A Room Forever: The Life, Work, Letters of Breece D'j Pancake - Softcover

Douglass, Thomas E.

 
9781572333673: A Room Forever: The Life, Work, Letters of Breece D'j Pancake
Softcover
ISBN 10: 1572333677 ISBN 13: 9781572333673
Publisher: University of Tennessee Press, 2004

Synopsis

After twenty-six-year-old author Breece D'J Pancake took his own life in April 1979, the West Virginian's posthumously published short-story collection made a considerable impact on the world of letters. In A Room Forever, Thomas E. Douglass offers a detailed portrait of Pancake's short life, examining the varied circumstances and emotional forces that led to the writer's suicide and exploring Pancake's influence on contemporary fiction generally and Appalachian writing in particular. Douglass has recreated the key events of the young artist's life: his West Virginia childhood, his romantic losses, his education as a writer at the University of Virginia, and the acceptance of his work by the East Coast literary establishment. Through analysis of the story fragments reproduced in this volume, including "The Conqueror" and "Shouting Victory, " Douglass illustrates the recurring themes - such as fear of failure and the inability to escape disaster - that Pancake expressed so eloquently in his work, and he shows their origins in the writer's own personal history. Douglass examines the degree to which Pancake drew on his memories of life in Appalachia and discusses Pancake's influence on other Appalachian writers such as Pinckney Benedict.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

The late THOMAS E. DOUGLASS was an associate professor of English at East Carolina University and the longtime fiction editor for the University of Tennessee Press's Appalachian Echoes series.

From the Back Cover

After twenty-six-year-old author Breece D'J Pancake took his own life in April 1979, the West Virginian's posthumously published short-story collection made a considerable impact on the world of letters. In A Room Forever, Thomas E. Douglass offers a detailed portrait of Pancake's short life, examining the varied circumstances and emotional forces that led to the writer's suicide and exploring Pancake's influence on contemporary fiction generally and Appalachian writing in particular. Douglass has recreated the key events of the young artist's life: his West Virginia childhood, his romantic losses, his education as a writer at the University of Virginia, and the acceptance of his work by the East Coast literary establishment. Through analysis of the story fragments reproduced in this volume, including "The Conqueror" and "Shouting Victory", Douglass illustrates the recurring themes - such as fear of failure and the inability to escape disaster - that Pancake expressed so eloquently in his work, and he shows their origins in the writer's own personal history. Douglass examines the degree to which Pancake drew on his memories of life in Appalachia and discusses Pancake's influence on other Appalachian writers such as Pinckney Benedict.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
University of Tennessee Press
Publication date
2004
Language
English
ISBN 10 
1572333677
ISBN 13 
9781572333673
Binding
Paperback
Edition number
3
Number of pages
276

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781572330016: A Room Forever: Life Work Letters

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  1572330015 ISBN 13:  9781572330016
Publisher: The University of Tennessee Press, 1998
Hardcover