Mark Jacobs (author)
Encyclopedia
Mark Jacobs is an American writer and retired U.S. diplomat.
in Michigan
, as well as a Masters in International Administration (1980) from the School for International Training
in Vermont
. He received his Ph.D. in English from Drew University
in New Jersey
in 1987.
He served in the Peace Corps
(Paraguay
, 1978–1980), and his first published story, set in Peru
, appeared in 1980. He joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1984 and returned to Paraguay, while also serving tours in Bolivia
, Spain
and Turkey
. At the U.S. State Department, he organized Writers on America, a book of essays in which he, Robert Pinsky
, Robert Creeley
and others discussed the experience of being an American writer, in order to express a more nuanced sense of what American society is like. More than 50,000 copies of the collection have been distributed around the world, and it has been translated into seven languages. He occasionally teaches the art of prose at writing conferences at Drew University.
Most of his books and more than seventy published short stories deal with international intrigue and the interplay between Americans and foreign cultures. Fellow Peace Corps volunteer, musician and former Texas
gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman
once said that “if John le Carré
were an American, his name would be Mark Jacobs.” Drew University Conference Director Robert Ready is quoted as saying, "One would be hard pressed to find someone to match Mark in the creation of characters—characters of variety and depth. It also would be difficult to match him in variety of circumstances and places." At the same time, Huey Alcaro notes, "Mark frequently works with a particular group of people, lost and found souls. They may have temporarily lost their way, or been wandering for years. They lose or find themselves in home territory or a foreign land. They find what is needed in the familiar or completely alien. They capture our attention. They could be us."
A Handful of Kings, Simon and Schuster
The Liberation of Little Heaven, Soho Press
Stone Cowboy, a novel, Soho Press; Great Britain, Canongate
A Cast of Spaniards, Talisman House
“Stone Cowboy on the High Plains,” The Atlantic
“How Birds Communicate,” The Iowa Review
"White Cloud," The Southern Review
“Perfect Rush,” The Southwest Review
“Singing in a Foreign Land,” Reconfigurations
“Last Word,” The Idaho Review
“The Emperor’s Cat,” Reconfigurations
“My Letter to Sandy,” Reconfigurations
“Dog in the Hole,” Idaho Review
“Dog Love & Beyond,” Louisiana Literature
“Spring Cleaning,” Webster Review
“The Ballad of Tony Nail,” Crucible
"Deer," Crucible
“Old Sneakers and the Idea of No,” Pig Iron
“Love in the Gash,” Pikeville Review
“The Question,” Pig Iron
“The Significance of Doing,” Farmer’s Market
“Down in Paraguay,” Buffalo Spree Magazine
“Sixto in Harvest,” Farmer’s Market
“The Senator’s Left Eye,” Crucible
“Act of Contrition,” Buffalo Spree Magazine
“The Necessary Plane,” The Sun
“The Albino Pheasant,” Kiosk
“Eusebio’s Spaniard,” Buffalo Spree Magazine
“Little Bird’s Indian,” Farmer’s Market
“The Murder of German Morales,” Nebraska Review
“A Father’s Tale,” Buffalo Spree Magazine
“The Agent,” Webster Review
“Susy’s Lucy and the Big Dream Parrot,” International Quarterly
“Lover’s Leap,” North Dakota Quarterly
“101 on the Edge,” Buffalo Spree Magazine
“How the World Began, For Real,” Kiosk
“The Spam Letters,” Owen Wister Review
“Endchase,” Buffalo Spree Magazine
“Perfect Crime,” Buffalo Spree Magazine
“Morality Play,” The Journal
“Planting the Flag,” New Delta Review
“Solidarity in Green,” The Southern Review
“Fool’s Progress,” Red Cedar Review
“Me, the Horseman,” Kiosk
“The Egg Queen Rises,” Buffalo Spree Magazine; anthologized in Living on the Edge, an anthology published by Curbstone Press, 1999
“The Rape of Reason,” North Dakota Quarterly
“Heart,” Nebraska Review
“The Lifestyle Implants Caper,” Beloit Fiction Journal
“Mengele Dies Again,” The American Literary Review
“Amelia Questing,” The Belletrist Review
“Virtually Yours,” The Southwest Review
“The Way Grass Can Smell,” New Delta Review
“Consular Affair,” New Letters
“You and Me and the New Me,” North Dakota Quarterly
“After the War Was Over,” The Southern Review
“Dove of the Back Streets,” Kenyon Review
“Malaria,” The Southern Review
“Looking for Lourdes,” The American Literary Review
“Confidence in Izmir,” The Southwest Review
“Two Dead Indians,” Kiosk
“The Liberation of Little Heaven,” The American Literary Review
"Uncle Joe's Old Time Communist Nostalgia Bar," The Southern Review
"In the City of X," The Southern Review
“The Real Reason I Went to Nicaragua,” The Nebraska Review
“Mysterious Way,” North Dakota Quarterly
"Cholera," Crab Orchard Review
"The Acrobat's Wife," The American Literary Review
"In Vienna, In Glass," The Southern Review
"Meat Eater," Green Mountains Review
"The Woman Who Couldn't Sleep," The Nebraska Review
"Spanish Summer," North Dakota Quarterly
"Thirsty Deer," South West Review
"Shooting to Kill," American Literary Review
“Witness Protection,” Southern Review
“Churoquella,” Green Hills Literary Lantern
“Redrawing the Line: Gertrude Himmelfarb’s On Looking into the Abyss” (an essay), International Quarterly
“Think of It as a Blackbird,” Foreign Service Journal
“Both Sides of the Border,” in Writers on America; republished in World View Magazine
“A Serious Conversation,” in CounterPunch
“Writing American,” in Peace Corps Writers
1998 Crucible Prize for Fiction for "Deer"
1997 Crucible Prize for Fiction for “The Ballad of Tony Nail”
1994 Eyster Prize for Prose for "Planting the Flag"
Biography
Jacobs received his B.A. in 1974 from Alma CollegeAlma College
Alma College is a private, liberal arts college located in Alma, Michigan. The enrollment is approximately 1,400 students, and the college is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The college's 13th President, Dr...
