Kevin McGowin (1970 in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

– January 18, 2005 in Birmingham) was an American writer, college teacher and

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enthusiast. Holding degrees in literature from

Auburn University at Montgomery Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) is a public university in Montgomery, Alabama. Established by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1967, it is governed by the Auburn University Board of Trustees as a member of the Auburn University syste ...

and the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, he taught literature and creative writing, moving from one college to another quite often, before he decided to become a full-time writer. He lived in Birmingham,

Micanopy Micanopy (c. 1780 – December 1848 or January 1849), also known as Micco-Nuppe, Michenopah, Miccanopa, and Mico-an-opa, and Sint-chakkee ("pond frequenter", as he was known prior to being selected as chief), was the leading chief of the Sem ...

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, New York City,

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, and then back in his native Birmingham, where he died in a tragic accident, choking on food. He was first noticed as a poet, with such collections as ''Bogus Pastimes'' (1993), ''Wild Afflictions'' (1994), and ''The Better Part of a Fortnight'' (1999). Initially his fiction was published online, notably the three novels known as "The Benny Poda Trilogy": ''The Benny Poda Years'' (2001), ''Town Full of Hoors'' (2001) and ''What God Has Joined Together'' (2002), all written and posted "a chapter a day". The trilogy is his only major work of fiction published in print. His last novel, ''Flies in the Buttermilk'', was serialized online in 2003–2004. All these are social satires, with some elements of

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

and

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, spiced up with a considerable amount of strong language. McGowin showed a more lyrical side in his short stories, to be found on various websites online; ''Slender Accidents'' (2004) being a major collection of vignettes. Kevin McGowin was a noted

reviewer A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a rating to indi ...

, contributing for years to

Oyster Boy Review Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

magazine and

Eclectica Magazine ''Eclectica Magazine'' is one of the oldest surviving online literary publications. History and profile Founded in 1996 by Chris Lott and Tom Dooley, ''Eclectica'' extensive and growing archives contain poetry, fiction, non-fiction, miscellany, t ...

, where he was appointed Reviews Editor in 2003. He also recorded a CD of original folk songs entitled ''Love & Pity'' (A Priori, 2000).Kevin McGowin
Directory of Writers. Retrieved September 30, 2009.

References

External links

The Benny Poda Trilogy
Oyster Boy Review 19, Fall 2010, Retrieved July 7, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:McGowin, Kevin 1970 births 2005 deaths 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Writers from Birmingham, Alabama Auburn University at Montgomery alumni University of Florida alumni 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Alabama