Mikita Brottman,
née Mikita Hoy, (born 1966) is a British American non-fiction author, scholar, and
psychologist known for her interest in true crime. Her writing blends a number of genres, often incorporating elements of
autobiography,
psychoanalysis
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...
,
forensic psychology
Forensic psychology is the development and application of scientific knowledge and methods to help answer legal questions arising in criminal, civil, contractual, or other judicial proceedings. Forensic psychology includes both research on various ...
, and
literary history
The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/listener/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques ...
.
Life and career
Brottman was born in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, and educated at
St. Hilda's College and
St. Hugh's College,
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, from which she received a
D.Phil in English Language and Literature (1994). She was Visiting Professor of
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...
at
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universi ...
and was Chair of the Program in Humanities with an emphasis in
Depth Psychology
Depth psychology (from the German term ''Tiefenpsychologie'') refers to the practice and research of the science of the unconscious, covering both psychoanalysis and psychology. It is also defined as the psychological theory that explores the rel ...
at the
Pacifica Graduate Institute
Pacifica Graduate Institute is a private for-profit graduate school with two campuses near Santa Barbara, California. The institute offers masters and doctoral degrees in the fields of clinical psychology, counseling, mythological studies, dep ...
from 2008 to 2010. She is a certified
psychoanalyst and a full faculty Professor in the Department of
Humanistic Studies at the
Maryland Institute College of Art
The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a Private university, private art school, art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of t ...
, in Baltimore. Brottman also works in the Maryland
prison system
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...
and in forensic psychiatric facilities.
Themes
Brottman's work has included writing on
horror films,
critical theory,
reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
,
psychoanalysis
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...
,
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
s, and the work of the American folklorist,
Gershon Legman
Gershon Legman (November 2, 1917 – February 23, 1999) was an American cultural critic and folklorist, best known for his books ''The Rationale of the Dirty Joke'' (1968) and ''The Horn Book: Studies in Erotic Folklore and Bibliography'' (1 ...
. Her articles and case studies have appeared in ''
The American Journal of Psychoanalysis'', ''
New Literary History
''New Literary History: A Journal of Theory & Interpretation'' is a quarterly academic journal published by Johns Hopkins University Press. It focuses on the history and theory of literature, and key questions of interpretation. The journal has rec ...
'', ''
American Imago
''American Imago'' is an academic journal established in 1939 by Sigmund Freud and Hanns Sachs. It seeks to explore the role of psychoanalysis in contemporary cultural, literary, and social theory, while also considering issues related to anthropol ...
'', and other journals. Her essays have also appeared in a number of books and anthologies. Her book ''The Solitary Vice: Against Reading'' (2009) was selected as one of the Best Books of 2009 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 ...
, who said: "Sharp, whimsical and impassioned, Brottman's look at the pleasures and perils of compulsive reading is itself compulsively readable and will connect with any book lover." In 2018, a Spanish edition was published by Blackie Books, under the title ''Contra La Lectura''.
The most consistent focus of Brottman's work, however, is her reconsideration and transformation of the true crime genre. ''Thirteen Girls'' (Nine-Banded Books, 2012) is a story cycle of fictionalized narratives, each based on a real victim of a serial killer, each told from a different perspective. According to a review of the book in
Rain Taxi
''Rain Taxi'' is a Minneapolis-based book review and literary organization. In addition to publishing its quarterly print edition, ''Rain Taxi'' maintains an online edition with distinct content, sponsors the Twin Cities Book Festival, hosts read ...
, "Brottman’s grimly pragmatic literary stance recalls such earlier artists of the quotidian macabre as
Shirley Jackson
Shirley Hardie Jackson (December 14, 1916 – August 8, 1965) was an American writer known primarily for her works of horror and mystery. Over the duration of her writing career, which spanned over two decades, she composed six novels, two me ...
and
Flannery O’Connor: ''Thirteen Girls'' is an impressive successor to their stories of American dread." ''The Maximum Security Book Club: Reading Literature in a Men's Prison'' (2016) describes Brottman's relationship with nine inmates in a reading group she started at
Jessup Correctional Institution
Jessup Correctional Institution (JCI) is a maximum security prison operated by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services in Jessup, Maryland. It was formerly called the Maryland House of Correction-Annex.
Prisoners
In ...
, a men's maximum security prison, and their reactions to the works of classic literature they read together.
Her most recent book, ''An Unexplained Death - The True Story of a Body at the Belvedere'' (2018), is a discursive and philosophical meditation on suicide, voyeurism, missing people, deaths in hotels, and the author's obsessive investigation into the mysterious death of Rey Rivera in Baltimore's
Belvedere Hotel
The Belvedere is a Beaux Arts style building in Baltimore, Maryland. Designed by the Boston architectural firm of Parker and Thomas and built in 1902–1903, the Belvedere is a Baltimore City Landmark at the southeast corner of North Charles St ...
in 2006. Described by
James Ellroy
Lee Earle "James" Ellroy (born March 4, 1948) is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, ...
as "a learned, lucid, and finally heartbreaking account of urban obsession," the book has been short-listed for the 2019
Gold Dagger
The Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year.
From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. From ...
for nonfiction by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom.
Brottman's true crime podcast, ''Forensic Transmissions'', is a curated archive of unedited public domain audio files.
Personal life
Brottman is the partner of the American film critic
David Sterritt
David Sterritt (born September 11, 1944) is a film critic, author and scholar. He is most notable for his work on Alfred Hitchcock and Jean-Luc Godard, and his many years as the Film Critic for ''The Christian Science Monitor'', where, from 1 ...
. She is the daughter of
Linda Hoy.
Books
*''
Meat Is Murder
''Meat Is Murder'' is the second studio album by English rock band the Smiths, released on 11 February 1985 by Rough Trade Records. It became the band's only studio album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart, and stayed on the chart for ...
'', Creation Books, 1998
*''
Hollywood Hex'', Creation Books, 1999
*''Car Crash Culture'' (ed.), New York:
Palgrave, 2002.
*''Funny Peculiar: Gershon Legman and the Psychopathology of Humor'', Hillsdale, NJ:
Analytic Press
Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Kin ...
, Inc., 2004.
*''Offensive Films'', Nashville:
Vanderbilt University Press
Vanderbilt University Press is a university press that is part of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Vanderbilt University Press is the principal publishing arm of Vanderbilt University. The Press selects, edits, and markets scholarl ...
, 2005.
*''High Theory, Low Culture'', New York:
Palgrave, 2005.
*''The Solitary Vice: Against Reading'', Los Angeles:
Counterpoint, 2009.
*''Phantoms of the Clinic: From Thought-Transference to Projective Identification'', Karnac Books, 2011.
*''Hyena'',
Reaktion Books - Animal, 2012.
*''Thirteen Girls'', Nine Banded Books, 2012.
*''The Great Grisby: Two Thousand Years of Literary, Royal, Philosophical, and Artistic Dog Lovers and Their Exceptional Animals'',
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...
, 2014.
*''The Maximum Security Book Club: Reading Literature in a Men's Prison'',
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...
, 2016.
*''An Unexplained Death: A True Story of a Body at the Belvedere'',
Henry Holt, 2018.
*''Couple Found Slain: After a Family Murder''. Henry Holt, 2021.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brottman, Mikita
British essayists
British non-fiction writers
Living people
British psychoanalysts
1966 births
Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford
Maryland Institute College of Art faculty
British expatriates in the United States