Tom Whalen (born October 28, 1948) is an American writer and scholar.

Education and career edit

Whalen graduated from the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) in 1970 with a B.A. in English, and earned a M.A. in writing from Hollins College (Virginia) in 1971.

He attended Tulane University in 1974 and the University of California, Berkeley, in 1981. In 2008 he received a Ph.D. in American Literature from Freiburg University, Germany where he was a visiting professor in North American Studies. Whalen also was a visiting professor in American Film and Literature 2006–09 at the University of Stuttgart.[citation needed] Whalen also was the Director of Creative Writing at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.[1][2] Whalen's fiction has been praised for its "inventive, distinctive language."[3]

In 2005, he wrote the screenplay for the 2007 animated film Flatland, based on the novel of the same name.[4] In 2008, he taught a film class at the Staatliche Akademie der Künste Stuttgart.[5]

Honors and distinctions edit

  • Caketrain Chapbook Competition, 2006.
  • Texas Review Press Novella Award, 1996.
  • The Missouri Review Editor's Prize (Essay), 1993.
  • Distinguished Teacher, Presidential Scholars Commission, 1984, 1994.
  • Pro Helvetia (Switzerland) Research Grants Summer 1988 and Summer 1990.
  • Louisiana Artist Fellowship in Literature, 1985.
  • New Orleans Public Schools Teacher of the Year, 1984.
  • National Endowment for the Humanities Grant, SUNY-Buffalo, Summer 1984.
  • Outstanding Arts Teacher, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, 1984.
  • McNeese State University Research Grant, 1976.
  • Hollins College Fellowship, 1970–71.

Works edit

Novels edit

  • The Camel's Back. With Michael Presti. New Orleans and Tuscaloosa: Portals Press, 1993.
  • Roithamer's Universe. New Orleans: Portals Press, 1996.
  • A Newcomer's Guide to the Afterlife: On the Other Side Known Commonly As "The Little Book." With Daniel Quinn. New York: Bantam Books, 1997.
  • The President in Her Towers. New York: Ellipsis Press, 2012.
  • The Straw That Broke. San Francisco: Black Scat Books, 2014.

Short fiction edit

  • The Eustachia Stories: An Astroromance. Illustrations by Linda Francis. California: Velocities. 1985.
  • Elongated Figures. New York: Red Dust, 1991.
  • The Baby. Black River Falls, WI: Obscure Publications, 2001.
  • Report from the Dump. Black River Falls, WI: Obscure Publications, 2001.
  • The Internecine Wars: from THE PRESIDENT IN HER TOWERS: Black River Falls, WI: Obscure Publications, 2001.
  • Concerning the Vampire. Black River Falls, WI: Obscure Publications, 2001.
  • Twenty-Six Novels. Black River Falls, WI: Obscure Publications, 2001.
  • The Cosmic Messenger: from TALES FROM THE HYBRID POOL. Black River Falls, WI: Obscure Publications, 2002.
  • Memoirs from a Mousehole: from THE STRAW THAT BROKE. Black River Falls, WI: Obscure Publications, 2002.
  • Quantum Surge in O Central. Black River Falls, WI: Obscure Publications, 2003.
  • An Exchange of Letters. Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada: Parsifal Press, 2007.

Poetry edit

  • The Spare Key. Seventeen Poems. Nacogdoches, Texas: The Seven Deadly Sins Press, 1977.
  • The Lonely Person's Garden. Prose Poetry. Nacogdoches, Texas: The Seven Deadly Sins Press, 1980.
  • Winter Coat. New York: Red Dust, 1998.
  • The Wrong Mistake. Black River Falls, WI: Obscure Publications, 2001.
  • Strange Alleys: Prose Poems. Illustrations by Nick Wadley. Black River Falls, WI: Obscure Publications, 2004.IV.
  • Green Man and the Priests. Black River Falls, WI: Obscure Publications, 2007.
  • Dolls: Prose Poems. Pittsburgh, PA: Caketrain Press, 2007.

Criticism edit

  • "What an Edifice of Artifice!": Russell H. Greenan's It Happened in Boston?. Black River Falls, WI: Obscure Publications, 2008.
  • It's What We Do Best: Essays on War Films by Godard, Malick, and Carpenter. Black River Falls, WI: Obscure Publications, 2009.
  • A Bucket of Maggots, A Can of Worms: Methods of Order in Greenan's Macabre Collage. College Hill Review No. 7, Spring 2011.
  • The Birth of Death and Other Comedies: The Novels of Russell H. Greenan. Normal, IL: Dalkey Archive, Spring 2011.

References edit

  1. ^ Hidlay, Skip (January 28, 1985). "Young Artists Trained at New Orleans School". The Star-Democrat (Easton, Maryland). p. 2D. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "New Orleans prof lectures on film noir at SSU Monday". Charlotte Observer. November 4, 1994. p. 28. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Paul, Jay (September 19, 1993). "Southern fiction 'alive, kicking'". Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia). p. F5. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "The Making of Flatland : Page 2". 2012-04-25. Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-06-21. Retrieved 2012-06-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links edit