Connie May Fowler
Encyclopedia
Connie May Fowler is an American novelist, essayist, memoirist, screenwriter, and poet. Her semi-autobiographical novel, Before Women had Wings, received the 1996 Southern Book Critics Circle Award and the Francis Buck Award (League of American Pen Women). She adapted the novel for Oprah Winfrey and the subsequent Emmy-winning film starred Winfrey, Ellen Barkin, Julia Stiles, and Tina Majorino. Remembering Blue received the Chautauqua South Literary Award. Three of her novels were Dublin International Literary Award nominees. Her other novels include Sugar Cage and River of Hidden Dreams. The Problem with Murmur Lee was Redbook’s premier book club selection. Her memoir, When Katie Wakes, explores her family’s generational cycle of domestic violence. How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly, a novel oft compared to Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway in term of its structure, was published in 2010. Her books have been translated into eighteen languages.
Fowler’s essays, touching on a wide range of topics such as family history, Sumo wrestling, popular culture, music, personal relationships, and food have been published in a variety of publications including the New York Times, The Times
, Japan Times, International Herald Tribune
, Oxford American
, Best Life
, and Forum.
In 2007, Fowler performed at New York City
’s The Player's Club with actresses Kathleen Chalfont, Penny Fuller
, and others in a performance based on The Other Woman, an anthology that includes Fowler’s essay “The Uterine Blues.” In 2003, Fowler performed in a charity benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues
with Jane Fonda
and Rosie Perez
.
Fowler’s work has been characterized as southern fiction with a post-modern sensibility
. It often melds magical realism with the harsh realities of poverty. It generally focuses on working class people of various racial backgrounds. She has been cited in sources such as Advancing Sisterhood?: Interracial Friendships in Contemporary Southern Fiction (Monteith, Sharon) and Race Mixing: Southern Fiction Since the Sixties (Jones, Suzanne) as belonging to a “fourth generation” of American writers, black and white,that explodes old notions of race, segregation, and interpersonal racial relationships.
Other publications her work has been cited in include Reclaiming Class: Women Poverty, And the Promise of Higher Education in America, essay by Nell Sullivan, Temple University Press, 2003; Poverty and Children's Adjustment (Developmental Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry) by Suniya Luthar, Transforming Nurses' Stress and Anger: Steps Toward Healing by Sandra P. Thomas, Ph.D., Editors on Editing: What Writers Need to Know About What Editors Do by Gerald C. Gross, Reading Adoption: Family and Difference in Fiction and Drama by Marianne Novy, Secrets of the Zona Rosa: How Writing (and Sisterhood) Can Change Women's Lives by Rosemary Daniell, The Tomorrow Trap: Unlocking the Secrets of the Procrastination-Protection Syndrome by Karen Peterson, The Book Lover's Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature, and the Passages That Feature Them by Shaunda Kennedy Wenger, and Oprah Winfrey (Just the Facts Biographies) by Katherine E. Krohn.
Fowler has held numerous jobs including bartender, caterer, nurse, television producer , TV show host , antique dealer, and construction worker. From 1997-2003 she directed the Connie May Fowler Women Wings Foundation, an organization that served at risk women and children. From 2003–2007, she was the Irving Bacheller Professor of Creative Writing at Rollins College
and directed their author series “Winter With the Writers.”
Fowler, a life-long resident of Florida
, has set all of her books, thus far, in that state. She earned a Bachelor of Arts (English Literature) from University of Tampa
and a Masters of Arts (English Literature with an Emphasis in Creative Writing) from University of Kansas
where she studied with the novelist Carolyn Doty.
Connie May Fowler (1960). Her most recent novel, How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly, was published by Grand Central/Hachette Book Group in April 2010. Her short story "Do Not Enter the Memory" was published in the fall/2010 edition of Oxford American. She is working on a novel titled STONE BY STONE and an environmental memoir titled A DIFFERENT SKY. She is currently a visiting faculty member of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Writing program.
Fowler’s essays, touching on a wide range of topics such as family history, Sumo wrestling, popular culture, music, personal relationships, and food have been published in a variety of publications including the New York Times, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Japan Times, International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
, Oxford American
Oxford American
The Oxford American is an American quarterly literary magazine "dedicated to featuring the very best in Southern writing while documenting the complexity and vitality of the American South."-First publication:...
, Best Life
Best Life
Best Life, published by Rodale Inc. in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, United States, was the first luxury service magazine for men, and the fastest-growing men's magazine in America, with a circulation of more than 500,000.-History:...
, and Forum.
In 2007, Fowler performed at New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
’s The Player's Club with actresses Kathleen Chalfont, Penny Fuller
Penny Fuller
Penny Fuller is an American actress.Born in Durham, North Carolina, Fuller attended Northwestern University in Illinois. She then went to New York City to make a name for herself on Broadway...
