Donald Douglas Harington (December 22, 1935 – November 7, 2009) was an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and visual artist. All but the first of his novels either take place in or have an important connection to "Stay More," a fictional

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant porti ...

town based somewhat on Drakes Creek, Arkansas, where Harington spent summers as a child.

Biography

Harington was born and raised in

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

. He lost nearly all of his hearing at age 12 due to

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

. This did not prevent him from picking up and remembering the vocabulary and modes of expression among the Ozark denizens, nor in conducting his teaching career as an adult. Though he intended to be a novelist from a very early age, his course of study and his teaching career were in art and art history. He taught art history in Millbrook, New York, Putney, Vermont, and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large portio ...

before returning to the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas In ...

in Fayetteville, his alma mater, where he taught for 22 years before his retirement on May 1, 2008. ''Entertainment Weekly'' called him "America's greatest unknown writer." The novelist and critic Fred Chappell said of him "Donald Harington isn't an unknown writer. He's an undiscovered continent." Novelist James Sallis, writing in the ''Boston Globe'': "Harington's books are of a piece -- the quirkiest, most original body of work in contemporary U.S. letters." Harington died of pneumonia, after a long illness, in Springdale on November 7, 2009. His novels are available fro
The Toby Press
in a uniform edition, with cover illustrations by Wendell Minor. A 2013

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docu ...

of Harington titled '' Stay More: The World of Donald Harington'' was created by filmmaker Brian Walter based upon interviews with Harington and his wife during 2006–2007, which was released in 2013 and is distributed by the University of Arkansas Press.

Novels

*''The Cherry Pit'' (1965) *'' Lightning Bug'' (1970) * '' Some Other Place. The Right Place.'' (1972), adapted into the film '' Return'' in 1985 *'' The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks'' (1975) *''The Cockroaches of Stay More'' (1989) *''The Choiring of the Trees'' (1991) *''

Ekaterina Ekaterina is a Russian feminine given name, and an alternative transliteration of the Russian ''Yekaterina''. Katya and Katyusha are common diminutive forms of Ekaterina. Notable people with the name can be found below. Arts * Ekaterina Medvede ...

'' (1993) *''Butterfly Weed'' (1996) *''When Angels Rest'' (1998) *'' Thirteen Albatrosses (or, Falling off the Mountain)'' (2002) *'' With'' (2003) *'' The Pitcher Shower'' (2005) *'' Farther Along'' (2008) *''Enduring'' (2009)

Nonfiction

*''On a Clear Day: The Paintings of George Dombek, 1975-1994'' (1995) *''Let Us Build Us a City: Eleven Lost Towns'' (1986)

Awards

*''

Oxford American The ''Oxford American'' is a quarterly magazine that focuses on the American South. First publication The magazine was begun in late 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by Marc Smirnoff (born July 11, 1963). The name "Oxford American" is a play on ''T ...

'' Lifetime Award for Contributions to Southern Literature, 2006 *

Robert Penn Warren Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the liter ...

Award for Fiction, 2003 *Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame, 1996
Porter Prize for Literary Excellence
1987

References

External links

Author-endorsed Website
(not currently maintained)

by Edwin T. (Chip) Arnold
Biographical article
at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture

— article on his life and work

— article on themes, techniques, and cultural background

��NY Times obituary
"Donald Harington obituary"
��From the Guardian {{DEFAULTSORT:Harington, Donald 1935 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists University of Arkansas alumni Boston University alumni University of Arkansas faculty Deaf writers Writers from Little Rock, Arkansas Deaths from pneumonia in Arkansas American deaf people 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers