Mark Anthony Jarman (born 11 June 1955 in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

) is a Canadian

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

writer. Jarman's work includes the novel ''Salvage King, Ya!'', the short story collection ''Knife Party at the Hotel Europa'' and the travel book ''Ireland's Eye.'' A graduate of 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 Wri ...

, Jarman is currently a faculty member of the English department at the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

. Previously, he has taught at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

. Jarman's writing has won the

O. Henry Award The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American short-story writer O. Henry. The ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' is an annual collection of the year's twenty best ...

, the Gold National Magazine Award in nonfiction, the Jack Hodgins Fiction Prize, and has been a finalist for the

Journey Prize The Journey Prize (officially called The Writers' Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize) is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short story published by a ...

. Jarman has been awarded the Maclean-Hunter Endowment Award twice.

Personal life

Though native to Edmonton, Jarman has travelled extensively across the country and the world, visiting places such as

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the United States and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

.
Telegraphjournal: Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada] accessed 26 October 2010. Jarman's natural interest in literature led him to pursue the craft of writing. Before becoming a teacher, Jarman worked as a truck driver and considered writing as a hobby. His personal interests include

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

, and

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

. Jarman is also a musician and is part of a local blues band, Toredown. Mark Anthony Jarman is a Yaddo Fellow and has taught at the University of Victoria, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and now teaches at the University of New Brunswick, where he is fiction editor of

The Fiddlehead ''The Fiddlehead'' is a Canadian literary magazine, published four times annually at the University of New Brunswick. It is the oldest Canadian literary magazine which is still in circulation. History and profile ''The Fiddlehead'' was establis ...

Style of writing

Jarman credits his style of writing to his experience at the

, and cites author

Barry Hannah Barry Hannah (April 23, 1942 – March 1, 2010) was an American novelist and short story writer from Mississippi.Kellogg, Carolyn (March 2, 2010)"Author Barry Hannah, 67, has died" ''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved May 18, 2013. Hannah was born in ...

as being a significant influence on his style.Short Story Month Q&A: Mark Anthony Jarman
accessed 22 October 2010. Jarman has stated that he prefers writing

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

as he "finds novels cumbersome".Review of My White Planet by Mark Anthony Jarman , Quill & Quire
accessed 22 October 2010. Literature

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

Steven W. Beattie, on reviewing his short story collection'' My White Planet'', stated that Jarman's writing differentiates from the norm of classic

Canadian literature Canadian literature is the literature of a multicultural country, written in languages including Canadian English, Canadian French, Indigenous languages, and many others such as Canadian Gaelic. Influences on Canadian writers are broad both ge ...

and focuses on "the delirious and courageous use of language to create startling effects". Jarman's short stories have been known to explore a variety of different themes, including

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

and Canadian culture (notably

). Beattie, reviewing one of the stories in the ''My White Planet'' collection, noted "'A Nation Plays Chopsticks' may be the finest explanation for Canadian's love affair with hockey I've ever read".

Notable works

Jarman's books have been received positively, and have won and been nominated for a number of awards. One of his short story collections, ''19 Knives'', was met with acclaim and chosen as 'book of the year' by

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

newspaper. Jarman's writings have also earned him the

and Best American Essays, Gold National Magazine Award in nonfiction and have won the Maclean-Hunter Endowment Award twice.Mark Anthony Jarman: Banff Centre
accessed 24 October 2010. He has also won the Jack Hodgins Fiction Prize, and has been included in The Journey Prize Anthology and Best Canadian Stories. Furthermore, Jarman's ''Salvage King, Ya!'' is placed on Amazon Canada's 50 Essential Canadian books as well as number one on their best hockey fiction list.Anansi.ca: author
accessed 24 October 2010. Jarman is the author of ''Knife Party at the Hotel Europa'' (

Goose Lane Editions Goose Lane Editions is a Canadian book publishing company founded in 1954 in Fredericton, New Brunswick as Fiddlehead Poetry Books by Fred Cogswell and a group of students and faculty from the University of New Brunswick associated with ''The Fid ...

), ''My White Planet'', ''19 Knives'', ''New Orleans Is Sinking'', ''Dancing Nightly in the Tavern'', and the travel book ''Ireland's Eye''. He has also published articles in ''Walrus'', ''Canadian Geographic'', ''The Barcelona Review'', ''Vrij Nederland'' and reviews for ''The Globe and Mail''. He won the

ReLit Award The ReLit Awards are Canadian literary prizes awarded annually to book-length works in the novel, short-story and poetry categories."Three indie writers honoured by ReLit Awards". ''The Globe and Mail'', July 19, 2007. Founded in 2000 by Newfoundla ...

short fiction in 2001 for ''19 Knives''."New literary prize recognizes smaller success stories". ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

'', June 18, 2001. He also received nominations in the same category for ''My White Planet'' in 2009, ''Knife Party at the Hotel Europa'' in 2016, and ''Czech Techno'' in 2021."38 books shortlisted for 2021 ReLit Awards"

CBC Books CBC Arts (french: Radio-Canada Arts) is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's div ...

, April 19, 2021.

Bibliography

* 1984: ''Dancing Nightly in the Tavern'' (Presse Porcépic) (stories) * 1986: ''Killing the Swan'' (Presse Porcépic) (poems) * 1997: ''Salvage King Ya!'' (Anvil Press) (novel) * 1998: ''New Orleans is Sinking'' (Oberon)

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...

(stories) * 2000: ''19 Knives'' (House of Anansi) (stories) * 2002: ''Ireland's Eye: Travels'' (House of Anansi) (non-fiction) * 2008: ''My White Planet'' (Thomas Allen) (stories) * 2015: ''Knife Party at the Hotel Europa'' (Goose Lane Editions) (stories)

References

External links

House of Anansi: Mark Anthony Jarman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarman, Mark Anthony 1955 births Living people Canadian male novelists Canadian male short story writers Writers from Edmonton 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers