Mark Dunn
Encyclopedia
Mark Dunn is an American
author
and playwright
. He studied film at Memphis State University followed by post-graduate work in screenwriting at the University of Texas moving to New York in 1987 where he worked in the New York Public Library
whilst writing plays in his free time.
Among the twenty-five plays Dunn has written (as of 2001), Belles and Five Tellers Dancing in the Rain have been produced over one hundred and fifty times. Dunn is presently playwright-in-residence with the New Jersey
Repertory
Company and the Community Theatre League in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
. He has also written five novels:
In 1998 Dunn sued the writers, distributors and producers of The Truman Show
, claiming that the story was based on a play he had written and performed Off-Broadway
in 1992, Frank's Life.
Dunn seems to be particularly interested in constrained writing
, with Ella Minnow Pea
being a "progressively lipogram
matic" epistolary novel
, and Ibid: A Life
, comprised entirely from the endnotes of a fictional "lost" biography.
Dunn lives with his wife Mary in Albuquerque, New Mexico
.
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 playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. He studied film at Memphis State University followed by post-graduate work in screenwriting at the University of Texas moving to New York in 1987 where he worked in the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
whilst writing plays in his free time.
Among the twenty-five plays Dunn has written (as of 2001), Belles and Five Tellers Dancing in the Rain have been produced over one hundred and fifty times. Dunn is presently playwright-in-residence with the New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
Company and the Community Theatre League in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...
. He has also written five novels:
- Ella Minnow PeaElla Minnow PeaElla Minnow Pea is a novel by Mark Dunn, copyrighted in 2001. The full title of the hardcover version is Ella Minnow Pea: a progressively lipogramatic epistolary fable, while the paperback version is titled Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters....
(2001) - Welcome to HigbyWelcome to HigbyWelcome to Higby is the critically acclaimed second novel by Mark Dunn published in 2002 by MacAdam/Cage. and dedicated to his twin brother Clay.-Plot introduction:...
(2002) - Ibid: A LifeIbid: A LifeIbid: A Life is the third novel by Mark Dunn, published in 2004. Its form is highly reminiscent of Nabokov's Pale Fire in that it consists almost entirely of a set of endnotes for a larger biographical work.-Plot introduction:...
(2004) - The Calamitous Adventures Of Rodney And Wayne (2009)
- Under the Harrow (2010).
In 1998 Dunn sued the writers, distributors and producers of The Truman Show
The Truman Show
The Truman Show is a 1998 American satirical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. The cast includes Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, as well as Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Ed Harris and Natascha McElhone...
, claiming that the story was based on a play he had written and performed Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
in 1992, Frank's Life.
Dunn seems to be particularly interested in constrained writing
Constrained writing
Constrained writing is a literary technique in which the writer is bound by some condition that forbids certain things or imposes a pattern.Constraints are very common in poetry, which often requires the writer to use a particular verse form....
, with Ella Minnow Pea
Ella Minnow Pea
Ella Minnow Pea is a novel by Mark Dunn, copyrighted in 2001. The full title of the hardcover version is Ella Minnow Pea: a progressively lipogramatic epistolary fable, while the paperback version is titled Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters....
being a "progressively lipogram
Lipogram
A lipogram is a kind of constrained writing or word game consisting of writing paragraphs or longer works in which a particular letter or group of letters is avoided — usually a common vowel, and frequently "E", the most common letter in the English language.Writing a lipogram is a trivial task...
matic" epistolary novel
Epistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
, and Ibid: A Life
Ibid: A Life
Ibid: A Life is the third novel by Mark Dunn, published in 2004. Its form is highly reminiscent of Nabokov's Pale Fire in that it consists almost entirely of a set of endnotes for a larger biographical work.-Plot introduction:...
, comprised entirely from the endnotes of a fictional "lost" biography.
Dunn lives with his wife Mary in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
.