in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, as well as a Masters in International Administration (1980) from the School for International Training
School for International Training
SIT Graduate Institute is the accredited college program of World Learning in Brattleboro, Vermont. The president and CEO is Adam Weinberg.History=SIT Graduate Institute began as the Experiment for International Living...
in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. He received his Ph.D. in English from Drew University
Drew University
Drew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955...
in 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...
in 1987.
He served in the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
(Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, 1978–1980), and his first published story, set in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, appeared in 1980. He joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1984 and returned to Paraguay, while also serving tours in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. At the U.S. State Department, he organized Writers on America, a book of essays in which he, Robert Pinsky
Robert Pinsky
Robert Pinsky is an American poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Pinsky is the author of nineteen books, most of which are collections of his own poetry...
, Robert Creeley
Robert Creeley
Robert Creeley was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school's. He was close with Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Ed Dorn. He served as the Samuel P...
and others discussed the experience of being an American writer, in order to express a more nuanced sense of what American society is like. More than 50,000 copies of the collection have been distributed around the world, and it has been translated into seven languages. He occasionally teaches the art of prose at writing conferences at Drew University.
Most of his books and more than seventy published short stories deal with international intrigue and the interplay between Americans and foreign cultures. Fellow Peace Corps volunteer, musician and former Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman
Kinky Friedman
Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman is an American Texas Country singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas Monthly who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain. He was one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election...
once said that “if John le Carré
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...
were an American, his name would be Mark Jacobs.” Drew University Conference Director Robert Ready is quoted as saying, "One would be hard pressed to find someone to match Mark in the creation of characters—characters of variety and depth. It also would be difficult to match him in variety of circumstances and places." At the same time, Huey Alcaro notes, "Mark frequently works with a particular group of people, lost and found souls. They may have temporarily lost their way, or been wandering for years. They lose or find themselves in home territory or a foreign land. They find what is needed in the familiar or completely alien. They capture our attention. They could be us."
Books
Forty Wolves, Talisman HouseA Handful of Kings, Simon and Schuster
The Liberation of Little Heaven, Soho Press
Stone Cowboy, a novel, Soho Press; Great Britain, Canongate
A Cast of Spaniards, Talisman House
Short stories
“Weightlifting for Catholics,” The Atlantic“Stone Cowboy on the High Plains,” The Atlantic
“How Birds Communicate,” The Iowa Review
The Iowa Review
The Iowa Review is an American literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, essays, and reviews.Founded in 1970, this magazine is issued three times a year, during the months of April, August, and December. Originally, it was released on a quarterly basis. This frequency of publication lasted...
"White Cloud," The Southern Review
“Perfect Rush,” The Southwest Review
“Singing in a Foreign Land,” Reconfigurations
“Last Word,” The Idaho Review
“The Emperor’s Cat,” Reconfigurations
“My Letter to Sandy,” Reconfigurations
“Dog in the Hole,” Idaho Review
“Dog Love & Beyond,” Louisiana Literature
Louisiana Literature
Louisiana Literature is a literary magazine. Founded in 1984 by Southeastern Louisiana University, it publishes fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction quarterly.-Honors and awards:...
