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Tom Robbins

 

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Tom Robbins



 
 
Thomas Eugene Robbins (born July 22, 1936 in Blowing Rock
Blowing Rock, North Carolina

Blowing Rock is a town in North Carolina, situated in both Caldwell County, North Carolina and Watauga County, North Carolina counties. The population was 1,418 at the 2000 census....
, North Carolina
North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 author
Author

An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created....
. His novels are complex, often wild stories with strong social undercurrents, a satirical
Satire

Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre; although, in practice, it is also found in the graphic arts and performing arts. In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods, ideally with the intent to bring about improv...
 bent, and obscure details. He is probably best known for his novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a 1976 in literature novel by Tom Robbins....
 (1976), which was made into a movie
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (film)

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a 1993 in film comedy-drama film-romance film based on the 1976 Tom Robbins Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. The film was directed by Gus Van Sant and starred Uma Thurman, Lorraine Bracco, Pat Morita, Angie Dickinson, Keanu Reeves, John Hurt, Rain Phoenix, and Grace Zabriskie....
 in 1993 directed by Gus Van Sant
Gus Van Sant

Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. is an United States film director, screenwriter, photographer, musician, and author. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Director for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting and his 2008 film Milk , and won the Palme d'Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival for his film Elephant ....
.

as Eugene Robbins was born in Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Blowing Rock, North Carolina

Blowing Rock is a town in North Carolina, situated in both Caldwell County, North Carolina and Watauga County, North Carolina counties. The population was 1,418 at the 2000 census....
 to George Thomas Robbins and Katherine D'Avalon.






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Quotations


I'll follow him to the ends of the earth,.

she sobbed. Yes, darling. But the earth doesn't have any ends. Columbus fixed that.

Nobody can say the word.

aked" as nakedly as Cohen."

Not naive,.

Conch Shell had corrected him, "He simply has not been taught to fear the things you fear."

... overdramatizing the word of God, turning the Scriptures into a cross between a German opera and a hockey game.

...to emphasize the afterlife is to deny life. To concentrate on heaven is to create hell.

A lot of progress was being made there at MIT. Those guys had molecules jumping through hoops like poodles in a circus.






Encyclopedia


Thomas Eugene Robbins (born July 22, 1936 in Blowing Rock
Blowing Rock, North Carolina

Blowing Rock is a town in North Carolina, situated in both Caldwell County, North Carolina and Watauga County, North Carolina counties. The population was 1,418 at the 2000 census....
, North Carolina
North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 author
Author

An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created....
. His novels are complex, often wild stories with strong social undercurrents, a satirical
Satire

Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre; although, in practice, it is also found in the graphic arts and performing arts. In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods, ideally with the intent to bring about improv...
 bent, and obscure details. He is probably best known for his novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a 1976 in literature novel by Tom Robbins....
 (1976), which was made into a movie
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (film)

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a 1993 in film comedy-drama film-romance film based on the 1976 Tom Robbins Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. The film was directed by Gus Van Sant and starred Uma Thurman, Lorraine Bracco, Pat Morita, Angie Dickinson, Keanu Reeves, John Hurt, Rain Phoenix, and Grace Zabriskie....
 in 1993 directed by Gus Van Sant
Gus Van Sant

Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. is an United States film director, screenwriter, photographer, musician, and author. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Director for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting and his 2008 film Milk , and won the Palme d'Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival for his film Elephant ....
.

Background

Thomas Eugene Robbins was born in Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Blowing Rock, North Carolina

Blowing Rock is a town in North Carolina, situated in both Caldwell County, North Carolina and Watauga County, North Carolina counties. The population was 1,418 at the 2000 census....
 to George Thomas Robbins and Katherine D'Avalon. He also has three younger sisters, two of whom are still living.

Robbins lived with his family in Blowing Rock until they settled in Burnsville, North Carolina
Burnsville, North Carolina

Burnsville is a town in Yancey County, North Carolina, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,623 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Yancey County, North Carolina....
 in 1943. In 1954, Robbins studied journalism at Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University is a private Liberal arts colleges in the United States in Lexington, Virginia, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location....
 in Lexington, Virginia
Lexington, Virginia

Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County, Virginia in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 6,867 at the United States Census 2000....
 but left after he was ousted from his fraternity for discipline problems. He spent the following year hitchhiking, finally settling in New York
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 as a poet. In 1957 he enlisted in the Air Force
United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Military of the United States and one of the uniformed services of the United States....
 after receiving his draft notice and spent two years as a meteorologist in Korea
Korea

Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries, a civilization, and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia....
 until being discharged in 1959. After he was discharged, Robbins returned to civilian life in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
.

In 1960, Robbins entered art school at Richmond Professional Institute, which later became Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University, or VCU, is a large public United States research university with its main campuses located in Richmond, Virginia, Virginia....
 (VCU), and was the editor
Editing

Editing is the process of preparing language, s, sound, video, or film through correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications in various media....
 of the campus newspaper as well as a copy editor for the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Richmond Times-Dispatch

The Richmond Times-Dispatch is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia the capital of Virginia, United States, and is commonly considered the "newspaper of record" for events occurring in much of the state....
. Upon graduation, he moved to Seattle to seek a Masters degree at the School of Far Eastern Studies of the University of Washington
University of Washington

University of Washington, founded in 1861, is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, Washington, United States. Also known as Washington and locally as UW or the U, it is the largest university in the northwestern United States and the oldest public university on the west coast....
. While in Seattle, he worked for The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times

The Seattle Times, one of two daily newspapers serving Seattle, Washington, Washington, United States, is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington....
 and Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is one of two daily newspapers in Seattle, Washington, United States, the other being the The Seattle Times....
.

