Vincent Czyz (/ˈtʃɛz/ ''Chez''; born 1963) is an American writer and critic of

Literary fiction Literary fiction, mainstream fiction, non-genre fiction or serious fiction is a label that, in the book trade, refers to market novels that do not fit neatly into an established genre (see genre fiction); or, otherwise, refers to novels that are ch ...

. His work often explores mythological motifs, religious themes, and dreams as a substrate of reality.

Biography

Vincent Czyz was born in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

and raised in nearby

East Orange East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

. He graduated in 1981 as the salutatorian of his class at

Lakeland Regional High School Lakeland Regional High School is a comprehensive regional four-year public high school and school district serving students from the Boroughs of Ringwood and Wanaque (including its Haskell neighborhood), communities in Passaic County, New ...

. He received a B.A. from the Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, an M.A. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and an M.F.A. from Rutgers-Newark. He lived in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

for seven years, teaching English at several Turkish universities. He also taught creative writing at

The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, or ...

. He lives in

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

with his wife, Neslihan, and their son, Rainier. His older brother is former American boxer, light-heavyweight champion

Bobby Czyz Robert Edward Czyz ( ; born February 10, 1962) is an American retired boxer and commentator. Czyz was a two-division world titlist at light heavyweight and cruiserweight. Czyz was born in Orange, New Jersey. He grew up in Wanaque, New Jersey an ...

Writing

Czyz is the author of an acclaimed short story collection, two novels, and the latest, a collection of

essays An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal ...

. His short stories and essays have appeared in numerous journals, magazines, and several anthologies, including, the ''

New England Review The ''New England Review'' is an American quarterly literary magazine published by Middlebury College. It was established in 1978 by Sydney Lea and Jay Parini. From 1982 till 1990, the magazine was named ''New England Review & Bread Loaf Quart ...

'', '' Shenandoah'', ''

AGNI Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...

'', ''

The Massachusetts Review ''The Massachusetts Review'' is a literary quarterly founded in 1959 by a group of professors from Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It receives financial support from Five Colleg ...

'', ''

Georgetown Review ''Georgetown Review'' was an annual literary magazine produced at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky. History and profile ''Georgetown Review'' was first published in 1993 and hosted a prestigious annual prose contest. The magazine was p ...

'', ''

Tin House ''Tin House'' is an American book publisher based in Portland, Oregon, and New York City. Portland publisher Win McCormack originally conceived the idea for a literary magazine called ''Tin House'' in the summer of 1998. He enlisted Holly MacArt ...

'',

The Arts Fuse ''The Arts Fuse'' is an online arts magazine covering cultural events in Greater Boston, as well as Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New York. The Arts Fuse has published more than 2,000 articles an ...

, ''Tampa Review'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Copper Nickel'', ''Southern Indiana Review'', ''Skidrow Penthouse'', and a contribution in the

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

collection

Stories for Chip ''Stories for Chip: A Tribute to Samuel R. Delany'' (2015) is a collection of 33 pieces of short fiction, essays, and creative non-fiction by a myriad group of global writers in honor of author Samuel R. "Chip" Delany, coinciding with his retirem ...

(2015). In his prefatory note to ''Adrift in a Vanishing City'',

Samuel R. Delany Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ) (born April 1, 1942), is an American author and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays (on science fiction, literature, sexuality, and society). His ...

characterizes Czyz’s short story collection as, "a small landmark in the sedimentation of new form in fiction". Czyz estimates that he did 7,000 pages of research for his novel, The Christos Mosaic, which, according to American

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

scholar

Robert M. Price Robert McNair Price (born July 7, 1954) is an American New Testament scholar. His most notable stance is arguing in favor of the Christ myth theorythe claim that a historical Jesus did not exist. Price is the author of a number of books on bi ...

, included “genuine, radical biblical scholarship in a beautifully rendered adventure full of unforgettable characters, set in exotic locales vividly and poetically described”.

Awards

He is the recipient of the 1994

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...

Wisdom Prize for Short Fiction, two fellowships from the NJ Council on the Arts In 2011 he was awarded

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

Fellowship at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

Eric Hoffer Eric Hoffer (July 25, 1902 – May 21, 1983) was an American moral and social philosopher. He was the author of ten books and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983. His first book, '' The True Believer'' (1951), was wide ...

Award for Best in Small Press, 2016.

Bibliography

Novels and collections

Adrift In A Vanishing City a collection of interlinked

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

stories was published May 10, 2015; having first been released in 1998. ''The Christos Mosaic'' (Blank Slate Press, 2015). ''The Three Veils Of Ibn Oraybi'': a novella; published July 10, 2021. Of which critic Diane Donovan of the Midwest Book Review stated,“Czyz weaves mystery, history, religious fervor, and social inspection into this story of struggle... Its lovely, lyrical language and thought-provoking encounters... explore the politics and psychological profiles of cultures that lived side by side...". The Secret Adventures of Order (2022): a collection of literary essays, creative nonfiction, and biblical

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Czyz, Vincent 1963 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Lakeland Regional High School alumni Postmodernists Rutgers University–Newark alumni Rutgers University alumni Columbia University alumni Novelists from New Jersey People from East Orange, New Jersey People from Jersey City, New Jersey People from Orange, New Jersey 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets American male poets 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers American speculative fiction critics