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Garth Greenwell (born March 19, 1978) is an American novelist, poet, literary critic, and educator. He has published the novella ''Mitko'' (2011) and the novels ''What Belongs to You'' (2016) and ''Cleanness'' (2020). He has also published stories in ''
The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...
'' and ''A Public Space'' and writes criticism for ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' and ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
''. In 2013, Greenwell returned to the United States after living in Bulgaria to attend the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop as an Arts Fellow.


Early life

Garth Greenwell was born in
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, on March 19, 1978, and graduated from
Interlochen Arts Academy Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City. In ...
in
Interlochen, Michigan Interlochen ( ') is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...
, in 1996. He studied voice at the
Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...
, then transferred to earn a BA degree in Literature with a minor in Lesbian and Gay Studies from the
State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase (commonly Purchase College or SUNY Purchase) is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It was fo ...
in 2001, where he served as a contributing editor for ''In Posse Review'' and received the 2000 Grolier Poetry Prize. He received his MFA from
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
, an MA in English and American Literature from
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, and also spent three years on Ph.D. coursework there.


Career

Greenwell taught English at Greenhills, a private high school in
Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
, and at the
American College of Sofia The American College of Sofia (ACS) (Bulgarian: ) is a school in Bulgaria, located in the capital city of Sofia. The college was founded in 1860 and is regarded as the oldest American educational institution outside the United States.This title i ...
in
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
; the school is famous for being the oldest American educational institution outside the US. His frequent book reviews in the literary journal ''
West Branch West Branch may refer to: Communities * West Branch, Iowa, city in Cedar and Johnson counties * West Branch, Michigan, city in Ogemaw County * West Branch, New Brunswick, in the Local Service District of Weldford Parish * West Branch River John, i ...
'' transitioned into a yearly column called "To a Green Thought: Garth Greenwell on Poetry." Greenwell's first novella, ''Mitko'', won the Miami University Press Novella Prize and was a finalist for the Edmund White Debut Fiction Award as well as the Lambda Award. His work has appeared in ''
Yale Review ''The Yale Review'' is the oldest literary journal in the United States. It is published by Johns Hopkins University Press. It was founded in 1819 as ''The Christian Spectator'' to support Evangelicalism. Over time it began to publish more on hi ...
'', ''
Boston Review ''Boston Review'' is an American quarterly political and literary magazine. It publishes political, social, and historical analysis, literary and cultural criticism, book reviews, fiction, and poetry, both online and in print. Its signature form ...
'', ''Salmagundi'', ''
Michigan Quarterly Review The ''Michigan Quarterly Review'' is an American literary magazine founded in 1962 and published at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The quarterly (known as "MQR" for short) publishes art, essays, interviews, memoirs, fiction, poetry, and ...
'', and '' Poetry International'', among others. His debut novel, ''What Belongs to You,'' was called the "first great novel of 2016" by ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
.'' His second novel, ''Cleanness,'' was published in January 2020 and well received by critics. Greenwell has received the Grolier Prize, the Rella Lossy Award, an award from the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Foundation, and the Bechtel Prize from the
Teachers & Writers Collaborative Teachers & Writers Collaborative is a New York City-based organization that sends writers and other artists into schools. It was founded in 1967 by a group of writers and educators, including Herbert Kohl (the group's founding director), June Jo ...
. He was the 2008 John Atherton Scholar for Poetry at the
Bread Loaf Writers' Conference The Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers' Conference is an author's conference held every summer at the Bread Loaf Inn, near Bread Loaf Mountain, east of Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1926, it has been called by ''The New Yorker'' "the oldest and most p ...
.


LGBT rights advocacy in Bulgaria

In its article "Of LGBT, Life and Literature," the English-language weekly newspaper ''
Sofia Echo ''The Sofia Echo'' is Bulgaria's national English-language weekly newspaper published out of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. History and profile The ''Sofia Echo'' has been published since April 1997, generally targeted at the Bulgarian expatr ...
'' credits Greenwell's publications with bringing much needed attention to the LGBT experience in Bulgaria and to other English-speaking audiences through various broadcasts, interviews, blog posts, and reviews.LGBT, Life and Literature." ''The Sofia Echo''. June 17, 2011
/ref>


Bibliography


Novels

* * *


Anthologies (edited)

* ''Kink,'' co-edited with R.O. Kwon. Simon & Schuster. 2021.


Short fiction

;StoriesShort stories unless otherwise noted.


Essays and reporting

* Discusses, ''inter alia'', the novel ''The end of Eddy'' by French author
Édouard Louis Édouard Louis (born Eddy Bellegueule; 30 October 1992) is a French writer. Biography Édouard Louis, born Eddy Bellegueule was born and raised in the town of Hallencourt in northern France, which is the setting of his first novel, the autob ...
. Online version is titled "Growing up poor and queer in a French village".


Notes


References


External links

* *''Paris Review'
interview
2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenwell, Garth 1978 births Living people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American poets American male novelists American male poets American gay writers Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni American LGBT novelists American LGBT poets State University of New York at Purchase alumni The New Yorker people Washington University in St. Louis alumni Writers from Louisville, Kentucky PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners Novelists from Kentucky Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni 21st-century American male writers Gay poets