Breece D'J Pancake (June 29, 1952 - April 8, 1979) was an American author of short fiction. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 217 - Roman Emperor Caracalla is Assassinated (and succeeded by his Praetorian Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such
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Biography
Breece Dexter Pancake was born in South Charleston, West Virginia, the youngest child of Clarence "Wicker" Pancake and Helen Frazier Pancake, and was raised in Milton, West Virginia. South Charleston is a city in Kanawha County, West Virginia, U Milton is a town in Cabell County, West Virginia, United States. Pancake briefly attended West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon before transferring to Marshall University in Huntington where he completed a bachelor's degree in English education in 1974. West Virginia Wesleyan College is a regionally accredited private, Coeducational Liberal arts college in Buckhannon West Virginia Buckhannon is the only incorporated city in and the County seat of Upshur County, West Virginia, United States, and is located along the Marshall University is a Coeducational public Research university in Huntington West Virginia, founded in 1837 as a private subscription Huntington is a city located in the State of West Virginia along the Ohio River. After graduating from Marshall he spent time out West, visiting his sister in Santa Fe. As a graduate student he studied at the University of Virginia's creative writing program under John Casey and James Alan McPherson. The University of Virginia (also called UVa, UVA, Mr Jefferson's University, or The University) is a highly selective public research John Casey may refer to John Casey (novelist, US novelist John Casey (academic, British academic John J James Alan McPherson (born September 16, 1943 in Savannah, Georgia) is a United States short story writer and essayist and a recipient Pancake also worked as an English teacher at two Virginia military academies, Fork Union and Staunton. Staunton Military Academy was an all-male military academy located in Staunton Virginia for much of its 116-year history
While at the University of Virginia, Pancake deliberately styled himself as an uncultured hillbilly, distancing himself from the mostly erudite students at the prestigious school. Hillbilly is a term referring to people who dwell in remote Rural, Mountainous areas of the United States, primarily southern Appalachia and He was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting, fishing and camping. Pancake was a devout fan of the music of folk singer Phil Ochs, who had attended Staunton Military Academy,[1] where Pancake later taught. Philip David Ochs ( December 19 1940 – April 9 1976) was a U His favorite song was Ochs' "Jim Dean of Indiana". Ochs committed suicide exactly three years and a day before Pancake. [2]
The unusual middle name "D'J" originated from a misprint of Pancake's middle initials by The Atlantic Monthly (D. The Atlantic (formerly known as The Atlantic Monthly) is an American Magazine founded in Boston in 1857 J. , for Dexter John) when Pancake's first published story, Trilobites was published in 1977. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Pancake decided not to correct it. [3] Dexter is Pancake's middle name, while John is the name Pancake adopted after converting to Catholicism in his mid-20s. As a Christian Ecclesiastical term Catholic —from the Greek adjective, meaning "general" or "universal"—is described
Pancake died from a self-inflicted shotgun wound in Charlottesville, Virginia. Charlottesville is an Independent city located within the confines of Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States His death was officially labeled a suicide, although there has, over the years, been some debate from people who believe the gunshot may have been an accident. [2] Pancake was buried in Milton.
Writing
Pancake published six short stories in his lifetime, mostly in The Atlantic. These and six stories left unpublished at his death were later collected in The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake, a 178 page volume published by Little, Brown and Company in 1983. It was reprinted in 2002 with a new afterword by Andre Dubus III. Pancake was posthumously nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake.
His vivid, compact style has been compared to that of Ernest Hemingway. Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21 1899 — July 2 1961 was an American novelist short-story writer, and Journalist. Most of his stories are set in rural West Virginia and revolve around characters and naturalistic settings, often adapted from his own past. West Virginia ( is a state in the Appalachian Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by His stories received acclaim from readers and critics. The Atlantic's editor recalled receiving letters that "drifted in for months - asking for more stories - inquiring for collected stories, or simply expressing admiration and gratitude . . . in 30-something years at The Atlantic, I cannot recall a response to a new author like the response to this one. "
Among the writers who claim Pancake as a strong influence are Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club and Andre Dubus III, author of House of Sand and Fog. Charles Michael "Chuck" Palahniuk (ˈpɑːlənɪk born February 21 1962) is an American Transgressional fiction Novelist Fight Club is a 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk, chronicling the experiences of an anonymous Protagonist who is struggling with a growing discomfort Andre Dubus III (b 1959 in Oceanside, California) is an American writer best known as the author of the novel House of Sand and Fog House of Sand and Fog is a 1999 novel by Andre Dubus III. It was selected for Oprah's Book Club in 2000 as well as a finalist for the After Pancake's death, author Kurt Vonnegut wrote in a letter to John Casey, "I give you my word of honor that he is merely the best writer, the most sincere writer I've ever read. Kurt Vonnegut Jr (November 11 1922 – April 11 2007 (ˈvɒnəgət was a prolific and genre-bending American Novelist known for works blending Satire, Black John Casey may refer to John Casey (novelist, US novelist John Casey (academic, British academic John J What I suspect is that it hurt too much, was no fun at all to be that good. You and I will never know. "
Quotes
"I'm going to come back to West Virginia when this is over. There's something ancient and deeply-rooted in my soul. I like to think that I have left my ghost up one of those hollows, and I'll never really be able to leave for good until I find it. And I don't want to look for it, because I might find it and have to leave. " - from a letter to his mother Helen Pancake that Breece wrote in Charlottesville, where he was studying writing.
Awards and Honors
- Governor's Fellowship in Fiction Writing from University of Virginia 1976
- Jefferson Society Fiction Award from University of Virginia 1977,
- Hoyns Fellowship for Fiction Writing from University of Virginia 1978
- WV Library Association Annual Book Award 1983 (posthumous)
External links
- Biography from West Virginia Wesleyan College
- Essay on Pancake in Missouri Review by Cynthia Kadohata
- The complete text of Pancake's "The Honored Dead"
- The New York Times Review of The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake by Joyce Carol Oates