Mary Robison
Encyclopedia
Mary Cennamo Robison is an American
short story writer and novelist. She has published four collections of stories, and four novels, including her 2001 novel Why Did I Ever, winner of the 2001 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for fiction. Her most recent novel, released in 2009, is One D.O.A., One on the Way. She has been categorized as a founding "minimalist" writer along with authors such as Amy Hempel
, Frederick Barthelme
, and Raymond Carver
. In 2009, she won the Rea Award for the Short Story
.
and a child psychologist. She has seven brothers and sisters as well as a half brother. She grew up in Columbus, Ohio
. From an early age she was interested in writing and as a child kept journals and wrote poetry as a teenager. She once ran away from home and journeyed to Florida in search of Jack Kerouac
.
She attended Ohio State University
for college. Robison received her MA from Johns Hopkins University
, where she studied with John Barth
. She has taught at numerous colleges and universities, and is now a tenured professor at the University of Florida
.
Robison makes a cameo appearance as a real life character in the memoir Double Down, by Steven Barthelme
and Frederick Barthelme
.
In 1977 The New Yorker
began publishing her work, with the short story "Sisters." They have since published two dozen stories, many of which reappear in American anthologies. During the 1980s she published the novel Oh and the short-story collections An Amateur's Guide to the Night (1983) and Believe Them (1988).
In the 1990s she suffered from severe writer's block
and in an effort to overcome it she scribbled her thoughts on thousands of index cards. These cards were reworked to become the novel Why Did I Ever, which consists of 536 short chapters.
Her novel One DOA, One on the Way was chosen by Oprah Winfrey
's Book Club for 2009 summer time reading.
She married James Robison (writer); they divorced in 1996.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
short story writer and novelist. She has published four collections of stories, and four novels, including her 2001 novel Why Did I Ever, winner of the 2001 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for fiction. Her most recent novel, released in 2009, is One D.O.A., One on the Way. She has been categorized as a founding "minimalist" writer along with authors such as Amy Hempel
Amy Hempel
Amy Hempel is an American short story writer, journalist, and university professor at Brooklyn College.-Life:Hempel was born in Chicago, Illinois...
, Frederick Barthelme
Frederick Barthelme
Fredrick Barthelme is an American novelist and short story author, well known as one of the seminal writers of minimalist fiction...
, and Raymond Carver
Raymond Carver
Raymond Clevie Carver, Jr. was an American short story writer and poet. Carver is considered a major American writer of the late 20th century and also a major force in the revitalization of the short story in the 1980s....
. In 2009, she won the Rea Award for the Short Story
Rea Award for the Short Story
The Rea Award for the Short Story is an annual award given to a living American or Canadian author chosen for unusually significant contributions to short story fiction.-The Award:...
.
Life
Robison was born to a patent attorneyPatent attorney
A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing an opposition...
and a child psychologist. She has seven brothers and sisters as well as a half brother. She grew up in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. From an early age she was interested in writing and as a child kept journals and wrote poetry as a teenager. She once ran away from home and journeyed to Florida in search of Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
.
She attended Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
for college. Robison received her MA from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, where she studied with John Barth
John Barth
John Simmons Barth is an American novelist and short-story writer, known for the postmodernist and metafictive quality of his work.-Life:...
. She has taught at numerous colleges and universities, and is now a tenured professor at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
.
Robison makes a cameo appearance as a real life character in the memoir Double Down, by Steven Barthelme
Steven Barthelme
Steven Barthelme is the author of numerous short stories and essays. His published works include And He Tells the Little Horse the Whole Story, Double Down: Reflections on Gambling and Loss , and The Early Posthumous Work Steven Barthelme (born 1947) is the author of numerous short stories and...
and Frederick Barthelme
Frederick Barthelme
Fredrick Barthelme is an American novelist and short story author, well known as one of the seminal writers of minimalist fiction...
.
In 1977 The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
began publishing her work, with the short story "Sisters." They have since published two dozen stories, many of which reappear in American anthologies. During the 1980s she published the novel Oh and the short-story collections An Amateur's Guide to the Night (1983) and Believe Them (1988).
In the 1990s she suffered from severe writer's block
Writer's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked"...
and in an effort to overcome it she scribbled her thoughts on thousands of index cards. These cards were reworked to become the novel Why Did I Ever, which consists of 536 short chapters.
Her novel One DOA, One on the Way was chosen by Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
's Book Club for 2009 summer time reading.
Family
She married Robert Watson; they had two daughters; they divorced.She married James Robison (writer); they divorced in 1996.
Works
- Oh! Knopf, 1981
- An Amateur's Guide to the Night: Stories Knopf, 1983, ISBN 9780394522678
- Believe Them: Stories Knopf, 1988, ISBN 9780394539423
- Subtraction, Knopf, 1991, ISBN 9780394539430; reprint Counterpoint Press, 2002, ISBN 9781582432557
- Tell Me: 30 Stories Counterpoint Press, 2002, ISBN 9781582432588
- One D.O.A., one on the way: a novel, Counterpoint, 2009, ISBN 9781582433059
External links
- "Mary Robison", Maureen Murray, BOMB 77, Fall 2001
- Keillor, Garrison. Writer's Almanac. January 14, 2011.
- "Preview: The World of Fiction - Mary Robison", Prentice Hall