Jean W. Cash
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781604739800
- eISBN:
- 9781604739862
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781604739800.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
Larry Brown was unique among writers who started their careers in the late twentieth century. Unlike most of them—his friends Clyde Edgerton, Jill McCorkle, Rick Bass, Kaye Gibbons, among others—he ...
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Larry Brown was unique among writers who started their careers in the late twentieth century. Unlike most of them—his friends Clyde Edgerton, Jill McCorkle, Rick Bass, Kaye Gibbons, among others—he was neither a product of a writing program, nor did he teach at one. In fact, he did not even attend college. His innate talent, his immersion in the life of north Mississippi, and his determination led him to national success. Drawing on excerpts from numerous letters and material from interviews with family members and friends, this book is a biography of a landmark southern writer. It explores the cultural milieu of Oxford, Mississippi, and the writers who influenced Brown, including William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Harry Crews, and Cormac McCarthy. The book covers Brown’s history in Mississippi, the troubled family in which he grew up, and his boyhood in Tula and Yocona, Mississippi, and in Memphis, Tennessee. It relates stories from Brown’s time in the Marines, his early married life—which included sixteen years as an Oxford fireman—and what he called his “apprenticeship” period, the eight years during which he was teaching himself to write publishable fiction. The book examines Brown’s years as a writer: the stories and novels he wrote, his struggles to acclimate himself to the fame his writing brought him, and his many trips outside Yocona, where he spent the last thirty years of his life. It concludes with a discussion of A Miracle of Catfish.Less
Larry Brown was unique among writers who started their careers in the late twentieth century. Unlike most of them—his friends Clyde Edgerton, Jill McCorkle, Rick Bass, Kaye Gibbons, among others—he was neither a product of a writing program, nor did he teach at one. In fact, he did not even attend college. His innate talent, his immersion in the life of north Mississippi, and his determination led him to national success. Drawing on excerpts from numerous letters and material from interviews with family members and friends, this book is a biography of a landmark southern writer. It explores the cultural milieu of Oxford, Mississippi, and the writers who influenced Brown, including William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Harry Crews, and Cormac McCarthy. The book covers Brown’s history in Mississippi, the troubled family in which he grew up, and his boyhood in Tula and Yocona, Mississippi, and in Memphis, Tennessee. It relates stories from Brown’s time in the Marines, his early married life—which included sixteen years as an Oxford fireman—and what he called his “apprenticeship” period, the eight years during which he was teaching himself to write publishable fiction. The book examines Brown’s years as a writer: the stories and novels he wrote, his struggles to acclimate himself to the fame his writing brought him, and his many trips outside Yocona, where he spent the last thirty years of his life. It concludes with a discussion of A Miracle of Catfish.
Jean W. Cash
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781604739800
- eISBN:
- 9781604739862
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781604739800.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This chapter illustrates how Larry Brown emerged from a troubled, working-class background, and how he rose to success through a combination of personal determination and talent, clear insight into ...
More
This chapter illustrates how Larry Brown emerged from a troubled, working-class background, and how he rose to success through a combination of personal determination and talent, clear insight into what makes us human, and the support of the strong, ambitious women in his life. Except for his ten years in Memphis and two years in the marines, Brown lived in Tula or Yocona for virtually all of his life. The Brown family also had deep roots in Lafayette County. Even in Brown’s early years, the family’s lack of money and his father’s alcoholism posed constant problems. The family lived in Lafayette County until Brown was three years old. The family found life in Memphis a little better than life in Mississippi, although Brown’s mother Leona recalled receiving considerable help from family members.Less
This chapter illustrates how Larry Brown emerged from a troubled, working-class background, and how he rose to success through a combination of personal determination and talent, clear insight into what makes us human, and the support of the strong, ambitious women in his life. Except for his ten years in Memphis and two years in the marines, Brown lived in Tula or Yocona for virtually all of his life. The Brown family also had deep roots in Lafayette County. Even in Brown’s early years, the family’s lack of money and his father’s alcoholism posed constant problems. The family lived in Lafayette County until Brown was three years old. The family found life in Memphis a little better than life in Mississippi, although Brown’s mother Leona recalled receiving considerable help from family members.