“Spring Cleaning,” Webster Review
“The Ballad of Tony Nail,” Crucible
"Deer," Crucible
“Old Sneakers and the Idea of No,” Pig Iron
“Love in the Gash,” Pikeville Review
“The Question,” Pig Iron
“The Significance of Doing,” Farmer’s Market
“Down in Paraguay,” Buffalo Spree Magazine
“Sixto in Harvest,” Farmer’s Market
“The Senator’s Left Eye,” Crucible
“Act of Contrition,” Buffalo Spree Magazine
“The Necessary Plane,” The Sun
“The Albino Pheasant,” Kiosk
“Eusebio’s Spaniard,” Buffalo Spree Magazine
“Little Bird’s Indian,” Farmer’s Market
“The Murder of German Morales,” Nebraska Review
Nebraska Review
The Nebraska Review was a leading American literary magazine, based at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, Nebraska. The magazine was founded in 1972 by Richard Duggan and published until 2003.-Notable contributors:*John Addiego*Jacob M...
“A Father’s Tale,” Buffalo Spree Magazine
“The Agent,” Webster Review
“Susy’s Lucy and the Big Dream Parrot,” International Quarterly
“Lover’s Leap,” North Dakota Quarterly
North Dakota Quarterly
North Dakota Quarterly is a quarterly literary journal published by the University of North Dakota. NQR publishes poetry, fiction, interview, and literary non-fiction. First published in-Contributors:...
“101 on the Edge,” Buffalo Spree Magazine
“How the World Began, For Real,” Kiosk
“The Spam Letters,” Owen Wister Review
Owen Wister Review
The Owen Wister Review is the University of Wyoming’s annual art and literature journal produced through the Student Media department that publishes creative non-fiction, poetry, fiction, and art. The editorial staff is made up entirely undergraduate and graduate students...
“Endchase,” Buffalo Spree Magazine
“Perfect Crime,” Buffalo Spree Magazine
“Morality Play,” The Journal
“Planting the Flag,” New Delta Review
New Delta Review
The New Delta Review is a respected literary quarterly in the United States in print since 1984 and now with an online publication. The journal is published by Louisiana State University and has the second largest circulation of any literary publication in Louisiana.Recent contributors include...
“Solidarity in Green,” The Southern Review
“Fool’s Progress,” Red Cedar Review
“Me, the Horseman,” Kiosk
“The Egg Queen Rises,” Buffalo Spree Magazine; anthologized in Living on the Edge, an anthology published by Curbstone Press, 1999
“The Rape of Reason,” North Dakota Quarterly
“Heart,” Nebraska Review
“The Lifestyle Implants Caper,” Beloit Fiction Journal
“Mengele Dies Again,” The American Literary Review
“Amelia Questing,” The Belletrist Review
“Virtually Yours,” The Southwest Review
“The Way Grass Can Smell,” New Delta Review
“Consular Affair,” New Letters
“You and Me and the New Me,” North Dakota Quarterly
“After the War Was Over,” The Southern Review
“Dove of the Back Streets,” Kenyon Review
“Malaria,” The Southern Review
“Looking for Lourdes,” The American Literary Review
“Confidence in Izmir,” The Southwest Review
“Two Dead Indians,” Kiosk
“The Liberation of Little Heaven,” The American Literary Review
"Uncle Joe's Old Time Communist Nostalgia Bar," The Southern Review
"In the City of X," The Southern Review
“The Real Reason I Went to Nicaragua,” The Nebraska Review
“Mysterious Way,” North Dakota Quarterly
"Cholera," Crab Orchard Review
"The Acrobat's Wife," The American Literary Review
"In Vienna, In Glass," The Southern Review
"Meat Eater," Green Mountains Review
Green Mountains Review
Green Mountains Review is a literary journal that publishes biannually out of Johnson State College in Vermont and is headed by founder and senior editor, Neil Shepard.Past contributors of note include Agha Shahid Ali, Jacob M...
"The Woman Who Couldn't Sleep," The Nebraska Review
"Spanish Summer," North Dakota Quarterly
"Thirsty Deer," South West Review
"Shooting to Kill," American Literary Review
“Witness Protection,” Southern Review
“Churoquella,” Green Hills Literary Lantern
Essays
“What Creeley Knew,” Talisman“Redrawing the Line: Gertrude Himmelfarb’s On Looking into the Abyss” (an essay), International Quarterly
“Think of It as a Blackbird,” Foreign Service Journal
Foreign Service Journal
The Foreign Service Journal is a monthly publication of the American Foreign Service Association founded in 1924. It covers foreign affairs from the perspective of American Foreign Service officers, members of Washington's foreign policy establishment, as well as features on living overseas as a...
“Both Sides of the Border,” in Writers on America; republished in World View Magazine
“A Serious Conversation,” in CounterPunch
Counterpunch
Counterpunch can refer to:* Counterpunch , a punch in boxing* CounterPunch, a bi-weekly political newsletter* Counterpunch , a type of punch used in traditional typography* Punch-Counterpunch, a Transformers character...
“Writing American,” in Peace Corps Writers
Awards
1998 Iowa Review Fiction Award for "How Birds Communicate"1998 Crucible Prize for Fiction for "Deer"
1997 Crucible Prize for Fiction for “The Ballad of Tony Nail”
1994 Eyster Prize for Prose for "Planting the Flag"