Bobbie Ann Mason (born May 1, 1940) is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and literary critic from Kentucky. Her memoir was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.[1]
Nabokov's Garden: A Guide to Ada (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Ardis, 1974)
The Girl Sleuth: A Feminist Guide to the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and Their Sisters (Old Westbury, N.Y.: Feminist Press, 1975) Shiloh and Other Stories (New York: Harper & Row, 1982; London: Chatto & Windus, 1982) In Country (New York: Harper & Row, 1985; London: Chatto & Windus, 1986) Clear Springs: A Memoir, Random House (New York, NY), 1999
The Girl in the Blue Beret, Random House (New York, NY), 2011
A child of Wilburn and Christianna (Lee) Mason, Bobbie Ann Mason grew up on her family's dairy farm outside of Mayfield, Kentucky, with four siblings and her great niece Mya Mason. [2] As a child she loved to read with encouragement from her parents; however, choices were limited. These books were mostly popular fiction about the Bobbsey Twins and the Nancy Drew mysteries. She would later write a book about these books she read in adolescence titled The Girl Sleuth: A feminist guide to the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and Their Sisters.[3] Mason credits her time at a grade school in Cuba, Kentucky with influencing her adult fictional characters.[4]
After high school, Mason went on to major in English at the University of Kentucky.[2] After graduating in 1962, she worked for a fan magazine publisher in New York City, writing articles about various stars who were in the spotlight for movie magazines that Mason describes as "fluff."[5] She earned her master's degree at the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1966. Next she went to graduate school at the University of Connecticut, where she subsequently received her Ph.D. in literature with a dissertation on Vladimir Nabokov's Ada in 1972. Her dissertation was published as Nabokov's Garden two years later while Mason taught at Mansfield State College (now Mansfield University).[2]
Careeredit
By the time she was in her late thirties, Mason started to write short stories. In 1980, The New Yorker published her first story. "It took me a long time to discover my material", she said. "It wasn't a matter of developing writing skills, it was a matter of knowing how to see things. And it took me a very long time to grow up. I'd been writing for a long time, but was never able to see what there was to write about. I always aspired to things away from home, so it took me a long time to look back at home and realize that that's where the center of my thought was." Mason has written about the working-class people of Western Kentucky, and her short stories have contributed to a renaissance of regional fiction in America creating a literary style that critics have labeled "shopping mall realism."[6]
Mason then went on to write a collection of short stories, Shiloh and Other Stories. In 1985, she published her first novel, In Country, which eventually was made into a feature film (see below). She followed In Country with another novel in 1988, Spence and Lila. She has since published several more short story collections (see below). In 2016, Mason became the second living author to be inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame.[4]
Mason's dissertation, a critique of Vladimir Nabokov's Ada or Ardor, was published in 1974. A year later, she published The Girl Sleuth, a feminist assessment of Nancy Drew, the Bobbsey Twins, and other fictional girl detectives. Mason's first volume of short stories, Shiloh and Other Stories, appeared in 1982 and won the 1983 Ernest Hemingway Foundation Award for outstanding first works of fiction. Mason's novel In Country is often cited as one of the seminal literary works of the 1980s. Its protagonist attempts to come to terms with a number of important generational issues, ranging from the Vietnam War to consumer culture. A film version was produced in 1989, starring Emily Lloyd as the protagonist and Bruce Willis as her uncle.
^"Bobbie Ann Mason Stitches Together the Fabric of a Writer's Career in Her New UPK Book". University of Kentucky. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
^ abcDeuschle, Rich. "Pennsylvania Center for the Book: Bobbie Ann Mason". pabook.libraries.psu.edu. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
^Delgado Marín, Candela (30 December 2014). "An Interview with Bobbie Ann Mason". Transatlantica (2). doi:10.4000/transatlantica.7141. ISSN 1765-2766. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
^ abEblen, Tom (2 January 2016). "Bobbie Ann Mason named to Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
^Alger, Derek. "'Bobbie Ann Mason' interviewed by Derek Alger". Pif Magazine. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
^Conarroe, Joel (15 September 1985), "Winning Her Father's War", New York Times, retrieved 18 March 2016
^Mason, Bobbie Ann; Saunders, George (2018). Patchwork: a Bobbie Ann Mason Reader. OCLC 1031214595.
Further readingedit
Price, Johanna, Understanding Bobbie Ann Mason, University of South Carolina Press, 2000
"Understanding" review by Barbara Marshall
External linksedit
Author's website
A&S Hall of Fame 2015 interview, UK College of Arts & Sciences, Kentucky
January 01, 1970
bobbie, mason, song, rick, trevino, song, born, 1940, american, novelist, short, story, writer, essayist, literary, critic, from, kentucky, memoir, finalist, pulitzer, prize, born, 1940, 1940, mayfield, kentucky, citizenshipusaeducationuniversity, kentucky, bi. For the song by Rick Trevino see Bobbie Ann Mason song Bobbie Ann Mason born May 1 1940 is an American novelist short story writer essayist and literary critic from Kentucky Her memoir was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize 1 Bobbie Ann MasonBorn 1940 05 01 May 1 1940 age 84 Mayfield Kentucky U S CitizenshipUSAEducationUniversity of Kentucky BA Binghamton University MA University of Connecticut PhD Notable worksNabokov s Garden A Guide to Ada Ann Arbor Mich Ardis 1974 The Girl Sleuth A Feminist Guide to the Bobbsey Twins Nancy Drew and Their Sisters Old Westbury N Y Feminist Press 1975 Shiloh and Other Stories New York Harper amp Row 1982 London Chatto amp Windus 1982 In Country New York Harper amp Row 1985 London Chatto amp Windus 1986 Clear Springs A Memoir Random House New York NY 1999 The Girl in the Blue Beret Random House New York NY 2011Notable awardsPEN Hemingway Award 1983 National Endowment for the Arts award 1983 Guggenheim Fellowship 1984 Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Selected works 4 Awards 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksEarly life and education editA child of Wilburn and Christianna Lee Mason Bobbie Ann Mason grew up on her family s dairy farm outside of Mayfield Kentucky with four siblings and her great niece Mya Mason 2 As a child she loved to read with encouragement from her parents however choices were limited These books were mostly popular fiction about the Bobbsey Twins and the Nancy Drew mysteries She would later write a book about these books she read in adolescence titled The Girl Sleuth A feminist guide to the Bobbsey Twins Nancy Drew and Their Sisters 3 Mason credits her time at a grade school in Cuba Kentucky with influencing her adult fictional characters 4 After high school Mason went on to major in English at the University of Kentucky 2 After graduating in 1962 she worked for a fan magazine publisher in New York City writing articles about various stars who were in the spotlight for movie magazines that Mason describes as fluff 5 She earned her master s degree at the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1966 Next she went to graduate school at the University of Connecticut where she subsequently received her Ph D in literature with a dissertation on Vladimir Nabokov s Ada in 1972 Her dissertation was published as Nabokov s Garden two years later while Mason taught at Mansfield State College now Mansfield University 2 Career editBy the time she was in her late thirties Mason started to write short stories In 1980 The New Yorker published her first story It took me a long time to discover my material she said It wasn t a matter of developing writing skills it was a matter of knowing how to see things And it took me a very long time to grow up I d been writing for a long time but was never able to see what there was to write about I always aspired to things away from home so it took me a long time to look back at home and realize that that s where the center of my thought was Mason has written about the working class people of Western Kentucky and her short stories have contributed to a renaissance of regional fiction in America creating a literary style that critics have labeled shopping mall realism 6 Mason then went on to write a collection of short stories Shiloh and Other Stories In 1985 she published her first novel In Country which eventually was made into a feature film see below She followed In Country with another novel in 1988 Spence and Lila She has since published several more short story collections see below In 2016 Mason became the second living author to be inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame 4 Mason s dissertation a critique of Vladimir Nabokov s Ada or Ardor was published in 1974 A year later she published The Girl Sleuth a feminist assessment of Nancy Drew the Bobbsey Twins and other fictional girl detectives Mason s first volume of short stories Shiloh and Other Stories appeared in 1982 and won the 1983 Ernest Hemingway Foundation Award for outstanding first works of fiction Mason s novel In Country is often cited as one of the seminal literary works of the 1980s Its protagonist attempts to come to terms with a number of important generational issues ranging from the Vietnam War to consumer culture A film version was produced in 1989 starring Emily Lloyd as the protagonist and Bruce Willis as her uncle Her short stories have appeared in numerous magazines including The Atlantic Monthly Mother Jones The New Yorker and The Paris Review Mason has received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship She was a writer in residence at the University of Kentucky until 2011 Her short story Wish appears in The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women Patchwork A Bobbie Ann Mason Reader was published in 2018 7 Selected works editLibrary resources about Bobbie Ann Mason Resources in your library Resources in other libraries By Bobbie Ann Mason Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Short story collections Shiloh and Other Stories 1982 Love Life Harper amp Row New York 1989 Midnight Magic 1998 Zigzagging Down a Wild Trail 2002 Nancy Culpepper 2006 Novels In Country 1985 Feather Crowns 1993 An Atomic Romance 2005 The Girl in the Blue Beret 2011 Dear Ann 2020 Novella Spence Lila 1988 Memoir Clear Springs A Memoir 1999 ISBN 0 679 44925 6 Biography Elvis Presley 2002 Criticism Nabokov s Garden 1974 The Girl Sleuth A Feminist Guide 1975 Awards editPEN Hemingway Award 1983 National Endowment for the Arts award 1983 Pennsylvania Arts Council grant 1983 1989 Guggenheim Fellowship 1984 Kentucky Governor s Award in the Arts 2012 Kentucky Literary Award 2004 2012References edit Bobbie Ann Mason Stitches Together the Fabric of a Writer s Career in Her New UPK Book University of Kentucky 26 June 2018 Retrieved 26 May 2019 a b c Deuschle Rich Pennsylvania Center for the Book Bobbie Ann Mason pabook libraries psu edu Retrieved 27 July 2018 Delgado Marin Candela 30 December 2014 An Interview with Bobbie Ann Mason Transatlantica 2 doi 10 4000 transatlantica 7141 ISSN 1765 2766 Retrieved 27 July 2018 a b Eblen Tom 2 January 2016 Bobbie Ann Mason named to Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame Lexington Herald Leader Retrieved 17 September 2016 Alger Derek Bobbie Ann Mason interviewed by Derek Alger Pif Magazine Retrieved 27 July 2018 Conarroe Joel 15 September 1985 Winning Her Father s War New York Times retrieved 18 March 2016 Mason Bobbie Ann Saunders George 2018 Patchwork a Bobbie Ann Mason Reader OCLC 1031214595 Further reading editPrice Johanna Understanding Bobbie Ann Mason University of South Carolina Press 2000 Understanding review by Barbara MarshallExternal links editAuthor s website Facing Toward Home 1999 interview 1995 answers by Mason to Kentucky high school students A amp S Hall of Fame 2015 interview UK College of Arts amp Sciences Kentucky Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bobbie Ann Mason amp oldid 1209081311, 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