, and others in a performance based on The Other Woman, an anthology that includes Fowler’s essay “The Uterine Blues.” In 2003, Fowler performed in a charity benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler which ran at the Off Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at AFRICA in 1996. Ensler originally starred in the production which was produced by David Stone, Nina Essman, Dan Markley, The Araca Group, Willa Shalit, Mike Skipper...
with Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
and Rosie Perez
Rosie Perez
Rosa María "Rosie" Pérez is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, director and community activist.- Early life :...
.
Fowler’s work has been characterized as southern fiction with a post-modern sensibility
Cultural sensibility
Cultural sensibility refers to how sensibility relates to a person’s moral, emotional or aesthetic ideas or standards. The term should not be confused with the more common term "cultural sensitivity". -References:***...
. It often melds magical realism with the harsh realities of poverty. It generally focuses on working class people of various racial backgrounds. She has been cited in sources such as Advancing Sisterhood?: Interracial Friendships in Contemporary Southern Fiction (Monteith, Sharon) and Race Mixing: Southern Fiction Since the Sixties (Jones, Suzanne) as belonging to a “fourth generation” of American writers, black and white,that explodes old notions of race, segregation, and interpersonal racial relationships.
Other publications her work has been cited in include Reclaiming Class: Women Poverty, And the Promise of Higher Education in America, essay by Nell Sullivan, Temple University Press, 2003; Poverty and Children's Adjustment (Developmental Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry) by Suniya Luthar, Transforming Nurses' Stress and Anger: Steps Toward Healing by Sandra P. Thomas, Ph.D., Editors on Editing: What Writers Need to Know About What Editors Do by Gerald C. Gross, Reading Adoption: Family and Difference in Fiction and Drama by Marianne Novy, Secrets of the Zona Rosa: How Writing (and Sisterhood) Can Change Women's Lives by Rosemary Daniell, The Tomorrow Trap: Unlocking the Secrets of the Procrastination-Protection Syndrome by Karen Peterson, The Book Lover's Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature, and the Passages That Feature Them by Shaunda Kennedy Wenger, and Oprah Winfrey (Just the Facts Biographies) by Katherine E. Krohn.
Fowler has held numerous jobs including bartender, caterer, nurse, television producer , TV show host , antique dealer, and construction worker. From 1997-2003 she directed the Connie May Fowler Women Wings Foundation, an organization that served at risk women and children. From 2003–2007, she was the Irving Bacheller Professor of Creative Writing at Rollins College
Rollins College
Rollins College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Winter Park, Florida , along the shores of Lake Virginia....
and directed their author series “Winter With the Writers.”
Fowler, a life-long resident of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, has set all of her books, thus far, in that state. She earned a Bachelor of Arts (English Literature) from University of Tampa
University of Tampa
The University of Tampa , is a private, co-educational university in Downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 2006, the University celebrated its 75th anniversary...
and a Masters of Arts (English Literature with an Emphasis in Creative Writing) from University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
where she studied with the novelist Carolyn Doty.
Connie May Fowler (1960). Her most recent novel, How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly, was published by Grand Central/Hachette Book Group in April 2010. Her short story "Do Not Enter the Memory" was published in the fall/2010 edition of Oxford American. She is working on a novel titled STONE BY STONE and an environmental memoir titled A DIFFERENT SKY. She is currently a visiting faculty member of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Writing program.
Novels and memoirs
- How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly, 2010;
- The Problem with Murmur Lee, 2005;
- When Katie Wakes, 2002;
- Remembering Blue, 2000;
- Before Women had Wings, 1996;
- River of Hidden Dreams, 1994;
- Sugar Cage, 1992
Poetry
- Two Thing Thing Poets: Steve Sleboda and Connie May, UT Review, Vol. 5, 1977.
- “A Soliloquy of a Seven Year Old,” “Crowded Closets,” Ann Arbor Review, Vol. 27, Washtenaw Community College, 1977.
- “You Have Created Me,” Goethe’s Notes: A Literary Magazine, Vol. 6, 1978.
- “A Purity of Crabs,” “America: The Invitation and Rejection,” “A Celebration of Nothingness,” Outside the Museum: Contemporary Writings — An Anthology, Ann Arbor Review, Vol. 28, Washtenaw Community College, 1978.
- “Genetic Lace,” “The Fear,” Open Twenty-four Hours: Collective Consciousness, Vol. 3, 1984.
- “Kateland,” “Ybor City Number One,” The Midwest Quarterly, A Journal of Contemporary Thought, Vol. XXIX, Pittsburg State University, 1988.
- “Homesick,” Roberts Writing Awards 1988, The H.G. Roberts Foundation, 1988.
External links
- Connie May Fowler website
- Lyceum Agency
- WAMU 88.5 FM American University Radio — The Diane Rehm Show
- BookPage Interview February 2000: Connie May Fowler
- Connie May Fowler — Audio Interview on "When Katie Wakes"
- WordSmitten Spotlight :: Connie May Fowler :: The Problem with Murmur Lee
- Perspective: Cyberia
- The Other Woman anthology
- Restraining Order Blog