American minimalist novelist and short story writer
Fredrick Barthelme (born October 10, 1943) is an American novelist and short story writer of minimalist fiction. He is the director of the Center For Writers at The University of Southern Mississippi and editor of the literary journal Mississippi Review. He is currently the editor of New World Writing[1] (formerly Blip Magazine)[2]
Early life
Barthelme was born in Houston, Texas.[2] He was a founding member of the avant-garde experimental rock band The Red Krayola, and left the band to pursue writing and conceptual art in New York.[3] He became a novelist like his brother, Donald Barthelme.[4][5]
Style
Barthelme's works focus on the landscape of the New South. Along with his reputation as a minimalist (similar to Raymond Carver, Ann Beattie, Amy Hempel, and Mary Robison), Barthelme's work has also been described by terms such as "dirty realism" and "Kmart realism".[6] He published his first short story in The New Yorker.[7]
Barthelme was thirty-three-year editor of Mississippi Review,[8] 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.
