OXFORD, Miss. – For the fourth straight year, a University
of Mississippi alumnus in English is to be featured in a
short story anthology series that lauds the latest crop of
promising new writers from around the country.
Jacob Rubin of New York City is slated to have his story
“Little Stones, Little Pistols, Little Clash” included in
“Best New American Voices 2009,” which is to be released in
late October. This is Rubin’s first published work of
fiction, although he has written essays for Slate, New York
and the New Republic online.
“I felt like I’d just won an Oscar,” said Rubin, who
completed his Master of Fine Arts in creative writing at UM
last summer. “It was especially exciting since close
friends of mine from Ole Miss had been included in years
past.”
Since fall 2000, the UM program – the only such degree
offering in the state – has capitalized on Oxford’s aura
and on the university’s Southern writer-in-residence
position. Funded by best-selling author John Grisham and
his wife, Renee, the post brings extraordinary writers to
the Oxford campus to interact with students.
Patrick Quinn, English department chair, attributed Rubin’s
success to his own hard work and diligence aided by a
dedicated faculty.
“Once again, the fertile ground of creative pursuit on the
campus has proven fruitful,” Quinn said.
One professor noted that, during Rubin’s tenure as a
student, his exceptional talent caused other good writers
within the program to look up to him.
“Jake is an extremely fine writer whose writing can be
funny and poignant at the same time, which is not an easy
accomplishment,” said David Galef, professor of English and
former administrator of the academic program. “I think we
are a top-notch program. Jake just gives us something more
to boast about.”
In Rubin’s fiction story, musicians in a rock band use
magical words to hypnotize their audience. Principal
characters are the band members and the wicked men who coin
these spellbinding words.
A graduate of Harvard College, Rubin said he came to Ole
Miss because he loved award-winning author Barry Hannah’s
writing. Hannah, longtime writer-in-residence at UM, was an
original faculty member of the MFA in creative writing
program and remains its director.
“Barry Hannah is, without exaggeration, an American
treasure,” Rubin said. “I’ve certainly been inspired by him
– so inspired, in fact, that I am currently making a
documentary about him with filmmaker Nick Louvel.”
Rubin pointed to others on the UM English faculty for
contributing to his success, including Galef and
Writer-in-Residence Tom Franklin, as well as visiting
writers such as Brad Watson and Michael Knight.
“You often hear horror stories about ultra-competitive
writing programs, but Ole Miss is just the opposite,” Rubin
said. “The faculty and fellow students could not be more
supportive or companionable.”
Since completing his MFA, Rubin has returned to his native
city and is freelance writing. He is also finishing a
novel, “Giovanni the Impersonator,” and working on the
aforementioned documentary.
For more information about the UM program, call the
Department of English at 662-915-7439 or go to
http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/mfa/home.htm