Charles Baxter
Encyclopedia
Charles Baxter is an American
author
of fiction, nonfiction and poetry.
, to John and Mary Barber (Eaton) Baxter. He graduated from Macalester College
in Saint Paul
, and taught high school in Pinconning, Michigan, for a year. In 1974 he received his Ph.D. in English from the University at Buffalo
with a thesis on Djuna Barnes, Malcolm Lowry, and Nathanael West. He began his university teaching career at Wayne State University
in Detroit
. He then moved to the University of Michigan
, where for many years he directed the Creative Writing MFA program. Many of his students have gone on to successful writing careers; they include Gretchen Mazur, Helen Fremont, Michael Byers
, Jardine Libaire
, Porter Shreve
, Davy Rothbart
, John Fulton
, Marc Nesbitt, Patrick O'Keeffe, Jess Row
, Francesca Delbano, Peter Orner
, Heidi Julavits
, Karl Iagnemma
, Achy Obejas, James Morrison and Elwood Reid
. He currently teaches at the University of Minnesota
and in the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers
.
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:...
of fiction, nonfiction and poetry.
Life
Baxter was born in Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, to John and Mary Barber (Eaton) Baxter. He graduated from Macalester College
Macalester College
Macalester College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a campus in a historic residential neighborhood...
in Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, and taught high school in Pinconning, Michigan, for a year. In 1974 he received his Ph.D. in English from the University at Buffalo
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
with a thesis on Djuna Barnes, Malcolm Lowry, and Nathanael West. He began his university teaching career at Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. He then moved to the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, where for many years he directed the Creative Writing MFA program. Many of his students have gone on to successful writing careers; they include Gretchen Mazur, Helen Fremont, Michael Byers
Michael Byers
Michael Byers is an American writer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is a graduate of Oberlin College and of the University of Michigan Creative Writing MFA Program. His first book, The Coast of Good Intentions, is a collection of short stories set in his native Pacific Northwest...
, Jardine Libaire
Jardine Libaire
Jardine Libaire is an American writer based in Brooklyn, New York. She is a graduate of Skidmore College and a 1997 graduate of the University of Michigan Creative Writing MFA Program...
, Porter Shreve
Porter Shreve
Porter Shreve is an American author, and professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program at Purdue University.-Life:...
, Davy Rothbart
Davy Rothbart
Davy Rothbart is an author, filmmaker, contributor to This American Life, and the editor/publisher of Found Magazine.-Background:...
, John Fulton
John Fulton
John Fulton may refer to:* John P. Fulton , American special effects supervisor and cinematographer* John Fulton , American author* John H...
, Marc Nesbitt, Patrick O'Keeffe, Jess Row
Jess Row
-Life:He attended Yale University and graduated in 1997. He later taught English in Hong Kong for two years before completing his M.F.A. at the University of Michigan in 2001....
, Francesca Delbano, Peter Orner
Peter Orner
Peter Orner is an American writer of fiction. He is the author of the novels Love and Shame and Love and The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo and the short story collection Esther Stories...
, Heidi Julavits
Heidi Julavits
Heidi Suzanne Julavits is an American author and co-editor of The Believer magazine. She has been published in The Best Creative Nonfiction Vol. 2, Esquire, Story, Zoetrope All-Story, and McSweeney’s Quarterly...
, Karl Iagnemma
Karl Iagnemma
Karl Iagnemma is an American writer and research scientist. The author of several scientific publications in the field of robotics, Iagnemma is also known through his short stories on human-robotic relationships....
, Achy Obejas, James Morrison and Elwood Reid
Elwood Reid
Elwood Reid is an American novelist and short-story writer. He worked as a cook, barkeeper, teacher and spent two years in Alaska working as a carpenter. He is a 1996 graduate of the University of Michigan Creative Writing MFA Program...
. He currently teaches at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
and in the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers
Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers
The Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers is the oldest low-residency creative writing Master of Fine Arts program in the United States. Prior to the founding of this program, an MFA in creative writing was earned via standard residential graduate programs that required students to be in residence...
.
Novels
- First Light (1987). An eminent astrophysicist and her brother, a small-town Buick salesman, discover how they grew so far apart and the bonds of love that still keep them together.
- Shadow Play (1993). As his wife does gymnastics and magic tricks, his crazy mother invents her own vocabulary, and his aunt writes her own version of the Bible, Five Oaks Assistant City Manager Wyatt Palmer tries to live a normal life and nearly succeeds, but...
- The Feast of Love (2000) (Pantheon BooksPantheon BooksPantheon Books is an American imprint with editorial independence that is part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.The current editor-in-chief at Pantheon Books is Dan Frank.-Overview:...
), a reimagined Midsummer Night's Dream, a story told through the eyes of several different people. Nominated for the National Book AwardNational Book AwardThe National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
. A film versionFeast of LoveFeast of Love is a 2007 American drama film directed by Robert Benton, starring Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Billy Burke and Selma Blair...
of the book, starring Morgan FreemanMorgan FreemanMorgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
, Fred WardFred WardFreddie Joe "Fred" Ward is an American actor. He began his career in 1979 alongside Clint Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz. He is best known for his starring roles in the motion pictures Remo Williams, Tremors, Henry & June, Short Cuts, The Right Stuff and Exit Speed...
and Greg KinnearGreg KinnearGregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
and directed by Robert BentonRobert BentonRobert Douglas Benton is an American screenwriter and film director.Benton was born in Waxahachie, Texas, the son of Dorothy and Ellery Douglass Benton, a telephone company employee. He attended the University of Texas and Columbia University. Benton has won numerous awards for both writing and...
, was released in 2007. - Saul and Patsy (2003). A teacher's marriage and identity are threatened by a dangerously obsessed teenage boy at his school.
- The Soul Thief (2008)
Short story and essay collections
- Harmony of the World (1984). Winner of the Associated Writing Programs Award.
- Through The Safety Net (1985)
- Gryphon (1985)
- A Relative Stranger (1990)
- Believers (1997)
- Burning Down The House: Essays on Fiction (1997)
- Gryphon: New and Selected Stories (2011)
Non-fiction
- The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot (2007). Winner of the 2008 Minnesota Book Award for General Non-fiction.
Poetry collections
- Imaginary Paintings (1989)
- The South Dakota Guidebook (1974)
- Chameleon (1970)
Edited works
- A William Maxwell Portrait: Memories and Appreciations (2004)
- Bringing the Devil to His Knees: The Craft of Fiction and the Writing Life (2001)
- Best New American Voices 2001 (2001)
- The Business of Memory (1999)
Honors and awards
- National Book Award (Finalist) for The Feast of Love, 2000
- The Award in Literature, American Academy of Arts and Letters, 1997
- Ohio University Spring Literary Festival (Honoree), 1995
- The Cohen Award for the best essay published in Ploughshares, 1994
- The Daniel A. Pollack-Harvard Review award to Shadow Play, 1994
- The Gettysburg Review nonfiction prose award for "Fiction and the Inner Life of Objects," 1994
- Michigan Author of the Year Award, 1993
- Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Foundation Fellowship, 1992–95
- Lawrence Foundation Award, 1991
- Arts Foundation of Michigan Award, 1991
- Guggenheim Fellowship, 1985–86
- Michigan Council for the Arts Grant, 1984
- National Endowment for the Arts Grant, 1983
- Lawrence Foundation Award, 1982