Mark Anthony Jarman

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Mark Anthony Jarman (born 11 June 1955 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian fiction writer.

He graduated from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and is currently a faculty member of the English department at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. Previously, he has taught at the University of Victoria.

Jarman has been a finalist for various literary prizes including the Journey Prize.

Personal life

Though native to Edmonton, Jarman has travelled extensively across the country and the world, visiting places such as Ireland, the United States and Italy.[1] Jarman’s natural interest in literature led him to pursue the craft of writing. Before becoming a teacher, Jarman worked as a truck driver and considered writing as a hobby. His personal interests include skiing, cycling, and hockey. Jarman is also a musician and is part of a local blues band, Toredown.[1]

Style of writing

Jarman credits his style of writing to his experience at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and cites author Barry Hannah as being a significant influence on his style.[2] Jarman has stated that he prefers writing short stories as he “find novels cumbersome”.[3] Literature critic Steven W. Beattie, on reviewing his short story collection My White Planet, stated that Jarman’s writing differentiates from the norm of classic Canadian literature and focuses on “the delirious and courageous use of language to create startling effects”.[3] Jarman’s short stories have been known to explore a variety of different themes, including war, crisis and Canadian culture (notably hockey).[3] Beattie, reviewing one of the stories in the My White Planet collection, noted “A Nation Plays Chopsticks may be the finest explanation for Canadian’s love affair with [hockey] I’ve ever read”.[3]

Notable works

Jarman’s books have been received positively, and have won and been nominated for various awards. One of his short story collections, 19 Knives, was met with acclaim and chosen as ‘book of the year’ by The Guardian newspaper.[1] Jarman’s writings have also earned him the O. Henry Award and Best American Essays, Gold National Magazine Award in nonfiction and have won the Maclean-Hunter Endowment Award twice.[4] He has also won the Jack Hodgins Fiction Prize, and has been included in The Journey Prize Anthology and Best Canadian Stories. Furthermore, Jarman’s Salvage King, Ya! is placed on Amazon Canada’s 50 Essential Canadian books.[5]

Bibliography

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Telegraphjournal: Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada] accessed October 26th, 2010.
  2. ↑ Short Story Month Q&A: Mark Anthony Jarman accessed October 22nd, 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Review of My White Planet by Mark Anthony Jarman | Quill & Quire accessed October 22nd, 2010.
  4. ↑ Mark Anthony Jarman: Banff Centre accessed October 24th, 2010.
  5. ↑ Anansi.ca: author accessed October 24th, 2010.
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