Terence Hawkins (born 1956) is 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 ...
of numerous
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 ...
and two novels, ''American Neolithic'', published by C&R Press, and ''The Rage of Achilles'', a recounting of ''
The Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
'' in the form of a
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
. In 2016, Hawkins pleaded guilty to one count of larceny for embezzling almost half a million dollars that had belonged to the clients of his law office. He has since been released from prison.
Background
Terence Hawkins was born in 1956 in
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Greater Pittsburgh Region. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census, down from 12,422 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat and ...
, where many of his family were
coal miner
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...
s. He received his B.A. degree in history from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, where he was publisher of the
Yale Daily News
The ''Yale Daily News'' is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878. It is the oldest college daily newspaper in the United States. The ''Yale Daily News'' has consis ...
, and later received a
J.D. degree from the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
. He returned to
New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, in 1985, where he practiced as a
trial lawyer
A lawyer is a person who Practice of law, practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different Jurisdiction, legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney at law, attorney, barrister, canonist, canon l ...
specializing in
medical malpractice
Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient. The negligen ...
.
In 2011, Hawkins proposed that Yale host a summer writing program. In 2012, he became the founding director of th
Yale Writers' Conference Under his leadership, it rapidly grew to include three hundred students from every continent but Antarctica. Its faculty have included
Colum McCann
Colum McCann is an Irish writer of literary fiction. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and now lives in New York. He is a Thomas Hunter Writer in Residence at Hunter College, New York.
McCann's work has been published in over 40 languages, and ...
,
Tom Perrotta
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
,
Colm Toibin
Colm is a male given name of Irish origin. Colm can be pronounced "Collum" or "Kullum". It is not an Irish version of Colin, but like Callum and Malcolm derives from a Gaelic variation on ''columba'', the Latin word for 'dove'.
People
*Colm Bro ...
,
Julia Glass
Julia Glass (born March 23, 1956) is an American novelist. Her debut novel, ''Three Junes'', won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2002. , and
Nicholson Baker
Nicholson Baker (born January 7, 1957) is an American novelist and essayist. His fiction generally de-emphasizes narrative in favor of careful description and characterization. His early novels such as ''The Mezzanine'' and ''Room Temperature'' we ...
.
In 2015, Hawkins started th
Company of Writers offering authors' services to writers at every level of their careers. He lives in Connecticut.
In 2016, Hawkins pleaded guilty to one count of larceny in the first degree for embezzling almost half a million dollars that had belonged to the clients of his law office. He was sentenced to ten years in prison, sentence suspended after two years served, and five years of probation. He was required to make "best efforts" to pay $414,674 in restitution to the state’s Client Security Fund, which had reimbursed some of the clients whose funds were embezzled, and also to attend 100 hours of mandatory community service.
Works
''The Rage of Achilles''
Hawkins's first novel, ''The Rage of Achilles'', is a
novelization
A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
of
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
's ''
The Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
'', told in modern and sometimes graphic language. Based on
Julian Jaynes
Julian Jaynes (February 27, 1920 – November 21, 1997) was an American researcher in psychology at Yale and Princeton for nearly 25 years and best known for his 1976 book ''The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind'' ...
's hypothesis of the development of consciousness, the breakdown of
bicameral mentality
Bicameral mentality is a hypothesis in psychology and neuroscience which argues that the human mind once operated in a state in which cognitive functions were divided between one part of the brain which appears to be "speaking", and a second part ...
, it depicts the formation of the modern mind in the crucible of
bronze-age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
warfare. "The vast majority of the characters in “The Rage of Achilles” are highly susceptible to bicameral hallucinations. When faced with pressing challenges or cognitive dissonance, the gods “speak to them” and even manifest visually. In keeping with Jaynes’s theory, these hallucinations are produced by the non-dominant hemisphere and perceived by the dominant – voices from within the mind wrapped in the trappings of an outer pantheon. . . .Against this backdrop of hallucination-fueled men, a few characters are deaf to the voices of the gods. Trojan prince Paris and Ithacan hero Odysseus both experience the world with modern minds. Odysseus especially provides the reader a sympathetic consciousness through which to understand these violent men and their alien thoughts. He's forced to nod and go along with the bicameral humans in his midst, unable to come clean about the divine silence in his head. At the same time, every diplomatic or strategic idea that he shares with the Achaeans is attributed to the goddess Athena speaking through him."
It was published in 2009 by Casperian Books.
''
American Neolithic''
In his second novel
American Neolithic Hawkins moves from the Homeric past to a
dystopia
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
n future. Set in a moving-target day after tomorrow, its United States has become a Police State Lite: Drones patrol the skies; the black-uniformed Homeland Police have exclusive jurisdiction over any matter touching on national security; the Patriot Amendments have rendered civil liberties nominal. Into this world comes the last literate member of the last surviving band of
Neanderthal
Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...
s, only to be caught up in a hip-hop murder and a courtroom confrontation with
scientific creationism, the state religion of what his cynical lawyer calls a "trailer park theocracy."
Kirkus Reviews named it
Best Book of 2014 calling it "a towering work of speculative fiction." Rain Taxi described it as "a special novel; thematically rich, it also provides all the pleasures of a hard-boiled thriller. The unique premise and lovingly crafted characters will stay with you long after you’ve closed the book."
References
External links
Publisher's WebsiteAmerican Neolithic Publisher's Website"Terence Hawkins," The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction"Terence Hawkins," Poets &WritersTerence Hawkins," Worlds Without End
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Terence
1956 births
21st-century American novelists
American male novelists
Living people
People from Uniontown, Pennsylvania
American male short story writers
21st-century American short story writers
21st-century American male writers
Novelists from Pennsylvania
American white-collar criminals
People convicted of embezzlement