Frederick Barthelme


Fredrick Barthelme is an American novelist and short story writer, well known as one of the seminal writers of minimalist fiction. Alongside his personal publishing history, his position as Director of The Center For Writers at The University of Southern Mississippi
and Editor of the nationally prominent literary journal Mississippi Review have placed him at the forefront of the contemporary American literary scene. He is currently the editor of New World Writing

Early life

Barthelme was born in Houston, Texas. His father, Donald Barthelme, Sr., was a well-known and highly active Modernist architect in the city. The atmosphere of intellectual and aesthetic vigor encouraged by their father, pervasive in Barthelme family life, is described in Double Down: Reflections on Gambling and Loss, a memoir co-written by Frederick and his brother, Steven. His other brothers, Donald and Peter, emerged from the creative household to become authors as well. Frederick pursued his widely-ranging talents in multiple creative fields, including painting and music: he was a founding member of the avant-garde psychedelic rock band The Red Krayola. He eventually chose to focus on fiction writing: receiving his M.A. in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with John Barth.

Style

Barthelme's works are known for their focus on the landscape of the New South. Along with his reputation as a minimalist, Barthelme's work has also been described by terms such as "dirty realism" and "Kmart realism". He published his first short story in The New Yorker, and has claimed that a rotisserie chicken helped him understand that he needed to write about ordinary people. He has moved away from the postmodern stylings of his older brother, Donald Barthelme, though his brother's influence can be seen in his earliest works, Rangoon and War and War.
Barthelme was thirty-three-year editor of Mississippi Review, known for recognizing and publishing once new talents such as Larry Brown, Curtis Sittenfeld, and Amy Hempel early in their careers. Issues of Mississippi Review have been guest-edited by authors Rick Moody and Mary Robison among others.

Awards