David Ohle is an American writer, novelist, and a lecturer at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. After receiving his M.A. from KU, he taught at the University of Texas at Austin from 1975 to 1984. In 2002 he began teaching fiction writing and screenwriting as a part-time lecturer at the University of Kansas. His short fiction has appeared in Esquire, the Transatlantic Review, Paris Review, and Harper's, among other magazines.[1]
David Ohle | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Louisiana State University University of Kansas |
| Genre | Dystopia, satire |
| Literary movement | Experimental literature, Surrealism, Absurdist fiction |
| Notable works | Motorman (1972) |
While it remained out of print for over thirty years, his first novel Motorman (initially published in 1972) gathered a quiet cult following,[2][3][4] was circulated through photocopies, and went on to become an influence to a generation of American writers such as Shelley Jackson[5] and Ben Marcus.[6][7]
His subsequent novels The Age of Sinatra (2004), The Pisstown Chaos (2008), The Old Reactor (2013) and The Blast (2014) take place in the same dystopian setting as Motorman.[8] Ohle's fiction is often described as weird, surreal and experimental. His own influences include Leonora Carrington, Philip K. Dick, Flann O'Brien, and Raymond Roussel.[6][9]
Works
editFiction
edit- Motorman (1972, re-issued by 3rd bed/Calamari Press in 2004)
- The Age of Sinatra (2004)
- The Pisstown Chaos (2008)
- Boons & The Camp (2009, Calamari Press)
- The Devil in Kansas (2012)
- The Old Reactor (2013)
- The Blast (2014, Calamari Press)
- The Death of a Character (2021)
Non-fiction
edit- "The City Moon" (a faux-newspaper he published with Roger Martin from 1973-1985)
- Cows are Freaky when they Look at You: An Oral History of the Kaw Valley Hemp Pickers (1991)
- Cursed from Birth: The Short, Unhappy Life of William S. Burroughs, Jr. (2006)
Interviews
edit- with JA Tyler, BOMB magazine Archived 2015-08-10 at the Wayback Machine
References
edit- ^ Tankard, Frank. "The Mind of Moldenke", lawrence.com, November 12, 2007.
- ^ Bomer, Paula. "Transgressive fiction", The New York Times, October 24, 2014.
- ^ Smith, Rod. "Absolutely fabulist" Archived 2013-05-20 at the Wayback Machine, Time Out New York, July 10, 2008.
- ^ Reading Room 220. Motorman review Archived 2015-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, NOLA Defender, August 6, 2014.
- ^ Jackson, Shelley. "Gross Anatomy" Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine, Artforum, October 1, 2004.
- ^ a b Marcus, Ben. Introduction, Motorman (2004). 3rd Bed.
- ^ Strong, Benjamin. "A review of The Pisstown Chaos", The Believer, October 2008.
- ^ Tyler, JA. David Ohle interview, BOMB Magazine, July 10, 2014.
- ^ Carroll, Tobias. "The Surreal Life", The Paris Review, August 14, 2013.
External links
edit- David Ohle on The Missouri Review Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine