Mark Z. Danielewski
Encyclopedia
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author, best known for his debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
House of Leaves
House of Leaves
House of Leaves is the debut novel by the American author Mark Z. Danielewski, published by Pantheon Books. The novel quickly became a bestseller following its March 7, 2000 release. It was followed by a companion piece, The Whalestoe Letters...
(2000). Danielewski's work is characterized by experimental choices in form, such as intricate and multi-layered narratives, typographical variation, and inconsistent page layouts, otherwise known as visual writing or Ergodic literature
Ergodic literature
Ergodic literature is a term coined by Espen J. Aarseth in his book Cybertext—Perspectives on Ergodic Literature, and is derived from the Greek words ergon, meaning "work", and hodos, meaning "path"...
.
Biography
Danielewski was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, the son of Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
film director Tad Danielewski
Tad Danielewski
Tad Danielewski was a Polish-born American film director.-Early years:...
and the brother of singer/songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
Annie Decatur Danielewski, a.k.a. Poe
Ann Danielewski
Anne "Annie" Decatur Danielewski , professionally known as Poe, is an American singer and songwriter. She first hit the modern rock charts in the mid-1990s. Poe is the daughter of Polish film director Tad Danielewski and his second wife, Priscilla Machold. She is the sister of author Mark Z....
.
Danielewski studied English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
. He then decided to move to Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, where he took a summer program in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. He also spent time in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, preoccupied mostly with writing.
In the early 1990s, he pursued graduate studies at the USC School of Cinema-Television
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The USC School of Cinematic Arts, until 2006 named the School of Cinema-Television , is a film school within the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. It is the oldest and largest such school in the United States, established in 1929 as a joint venture with the Academy of...
. He later served as an assistant editor and worked on sound for Derrida
Derrida (film)
Derrida is a 2002 American documentary film directed by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Kofman about the French philosopher Jacques Derrida. It premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival before being released theatrically on October 23, 2002.-Synopsis:...
, a documentary based on the life of the Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n-born French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
literary critic and philosopher Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. He developed the critical theory known as deconstruction and his work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy...
.
House of Leaves
House of Leaves
House of Leaves is the debut novel by the American author Mark Z. Danielewski, published by Pantheon Books. The novel quickly became a bestseller following its March 7, 2000 release. It was followed by a companion piece, The Whalestoe Letters...
, Danielewski's first novel, has gained a considerable cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
and won numerous awards, including the New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award. His second novel, Only Revolutions
Only Revolutions
Only Revolutions is an American road novel by writer Mark Z. Danielewski. It was released in the United States on September 12, 2006 by Pantheon Books. It was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award for Fiction.-Plot summary:...
, was released in 2006. Though released to less critical acclaim than his debut, the novel was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award
National Book Award
The 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...
.
In 2000, Danielewski toured with his sister across America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at Borders Books and Music locations, promoting Poe
Ann Danielewski
Anne "Annie" Decatur Danielewski , professionally known as Poe, is an American singer and songwriter. She first hit the modern rock charts in the mid-1990s. Poe is the daughter of Polish film director Tad Danielewski and his second wife, Priscilla Machold. She is the sister of author Mark Z....
’s album Haunted, which reflects elements of House of Leaves.
He is a fan of Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band from Kilmarnock, comprising Simon Neil , James Johnston and Ben Johnston...
as the band discovered when Danielewski attended one of their shows after they borrowed the title of his novel Only Revolutions for their own album
Only Revolutions (Biffy Clyro album)
Only Revolutions is the fifth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro, released 9 November 2009 on 14th Floor Records. As with its predecessor, Puzzle, the album was produced by Garth Richardson. Upon release, Only Revolutions was a critical and commercial success...
.
On September 15, 2010, Danielewski's next novel was announced on his message boards: "Later this month publishers will receive the first 5 volumes of Mark Z. Danielewski's 27 volume project entitled The Familiar. The story concerns a 12 year old girl who finds a kitten..."
Books
- March 2000: House of LeavesHouse of LeavesHouse of Leaves is the debut novel by the American author Mark Z. Danielewski, published by Pantheon Books. The novel quickly became a bestseller following its March 7, 2000 release. It was followed by a companion piece, The Whalestoe Letters...
- October 2000: The Whalestoe LettersThe Whalestoe LettersThe Whalestoe Letters by cult author Mark Z. Danielewski is an epistolary novella which more fully develops the literary correspondence between Pelafina H...
- October 2005: The Fifty Year SwordThe Fifty Year SwordThe Fifty Year Sword is a novella written by Mark Z. Danielewski. Only 1,000 first edition English books were released. 51 of those copies are signed in marker with a "Z" , while the first copy is signed "Mark Danielewski" in ink...
- September 2006: Only RevolutionsOnly RevolutionsOnly Revolutions is an American road novel by writer Mark Z. Danielewski. It was released in the United States on September 12, 2006 by Pantheon Books. It was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award for Fiction.-Plot summary:...
- (Announced): The Familiar
External links
- Mark Z. Danielewski Forum
- Mark Z. Danielewski on Facebook
- Mark Z. Danielewski on Twitter
- Mark Z. Danielewski Audio Page on MySpace
- Mark Z. Danielewski at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Interview, Flak MagazineFlak MagazineFlak Magazine was a pioneering American online magazine, founded in 1998. The chief editor is James Norton, the managing editor is Joey Rubin. , it reported over 250,000 unique visitors monthly. In 2008, Flak suspended publication....
- Book Reporter interview
- LAist interview
- Guardian interview
- Exploration Z
- The Ledge interview, on The Fifty Year Sword