Tom Robbins

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Tom Robbins

Tom Robbins at a reading of Wild Ducks Flying Backward in San Francisco on September 24, 2005
Born Thomas Eugene Robbins
(1936-07-22) July 22, 1936
Blowing Rock, North Carolina, U.S.
Occupation Novelist, short story writer, essayist
Nationality American
Genres Fictional prose, Postmodernism
Spouse(s) Alexa D'Avalon (1987–present)
Children 3

Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins (born July 22, 1936)[1] is an American author. His best-selling novels are "seriocomedies" (also known as "comedy-drama"),[2] often wildly poetic stories with a strong social and philosophical undercurrent, an irreverent bent, and scenes extrapolated from carefully researched bizarre facts.[citation needed] His novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues was made into a movie in 1993 by Gus Van Sant and stars Uma Thurman, Lorraine Bracco, and Keanu Reeves.[3]

Early life

Robbins was born in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, United States (U.S.) to George Thomas Robbins and Katherine Belle Robinson, and both of his grandfathers were Baptist preachers. The Robbins family resided in Blowing Rock before moving to Richmond, Virginia when the author was still a young boy.[4] As an adult, Robbins has described his young self as a "hillbilly."[5]

Robbins graduated in 1950 from Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia, where he won the Senior Essay Medal. The following year he enrolled at Washington and Lee University to major in journalism, leaving at the end of his sophomore year after being disciplined by his fraternity for bad behavior and failing to earn a letter in basketball.

In 1953, he enlisted in the Air Force after receiving his draft notice, spending a year as a meteorologist in Korea, followed by two years in the Special Weather Intelligence unit of the Strategic Air Command in Nebraska. He was discharged in 1957 and returned to Richmond, Virginia, where his poetry readings at the Rhinoceros Coffee House led to a reputation among the local bohemian scene.

Early media work

In late 1957, Robbins enrolled at Richmond Professional Institute, a school of art, drama, and music, which later became Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). He served as an editor and columnist for the college newspaper, Proscript, from 1958-1959.[6] He also worked nights on the sports desk of the daily Richmond Times-Dispatch.[4] After graduating with honors from VCU in 1959 and indulging in some hitchhiking, Robbins joined the staff of the Times-Dispatch as a copy editor.

In 1962, Robbins moved to Seattle to seek a M.A. at the Far East Institute of the University of Washington. During the next five years in Seattle (minus a year spent in New York city researching a book on the painter, Jackson Pollock) he worked for the Seattle Times as an art critic. In 1965, he wrote a column on the arts for Seattle Magazine. Also during this time, he hosted a weekly "underground" radio show at non-commercial KRAB-FM. It was in 1967, while writing a review of the rock band The Doors, that Robbins says he found his literary voice. Robbins would remain in Seattle, on and off, for the following forty years.[4]

Writing career

In 1967, Robbins moved to South Bend, Washington, where he wrote his first novel. In 1970, Robbins moved to La Conner, Washington, and it was at his home on Second Street that he subsequently authored nine books (although, in the late 1990s, he spent two years living on the Swinomish Indian reservation).

In the 1980s and early 1990s, Robbins regularly published articles and essays in Esquire magazine,[7][8][9] and also contributed to Playboy, The New York Times,[10] and GQ.[11]

Michael Dare described Robbins' writing style in the following manner: "When he starts a novel, it works like this. First he writes a sentence. Then he rewrites it again and again, examining each word, making sure of its perfection, finely honing each phrase until it reverberates with the subtle texture of the infinite. Sometimes it takes hours. Sometimes an entire day is devoted to one sentence, which gets marked on and expanded upon in every possible direction until he is satisfied. Then, and only then, does he add a period."[12] When Robbins was asked to explain his "gift" for storytelling in 2002, he replied:

I'm descended from a long line of preachers and policemen. Now, it's common knowledge that cops are congenital liars, and evangelists spend their lives telling fantastic tales in such a way as to convince otherwise rational people that they're factual. So, I guess I come by my narrative inclinations naturally.[13]

Over the course of his writing career, Robbins has given readings on four continents, in addition to the performances that he has delivered at festivals in Australia and Mexico, and nightclubs in England and Germany.

Awards and praise

In 1997, Robbins won the Bumbershoot Golden Umbrella Award for Lifetime Achievement in the arts that is presented annually by the Bumbershoot arts festival in Seattle.[14]

In 2000, Robbins was named one of the 100 Best Writers of the 20th Century by Writer's Digest magazine, while the legendary Italian critic Fernanda Pivano called Robbins "the most dangerous writer in the world".

In October 2012, Robbins received the 2012 Literary Lifetime Achievement Award from the Library of Virginia.[15]

Other activities

Robbins has defended, in print, Indian mystic Osho, although he was never a follower.[citation needed] Robbins spent three weeks at ceremonial sites in Mexico and Central America with mythologist Joseph Campbell, and studied mythology in Greece and Sicily with the poet Robert Bly. Robbins also embarked on a solo pilgrimage to Timbuktu.[citation needed]

As of 2013, Robbins is a member of the Marijuana Policy Project's Advisory Board, alongside numerous other notable figures such as Jack Black, Ani DiFranco, Tommy Chong, and Jello Biafra;[16] he has been honoured at the Laureate Dinner of Seattle's Rainier Club that has also recognized other local figures, such as Charles Johnson, Stephen Wadsworth, Tim Egan and August Wilson;[17] and he sits on the board of directors of 826 Seattle, "a nonprofit writing and tutoring center dedicated to helping youth, ages six to 18, improve their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write."[18][19]

For eight years, Robbins was an enthusiastic participant in Seattle's SPAM carving competition, serving as judge. He has also hosted an annual mayonnaise tasting, often with more than 20 international varieties, at his home in La Conner.

Personal life

Robbins was a friend of Terence McKenna,[20] whose influence appears evident in a couple of his books. A main character (Larry Diamond) in Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas advocates a theory similar to those of McKenna, involving the history and cultural influences of psychedelic plants. Robbins also spent time with Timothy Leary and the author has said that one of the protagonists in Jitterbug Perfume (Wiggs Dannyboy) exhibited certain characteristics of Leary's personality; Robbins has admitted to using LSD with Leary.[21]

He is friends with Gus Van Sant, and performed the voice-over narration in Van Sant's film adaptation of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. He has been friends with directors Robert Altman and Alan Rudolph, as well, and has had small speaking parts in five feature films.

Family life

Robbins has been married to Alexa D'Avalon since 1987 and continues to live in La Conner with Alexa and their dog, Blini Tomato Titanium. He has three sons, Rip, Kirk, and Fleetwood, all from previous marriages.

Partial bibliography

Robbins has written eight novels since 1971. He has also written numerous short stories and essays, mostly collected in the volume Wild Ducks Flying Backward, and one novella, B Is for Beer.[22]

Novels

Collection

Novella

Notes

  1. ↑ See Encyclopedia Britannica (2012) and Oxford companion to American literature (1995). The discrepancy between Robbins' year of birth appearing in the Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data results from previous inaccurate reporting and the LoC rule prohibiting correction of CIP data. Robbins claims he was born in 1932 (see Conversations With Tom Robbins, 2011).
  2. ↑ FamousAuthors.org (2012). "Tom Robbins". Famous Authors. FamousAuthors.org. Retrieved 15 August 2012. 
  3. ↑ s flicks (28 April 2012). "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993) Trailer" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Tracy Johnson (10 March 2000). "A look at author Tom Robbins". CNN.com. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  5. ↑ Linda L. Richards. "Tom Robbins". January Magazine. January Magazine. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  6. ↑ "RPI Student Newspapers". VCU Libraries. Retrieved 2013-06-06. 
  7. ↑ "TOM ROBBINS, writing in Esquire magazine about a C...". Legacy Tobacco Documents Library. The Regents of the University of California. 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  8. ↑ "You Gotta Have Soul - by Tom Robbins". UMagazine & Universal Metropolis. UMagazine & Universal Metropolis. 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  9. ↑ "Author Name Vollmann, William; Pynchon, Thomas; Robbins, Tom; Robbins, Harold; et. al.". opcit.com. ChrisLands.com. 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  10. ↑ Bernadette Murphy (11 October 2005). "Zen-like wisdom from Tom Robbins". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  11. ↑ Jessie Milligan (14 October 2005). "Tom Robbins' bold imagination soars in `Wild Ducks'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  12. ↑ Michael Dare (2002). "Emulsional Problems: How to Write Like Tom Robbins". Dareland. Michael Dare. Retrieved 15 August 2012. 
  13. ↑ Gregory Daurer (12 June 2002). "THE GREEN MAN: TOM ROBBINS". High Times. High Times. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  14. ↑ "Golden Umbrella Award: Tom Robbins". Seattle Channel. City of Seattle. 1995–2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  15. ↑ "Tom Robbins: Author reflects on writing, Richmond and the many decades since he left" by Bill Lohmann.
  16. ↑ "MPP ADVISORY BOARD". Marijuana Policy Project. Marijuana Policy Project. 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  17. ↑ "Become more Involved in Club Programs & Events" (PDF). The Rainier Review. The Rainier Club. September 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  18. ↑ "Our Staff & Leadership". 826 Seattle. 826 Seattle. 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  19. ↑ "About 826". 826 Seattle. 826 Seattle. 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  20. ↑ James Kent (2 December 2003). "Terence McKenna Interview, Part 1". Trip. Trip. Retrieved 26 August 2012. 
  21. ↑ Richard Luck (20 March 2011). "Tom Robbins on Acid, Elvis and Uma Thurman". Sabotage Times. Sabotage Times. Retrieved 26 August 2012. 
  22. ↑ Mike Songster; Matt Cooperberg, Lorin Hawley (24 September 1996). "THE COMPLETE(?) TOM ROBBINS BIBLIOGRAPHY". Le AFTRLife: Une aire de jeux Tom Robbins. Pussy Galore. Retrieved 15 August 2012. 

References

  • "Tom Robbins". Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2012. 
  • Hart, James D.; Phillip W. Leininger (1995). "Robbins, Tom". The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved June 5, 2010. 

Further reading

  • Conversations with Tom Robbins, edited by Liam O. Purdon and Beef Torry, University of Mississippi Press, Jackson 2011 ISBN 978-1-60473-826-1
  • Hoyser, Catherine (1997). Tom Robbins: A Critical Companion. Westport: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-29418-6. 
  • Siegel, Mark (1980). Tom Robbins. Boise: Boise State University. ISBN 0-88430-066-8.  available online
  • Gabel, Shainee (1997). Anthem: An American Road Story. New York: Avon books. ISBN 0-380-97419-3. 
  • Whitmer, Peter (2000). Aquarius Revisited: Seven Who Created the Sixties Counterculture That Changed America. New York: Citadel. ISBN 0-8065-1222-9. 

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