John J. Clayton
BornJohn Jacob Clayton
(1935-01-05) January 5, 1935
New York City, U.S.
OccupationWriter
EducationColumbia University (BA)
New York University (MA)
Indiana University (PhD)
Period1969-present
GenreLiterary fiction

John Jacob Clayton (born January 5, 1935) is an American fiction writer, teacher, and editor. He has published four novels including Mitzvah Man[1] (Texas Tech University Press), and Kuperman's Fire[2] (Permanent Press), as well as five collections of short fiction including Minyan: Ten Interwoven Stories[3][4] (Paragon House) and Many Seconds into the Future[5][6][7] (Texas Tech University Press). He was editor for the Heath Introduction to Fiction,[8] a college anthology published in six editions from 1977 to 1999.

Life

Clayton was born and raised in Manhattan, the only child of Jewish parents Charles Clayton, born Charles Cohen, and Leah Kaufman. His father, born in Montreal, was the son of immigrants from Odessa, who settled in Chicago. His mother, born as Leibe Barlok in Orhei, Bessarabia, immigrated to the U.S. in 1906, and her family settled in Rochester, New York. Clayton graduated from Columbia University with a B.A.,[9] New York University with an M.A. and Indiana University with a PhD. His doctoral thesis Saul Bellow: In Defense of Man,[10] published by University of Indiana Press in 1968 was one of the first books of criticism of Bellow's work. In the early 1960s Clayton taught at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, then in Germany for the University of Maryland in Europe.[11] From 1964-1969 he lived in Brookline, Massachusetts, and taught at Boston University.[12] In Fall 1969 he arrived at the University of Massachusetts Amherst,[13] where as professor he taught American and British modern literature and creative writing for over thirty years.

Literature

Clayton's early fiction rendered family life, separation, divorce and childrearing and their attendant tensions, heartbreak and growth. It also dealt with disillusion with political involvement as in his O.Henry prize-winning story "Cambridge is Sinking".[14] Since the early 1990s Clayton's novels and short stories have explored the universal themes of loss and spiritual redemption, acceptance, fading ideals, as well as with contemporary struggles of Jewish life and family.[15] In 2016 Richard L. Rubenstein wrote of Clayton's collection of linked short stories: "If I were asked whether there is one single book I would recommend to anyone interested in learning about the world of contemporary American Jews, I would unhesitatingly recommend John J. Clayton's Minyan.[16] " Of the novel Kuperman's Fire Thane Rosenbaum wrote: "Clayton is a masterful observer of the modern world, with all its fears and neuroses—the threats that plague us from afar and from within, and the corruptions that contaminate not only our institutions, but also our spirits."

Clayton's fiction, literary criticism, memoir and journalism have appeared in a wide range of literary and popular magazines and newspapers including: Virginia Quarterly Review, AGNI (magazine), The Sewanee Review, The Georgia Review, TriQuarterly, The Missouri Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Denver Quarterly, The Antioch Review, Fiction (magazine), Witness (magazine), Playboy, Chronicle of Higher Education and The Washington Post magazine. Beginning in 2003 Commentary magazine has published over twenty of Clayton's stories and memoir pieces

Personal life

Clayton married in 1956 and had two children, Laura and Josh Clayton-Felt (1967-2000), a singer-songwriter who performed lead vocals and guitar for School of Fish. Clayton had two subsequent marriages, and two more sons. [17] Clayton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2016.

Works

Novels
Short story collections
Criticism and anthology
Non-fiction
  • Parkinson's Blues: Stories of My Life Paragon House, 2020

References

  1. ↑ Myers, D.G. "It's a Mitzvah," Review of Mitzvah Man Commentary January 1, 2012. Retrieved on February 4, 2017.
  2. ↑ Cohen, Joshua. "New Time Religion," Review of Wrestling with Angels: New and Collected Stories and Kuperman's Fire The Forward October 7, 2007. Retrieved on February 4, 2017.
  3. ↑ Pffarer, Steve. "Divorce and Its Children," Review of Minyan Valley Advocate September 12, 2016. Retrieved on February 9, 2017.
  4. ↑ Weisblat, Tinky. "Working and Praying Together," Review of Minyan The Recorder (Massachusetts newspaper) October 7, 2016. Retrieved on February 4, 2017.
  5. ↑ Stahl, Sheryl. Review of Many Seconds into the Future Association of Jewish Libraries November/December 2014. Retrieved on February 4, 2017.
  6. ↑ Metsch, Penny. Review of Many Seconds into the Future Jewish Book Council 2014. Retrieved on February 4, 2017.
  7. ↑ Pinsker, Sanford. "Many Seconds into the Future" Hadassah Magazine, June 16, 2014. Retrieved on February 9, 2017.
  8. ↑ Long, Gareth (December 2012). Review of Heath Introduction to Fiction (6th ed.). Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Columbia College Today". College.columbia.edu. June 18, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  10. ↑ Markels, Julian (1970). ""Bellow's Humanism," Review of Saul Bellow: In Defense of Man". Novel: A Forum on Fiction. JSTOR 1345301.
  11. ↑ "Clayton, John J. 1935– - Dictionary definition of Clayton, John J. 1935–". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  12. ↑ "A Gathering With Author John Clayton | The Episcopal Church at Yale". Campuspress.yale.edu. October 26, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  13. ↑ "UMass Amherst Professor John Clayton Publishes Novel and Prize-Winning Collection of Short Stories | Office of News & Media Relations". Umass.edu. April 8, 1998. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  14. ↑ John J. Clayton (1972). "Cambridge Is Sinking!". The Massachusetts Review. The Massachusetts Review, Inc. 13 (4): 618–632. JSTOR 25088290.
  15. ↑ Pffarer, Steve. "Divorce and Its Children," Review of Minyan Valley Advocate September 12, 2016. Retrieved on July 10, 2017.
  16. ↑ Hostein, Lisa (January 24, 2013). "Guide to Jewish Literature - October/November 2016". Hadassah Magazine. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  17. ↑ Fritz, Anita (October 22, 2020). "Healing & hope". Daily Hampshire Gazette. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  18. ↑ Review of The Man I Never Wanted to Be Publishers Weekly December 1, 1998. Retrieved on February 12, 2017.
  19. ↑ Broyard, Anatole. "A Kiss without Irony," Review of What are Friends For? The New York Times April 14, 1979. Retrieved on February 9, 2017.
  20. ↑ Farrell, Patrick. Review of Radiance: Ten Stories The New York Times Book Review October 25, 1998. Retrieved on February 9, 2017.
  21. ↑ Bell, Donald H. Review of Bodies of the Rich The New York Times Book Review October 7, 1984. Retrieved on February 9, 2017.
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