Brady Udall is an American writer. In 2010, he was appointed
Writer-in-Residence
Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...
of Idaho, a position he held until 2013.
Biography
Udall grew up in a large
Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...
family in
St. Johns, Arizona. He graduated from
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...
and later attended the
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative W ...
at the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...
.
["Udall Mints a Dickens of a Tale in 'Miracle Life'" by Brandon Griggs, '']Salt Lake Tribune
''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871."
History
A ...
'', 17 June 2001,
mirror of article
He was formerly a faculty member of
Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It employs 175 full-time faculty members and has a student body of approximately 2,400 full-time students. It was founded upon the merger of Fran ...
starting in 1998, then
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois.
Board of trustees
The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...
,
[ and now teaches writing at ]Boise State University
Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding ...
.
A collection of his short stories titled ''Letting Loose the Hounds'' was published in 1998, and his debut novel ''The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint'' was first published in 2001. The characterization and structure of the latter has been favorably compared to the work of John Irving
John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American-Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.
Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of ''The World According to ...
.["Cuesta pulls off 'Miracle' for UA, Cell"]
by Michael Fleming, ''Variety'', 13 February 2002 Thematically it has been compared to Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
.[ ]Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence.
Pos ...
has optioned
In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...
a film adaptation of ''Miracle'', with United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...
hiring Michael Cuesta
Michael Cuesta (born July 8, 1963) is an American film and television director, best known for his independent films, specially for having co-written and directed the 2001 film, ''L.I.E. (film), L.I.E.'' He has directed and produced television se ...
to direct.[
In July 2007, Udall appeared on an episode of '']This American Life
''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internatio ...
''.
Udall is the great-great-grandson of David King Udall and his plural wife Ida Hunt Udall. In an interview about his novel ''The Lonely Polygamist'', he said this "strong family connection to polygamy" made it "only right" that he author a novel about a polygamist. Through this heritage, Udall is related to members of the Udall family
The Udall family is a U.S. political family rooted in the American West. Its role in politics spans over 100 years and four generations. Udall politicians have been elected from four different states: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oregon ...
, including former U.S. congressman and Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, and former congressman and presidential candidate Morris Udall.[
]
Bibliography
* ''Letting Loose the Hounds'' (stories) (1997)
* ''The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint'' (novel) (2001)
* '' The Lonely Polygamist'' (novel) (2010)
Notes
External links
* http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Author.aspx?id=4902
{{DEFAULTSORT:Udall, Brady
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
American Latter Day Saints
American male novelists
Brigham Young University alumni
Living people
Mormon studies scholars
Udall family
Year of birth missing (living people)
Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni
Poets Laureate of Idaho
People from St. Johns, Arizona
20th-century American poets
21st-century American poets
American male poets
Novelists from Arizona
Novelists from Idaho
Novelists from Iowa
Poets from Arizona
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers