Ron Hansen (novelist)
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Ron Hansen (born 1947) is an American novelist, essayist, and professor.
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[edit] Biography
Hansen was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and earned a Bachelor's degree in English from Creighton University. He then went on to graduate studies, receiving his MFA at the University of Iowa and receiving another Masters Degree from Stanford University. He published numerous short stories in literary magazines nationwide. His first book was Desperadoes (1979), a Western novel that reimagines the story of the Dalton Gang. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford , a 1983 novel chronicling the life and death of the iconic outlaw, was Hansen's most popular work and brought him wide critical acclaim.
Many of his novels combine elements of mainstream literature with a Western sensibility, and he avoids use of experimental or postmodern techniques. He frequently writes about the Old West, mixing history with morality and drama. His 1996 novel Atticus, about the bond between father and son, was a National Book Award nominee that year. Hansen has twice been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award. He won the fiction prize from the Bay Area Reviewers Association and the Gold Medal for Excellence in Fiction from the Commonwealth Club of California for his critically acclaimed Mariette in Ecstasy (1991), a study of the Catholic phenomenon of stigmata. Hitler's Niece (1999) is a historical novel that offers a view of Hitler as seen through the eyes of Geli Raubal, the daughter of his half-sister. Isn't It Romantic? (2003) is a comic novel about two sophisticated Parisians stranded in small-town Nebraska.
In addition to his novels, Hansen has published a short story collection (Nebraska), a compilation of essays (A Stay Against Confusion), and a children's book (The Shadowmaker). Hansen also wrote the screenplay for the 1996 film adaptation of Mariette in Ecstasy.
In 2006, The Assassination of Jesse James was adapted for the screen in a film written and directed by Andrew Dominik and starring Brad Pitt as James. According to Hansen, it is scheduled for release in early 2007.
As of 2006 he is the Gerald Manley Hopkins Professor in the Arts and Humanities at Santa Clara University, where he teaches courses in writing and literature. He is married to the writer Bo Caldwell.
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] Works
- Desperadoes (1979)
- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (1983)
- The Shadowmaker (1987)
- Nebraska (1989)
- Mariette in Ecstasy (1991)
- Atticus (1996) ISBN 0-06-092786-0
- Hitler's Niece (1999) ISBN 0-06-093220-1
- A Stay Against Confusion: Essays On Faith And Fiction (2001)
- Isn't It Romantic? (2003)
[edit] As editor or contributor
- You Don't Know What Love Is: Contemporary American Stories (Compiler) (1987)
- You've Got to Read This: Contemporary American Writers Introduce Stories That Held Them in Awe (Editor, with Jim Shepard) (1994)
- John of the Cross: Selections from The Dark Night and Other Writings (Foreword) (2004)
- Flyover Fiction, series from University of Nebraska Press (Series editor) (2005-present)
