compared to his other works.
Currently he is a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
.
Born in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, his books are known for endearing characters, small-town Southern
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
dialogue and realistic fire and brimstone
Fire and brimstone
Fire and brimstone is an idiomatic expression of signs of God's wrath in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. In the Bible, they often appear in reference to the fate of the unfaithful. "Brimstone," possibly the ancient name for sulfur, evokes the acrid odor of volcanic activity...
religious sermons. His books are full of humor, while still respecting the characters' integrity.
He grew up in the small, rural town of Bethesda, North Carolina
Bethesda, Durham County, North Carolina
Bethesda is an unincorporated community in southeastern Durham County, North Carolina, USA, on South Miami Boulevard, off of U.S. Route 70. The community has two churches, two schools, an approximate population of 30, and a ZIP code of 27703. It has mostly been annexed into the city of...
. He was the only child of Truma and Ernest Edgerton, who came from families of cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s, respectively.
In 1962 Edgerton enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, eventually major
Academic major
In the United States and Canada, an academic major or major concentration is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits....
ing in English. During this time he was a student in the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
ROTC
Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a college-based, officer commissioning program, predominantly in the United States. It is designed as a college elective that focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics.The U.S...
program where he learned to fly a small plane. After graduating in 1966, he entered the Air Force and served five years as a fighter pilot
Military aviation
Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...
in the United States, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
After his time in service, Edgerton got his Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in English and began a job as an English teacher at his old high school. Soon after, he also earned a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
.
He decided to become a writer in 1978 after watching Eudora Welty
Eudora Welty
Eudora Alice Welty was an American author of short stories and novels about the American South. Her novel The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous awards. She was the first living author to have her works published...
read a short story on public television.
Publication of Edgerton's first novel, Raney, the plot of which revolves around the marriage of a Free Will Baptist and an Episcopalian, ultimately led to Edgerton's leaving the teaching staff at Campbell University
Campbell University
Campbell University is a coeducational, church-related university in rural North Carolina, USA. Its main campus is located in the community of Buies Creek; its law school moved from Buies Creek to a new campus in the state capital of Raleigh in 2009. Campbell has an approximately equal number of...
in Buies Creek, North Carolina (a Baptist institution). His later work, Killer Diller, is a thinly-veiled satire of that university and its administration, with whom Edgerton clashed over Raney.
All of Edgerton’s works are influenced in some way by his personal experiences. While much of his prose feels like reading a slice-of-life narrative, there is one text that is less Edgerton, and more “life” – his novel Redeye. Inspired by a visit to the Mesa Verde and Anasazi cliff dwellings, Clyde Edgerton uses that as a central location for the events of his story. The text is set in 1890s Colorado, and required an extensive amount of research when compared to his other works.
Currently he is a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Works
- Raney (January 2, 1985)
- Walking Across Egypt (January 3, 1987)
- The Floatplane Notebooks (April 1988)
- Killer Diller (January 1, 1991)
- In Memory of Junior (January 10, 1992)
- Redeye (January 4, 1995)
- Where Trouble Sleeps (January 9, 1997)
- Lunch at the Piccadilly (October 1, 2003)
- Solo: My Adventure in the Air (September 9, 2005; non-fiction memoir of his fighter pilot career)
- The Bible Salesman (August 18, 2008)
- The Night Train (July 25th, 2011)
Films
Two of Clyde Edgerton's novels have been adapted to film:- Walking Across Egypt, a 1999 film starring Jonathan Taylor ThomasJonathan Taylor ThomasJonathan Taylor Thomas is an American actor, voice actor, former child star, and teen idol...
- Killer DillerKiller DillerKiller Diller is a 2004 drama film with musical themes that had a limited release in 2006. The film was written and directed by Tricia Brock and is based on the novel by Clyde Edgerton. Bottleneck was its working title...
, a 2006 limited release film starring Lucas BlackLucas BlackLucas York Black is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the CBS television series American Gothic as well as roles in films such as Sling Blade, Jarhead, Friday Night Lights, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Legion, Get Low, and All the Pretty Horses.-Personal...
, in which Edgerton had a cameoCameo appearanceA cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
as a faculty member.
Awards
- Five 'notable books of the year' awards from the New York Times
- Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
- Lyndhurst Fellowship
- North Carolina Award for LiteratureNorth Carolina AwardThe North Carolina Award is the highest civilian award bestowed by the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is awarded in the four fields of science, literature, the fine arts, and public service....
- membership into the Fellowship of Southern WritersFellowship of Southern WritersThe Fellowship of Southern Writers is a literary organization founded in 1987 in Chattanooga, Tennessee by 21 Southern writers and other literary luminaries...
External links
- Biography
- Commentary on Edgerton's writing
- Clyde Edgerton Papers, 1918-2004 at the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill