Novelist Brian Evenson to read for Writing Program Feb. 11

Brian Evenson — whose intensely macabre yet darkly comic and subtly philosophical novels and stories led American Book Review to praise him as “essentially our poet laureate of violence” — will read from his work at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, for Washington University’s Writing Program in the Department of English in Arts & Sciences.

Evenson

The event, part of The Writing Program’s Reading Series, is free and open to the public and takes place in Hurst Lounge, Room 201, Duncker Hall.

Duncker Hall is located at the northwest corner of Brookings Quadrangle. A reception and book signing immediately will follow. For more information, call (314) 935-7130 or e-mail David Schuman at dschuman@wustl.edu.

Evenson is the author of nine books of fiction. In 2009, he released two new volumes — the novel “Last Days” and the story collection “Fugue State” (illustrated by graphic novelist Zak Sally) — as well as a limited edition novella “Baby Leg.”

“Last Days” is expanded from another limited edition novella, “The Brotherhood of Mutilation,” which Evenson published in 2003. The story centers on Kline, a private detective who, while still recovering from the loss of his hand, is forcibly recruited to solve a murder inside a fanatical underground religious cult. Yet as Kline becomes more deeply involved with the group, he must navigate a gauntlet of lies, threats and misinformation, discovering that his own survival depends on an act of sheer will.

“Brian Evenson is one of the treasures of American story writing,” said fellow novelist Jonathan Lethem, “a true successor both to the generation of Coover, Barthelme, Hawkes and Co., but also to Edgar Allan Poe.”

Evenson’s previous books include “The Open Curtain” (2006), a finalist for both an Edgar Award and an International Horror Guild (IHG) Award and named one of Time Out New York’s top books of 2006. Other volumes include “The Wavering Knife” (2004), which won the IHG Award for best story collection, “Dark Property” (2002), “Contagion” (2000), “Father of Lies” (1998), “The Din of Celestial Birds” (1997) and “Altmann’s Tongue” (1996).

Evenson lives and works in Providence, R.I., where he directs the Literary Arts Program at Brown University. He has translated work by Christian Gailly, Jean Frémon, Claro, Jacques Jouet and others. Additional honors include an O. Henry Prize as well as a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.