Personal life

He was a friend of Terence McKenna
Terence McKenna

Terence Kemp McKenna was a writer, philosopher, psychonaut and ethnobotanist. He was noted for his knowledge of the use of psychedelic, plant-based entheogens, and subjects ranging from shamanism, the theoretical origins of human consciousness, and his often criticized but unique concept of novelty theory....
, whose influence is evident in several of his books. A main character (Larry Diamond) in Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas
Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

One of Tom Robbins' less well-known novels, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas was published in 1994 by Bantam Books. Like Robbins' other books, the plot involves an eclectic mix of characters and complicated scenarios, and mixes the mundane with the mysterious, in the form of The Sirius Mystery and the mythology surrounding the Dogon Tribe....
 advocates a theory similar to those of McKenna, involving Psilocybin
Psilocybin

Psilocybin is a psychedelic drug indole of the tryptamine family, found in psilocybin mushrooms. It is present in List of Psilocybin mushrooms of fungi, including those of the genus Psilocybe, such as Psilocybe cubensis and liberty cap , but also reportedly isolated from a dozen or so other genera....
. In addition, there are striking parallels between one of the main characters of Jitterbug Perfume
Jitterbug Perfume

Jitterbug Perfume is Tom Robbins' fourth novel, published in 1984. The major themes of the book include the striving for immortality, the meaning behind the sense of smell, individual expression, self-reliance, sex, love, and religion....
 (Wiggs Dannyboy) and McKenna. He is also an admirer of Indian mystic Osho
Osho

Osho is the Japanese language reading of the Chinese language he shang , meaning a high-ranking Buddhist monk or highly virtuous Buddhist monk....
. He is also on the advisory board of the Marijuana Policy Project
Marijuana Policy Project

The Marijuana Policy Project, or MPP, is an organization in the United States whose stated aim is to minimize the harm associated with Cannabis ....
. Annualy, Mr. Robbins participates in the Spam
Spam

selfref|For spam on Wikipedia, see...
 Sculpturing Competition as a judge.

He won the Golden Umbrella award at the Bumbershoot
Bumbershoot

Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day weekend at the 74-acre Seattle Center, which was built for the Century 21 Exposition....
 Seattle arts festival in 1997.

Robbins has two sons named Rip and Fleetwood Star. He is married to his third wife Alexa D'Avalon and has lived in La Conner, Washington
La Conner, Washington

La Conner is a town in Skagit County, Washington, Washington, United States. The population was 761 at the 2000 United States Census. It is included in the Mount Vernon, Washington-Anacortes, Washington, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area....
 since 1970.

Partial bibliography

Robbins has written eight novels, and one collection, since 1971. He has also written numerous short stories and essays.
  • Another Roadside Attraction
    Another Roadside Attraction

    Another Roadside Attraction is Tom Robbins' first novel, published in 1971 in literature by Doubleday, which initiated what has grown to be considered his cult following....
     (1971
    1971 in literature

    The year 1971 in literature involved some significant events and new books....
    )
  • Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
    Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

    Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a 1976 in literature novel by Tom Robbins....
     (1976
    1976 in literature

    The year 1976 in literature involved some significant events and new books....
    )
  • Still Life with Woodpecker
    Still Life with Woodpecker

    Still Life With Woodpecker is the third novel by Tom Robbins, concerning the love affair between an environmentalist princess and an outlaw....
     (1980
    1980 in literature

    The year 1980 in literature involved some significant events and new books....
    )
  • Jitterbug Perfume
    Jitterbug Perfume

    Jitterbug Perfume is Tom Robbins' fourth novel, published in 1984. The major themes of the book include the striving for immortality, the meaning behind the sense of smell, individual expression, self-reliance, sex, love, and religion....
     (1984
    1984 in literature

    The year 1984 in literature involved some significant events and new books....
    )
  • Skinny Legs and All
    Skinny Legs and All

    Skinny Legs and All, novelist Tom Robbins' fifth book, was published in 1990 by Bantam Books. As are all of Robbins' creations, it is a lyrical and complex work weaving disparate and seemingly unrelated themes into one narrative....
     (1990
    1990 in literature

    The year 1990 in literature involved some significant events and new books....
    )
  • Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas
    Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

    One of Tom Robbins' less well-known novels, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas was published in 1994 by Bantam Books. Like Robbins' other books, the plot involves an eclectic mix of characters and complicated scenarios, and mixes the mundane with the mysterious, in the form of The Sirius Mystery and the mythology surrounding the Dogon Tribe....
     (1994
    1994 in literature

    The year 1994 in literature involved some significant events and new books....
    )
  • Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates
    Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates

    Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates is Tom Robbins' seventh and longest novel, first published in 2000 in literature....
     (2000
    2000 in literature

    The year 2000 in literature involved some significant events and new books....
    )
  • Villa Incognito
    Villa Incognito

    Bantam Doubleday Dell and Random House published Villa Incognito in April and June 2003, respectively. One of the most quoted lines from the book is the very first, setting the tone for this Tom Robbins adventure: "It has been reported that Tanuki fell from the sky using his scrotum as a parachute."...
     (2003
    2003 in literature

    The year 2003 in literature involved some significant events and new books....
    )
  • Wild Ducks Flying Backward
    Wild Ducks Flying Backward

    Wild Ducks Flying Backward is Tom Robbins' latest book, published on August 30, 2005. It is an anthology of poems, short story, essays, reviews, and other brief writings over Robbins' career....
     (2005
    2005 in literature

    The year 2005 in literature involved some significant events and new books....
    ) — a collection of non-fiction essays, reviews, and short stories.
  • B Is for Beer (2009) — To be published April 21, 2009.


Further reading



External links

  • - A Tom Robbins playground (fansite)


Interviews and articles
  • (2003)
  • (1985)
  • (2000)
  • (2000)