OXFORD, Miss. – When Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Barry Hannah calls, always answer.
A year ago, novelist John Brandon did. Now he is the 2009-10 John and Renee Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi.
“I really didn’t know anything about the program before Barry’s call
came,” Brandon said. “When he informed me about it and invited me to
come, I didn’t have to think about it; my answer was ‘yes.'”
Brandon, whose debut novel “Arkansas” (McSweeney’s Rectangulars, 2008)
has earned critical acclaim, assumed the prestigious teaching post in
UM’s Department of English in August. At 33, he is among the youngest
writers ever recruited for the 16-year-old program, which embraces
emerging Southern writers. The annual appointment, including housing
and a stipend, is funded by the best-selling author and his wife, who
were Oxford residents for several years. Recipients are invited to
teach writing workshops and participate in department activities.
A Florida native, Brandon is an MFA graduate of the writing
program at Washington University. During the writing of his first book,
he traveled the country with his wife, Heather, following her work as
an occupational therapist. Each migration provided research for his
book. Along the way, he was employed at various businesses, including a
lumber mill, a windshield warehouse, a Coca-Cola distributor and
several small factories.
“I like to write about places I’ve been to only briefly,” Brandon said.
“If I know a place too well, and there’s no mystery, I lose interest.”
“Arkansas,” a darkly comic novel, is plenty interesting. Filled
with men who become dissatisfied with the straight life, his characters
become part of an illegal drug-running operation based in the Ozarks.
Brandon centers his story on Kyle Rib, a 20-something who was orphaned
as a teenager by his mother’s accidental electrocution; Swin Ruiz, a
college dropout; and Pat Bright, a minor drug boss posing as a park
ranger.
“Arkansas seemed mysterious; it was hard for me to get a feel for it,”
Brandon said. “I felt like I had a lot of wiggle room because anything
could be going on in this state.”
Critics have likened Brandon’s work to that of Raymond Chandler, Cormac McCarthy, Flannery O’Connor and Mark Twain.
His first book has received positive reviews: “‘Arkansas’ is a whooping
debut,” wrote a reviewer in The San Francisco Chronicle. “Brandon’s
premiere novel is a must for those who love the criminal and the stern,
yet dark optimism of the existential,” according to PopMatters, a
cultural criticism Web site. Another critic, at The Portland Mercury,
wrote, “Add novelist John Brandon to your list of hipster-sanctioned
must reads.” And a writer for Library Journal said, “Some readers may
have difficulty with the violence, but this uncomfortable book will
find an audience in most large public libraries.”
Brandon acknowledges that great Southern writers have influenced his literary style.
“If you read folks like Barry Hannah, Joy Williams and Padgett Powell, you know how powerful good sentences can be,” he said.
Along with Hannah, other faculty in UM’s Department of English are enthused about Brandon’s arrival on campus.
“I did not know John or his work before, but I am certainly enjoying
becoming acquainted with both,” said Ann Fisher-Wirth, professor of
English who teaches creative writing. “He is a generous and genial
person, and a talented and very funny writer.”
Ivo Kamps, UM English chair, said he expects students to be equally impressed with Brandon.
“His novel is a briskly moving tale, driven by crisp dialogue,
and is full of dark humor,” Kamps said. “I know that our students are
going to love him.”
Brandon is working on his second novel, which is set in Florida and deals with middle-school students. He has published fiction in anthologies and journals such as Subtropics.
For more information about the John and Renee Grisham
Writer-in-Residence program, call 662-915-7439. To learn more about the
Department of English, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/