Vincent Czyz
Bornb. 1963 (1963-02-13UTC09:16:52)
New Jersey, United States
OccupationWriter, professor
Education
GenreNovel, Short Story, Essay, Criticism
SubjectLiterary Fiction
Literary movementPostmodernism
SpouseNeslihan Czyz

Vincent Czyz (/ˈtʃɛz/ Chez; born 1963) is an American writer and critic of Literary fiction. His work often explores mythological motifs, religious themes, and dreams as a substrate of reality.[1]

Biography

Vincent Czyz was born in Orange, New Jersey and raised in nearby East Orange.[2] He graduated in 1981 as the salutatorian of his class at Lakeland Regional High School.[3]

He received a B.A. from the Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, an M.A. from Columbia University, and an M.F.A. from Rutgers-Newark. He lived in Istanbul, Turkey for seven years, teaching English at several Turkish universities. He also taught creative writing at The College of New Jersey.[4] He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey with his wife, Neslihan, and their son, Rainier.[5] His older brother is former American boxer, light-heavyweight champion Bobby Czyz.[6][7]

Writing

Czyz is the author of an acclaimed short story collection, two novels, and the latest, a collection of essays. His short stories and essays have appeared in numerous journals, magazines, and several anthologies, including, the New England Review, Shenandoah, AGNI,[8] The Massachusetts Review, Georgetown Review, Tin House,[9] The Arts Fuse, Tampa Review, Boston Review,[10] Copper Nickel, Southern Indiana Review, Skidrow Penthouse, and a contribution in the festschrift collection Stories for Chip (2015).[11] In his prefatory note to Adrift in a Vanishing City, Samuel R. Delany characterizes Czyz's short story collection as, "a small landmark in the sedimentation of new form in fiction".[12] Czyz estimates that he did 7,000 pages of research for his novel, The Christos Mosaic, which, according to American New Testament scholar Robert M. Price, included “genuine, radical biblical scholarship in a beautifully rendered adventure full of unforgettable characters, set in exotic locales vividly and poetically described”.[13]

Awards

He is the recipient of the 1994 William Faulkner Wisdom Prize for Short Fiction,[14] two fellowships from the NJ Council on the Arts[15] In 2011 he was awarded Truman Capote Fellowship at Rutgers University.[16] Eric Hoffer Award for Best in Small Press, 2016.[17]

Bibliography

Novels and collections

Adrift In A Vanishing City a collection of interlinked avant-garde stories was published May 10, 2015;[18] having first been released in 1998.[19]

The Christos Mosaic (Blank Slate Press, 2015).[20]

The Three Veils Of Ibn Oraybi: a novella; published July 10, 2021.[21] Of which critic Diane Donovan of the Midwest Book Review[22] stated,“Czyz weaves mystery, history, religious fervor, and social inspection into this story of struggle... Its lovely, lyrical language and thought-provoking encounters... explore the politics and psychological profiles of cultures that lived side by side...".[23]

The Secret Adventures of Order (2022):[24] a collection of literary essays, creative nonfiction, and biblical exegesis.

References

  1. ^ "Plato's Gospel". Logos Journal. 2011 (Summer). August 31, 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  2. ^ Politano, Teresa. "Jersey City author weaves byzantine tale", Inside Jersey, August 11, 2016. Accessed April 23, 2022. "Czyz, who lives in Jersey City, is an ambitious writer, eager to seek the profound and eager to share his discoveries.... But he also grew up in East Orange, boxing and wrestling, and bought his first assault weapon at age 15."
  3. ^ "Lakeland graduates 331", The Record, June 19, 1981. Accessed April 23, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The Lakeland Regional High School held its outdoor commencement last night, graduating 165 boys and 166 girls. Suzanne Heerschap was valedictorian, and Vincent Czyz was salutatorian."
  4. ^ Politano, Teresa (August 11, 2016). "Jersey City author weaves byzantine tale". THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC. No. Inside Jersey. Advance Publications. NJ.com. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  5. ^ "Our Writers". Bosphorus Review of Books. Matbuat Publishing Group Ltd. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  6. ^ Czyz, V (15 June 2018). "The Cold War and its Fallout". Longreads. Auto Mattic. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  7. ^ "Czyz-grant Not A Joke". NY Times. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  8. ^ "Authors". AGNI Online. Boston University. 30 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Monet in Mourning". Tin House. Win McCormack. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Authors". bostonreview.net. Boston Review.
  11. ^ "Publication: Stories for Chip: A Tribute to Samuel R. Delany". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database isfdb.org. September 20, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  12. ^ "John Keene, Greg Gerke, and Vincent Czyz Reading". Thought Gallery. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  13. ^ "The Christos Mosaic". ipgbook. AMPHORAE PUBLISHING GROUP.
  14. ^ "1994 Pirate's Alley William Faulkner Prize for Short Story". Poets & Writers. 23 (1): 74. January–February 1995.
  15. ^ "The Double Dealer Redux". Pirate's Alley. 2 (3): 23. Spring 1995.
  16. ^ "Our Writers". Bosphorus Review of Books. Matbuat Publishing Group Ltd. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Press Awards". Eric Hoffer Award. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  18. ^ Liederbach, Nate (2015). "Vincent Czyz, Adrift in a Vanishing City". Logos Journal. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  19. ^ Delany, Samuel (1999). "Shorter Views". Wesleyan University Press.
  20. ^ Bartell, Melissa A. "ABOUT THE BOOK, THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC". Bibliotica. Biblioteca. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  21. ^ Marano, Michael (13 July 2021). "A Lovely Exotic Fantasy - Book Review: "The Three Veils of Ibn Oraybi"". Arts Fuse. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Small Press Bookwatch". Midwest Book Review. 20 (7). July 2021.
  23. ^ "Authors". Fantastic Fiction.
  24. ^ Holdefer, Charles. "The Secret Adventures of Order– Vincent Czyz". Full Stop. Biblioteca. Retrieved 20 January 2023.

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