Summary
Michael Mark Brodsky (born Aug 2, 1948[1][2]) is a scientific/medical editor, novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels Xman and ***, as well as for his translation of Samuel Beckett's Eleuthéria.
Michael Brodsky | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 2, 1948 New York City, United States |
| Occupation | Novelist, Editor |
| Nationality | American |
| Literary movement | Postmodernism |
| Notable works | Xman, *** |
| Website | |
| webdelsol | |
Early life and education edit
Michael Brodsky was born in New York City, the son of Martin and Marian Brodsky. He attended the Bronx High School of Science.[3] He received a 1969 BA from Columbia College, Columbia University, taught math and science in New York for a year, attended Case Western Reserve University medical school for two years, then taught French and English in Cleveland until 1975.[3]
Brodsky returned to New York City in 1976, working as an editor for the Institute for Research on Rheumatic Diseases. He married Laurence Lacoste.[4] They are the parents of two children, Joseph Matthew and Matthew Daniel. From 1985 to 1991, Brodsky was an editor with Springer-Verlag. After 1991, he was with the United Nations.[5]
Brodsky lives on Roosevelt Island.[6]
Bibliography edit
Novels edit
- Detour, 1978
- Circuits, 1983
- Xman, Four Walls Eight Windows, 1987
- Dyad, Four Walls Eight Windows, 1989
- ***, Four Walls Eight Windows, 1994
- We Can Report Them, Four Walls Eight Windows, 1999
- Invidicum, Tough Poets Press, 2023
Short stories edit
- Wedding Feast, 1981
- Project, 1982
- X in Paris, 1988
- Three Goat Songs, 1991
- Southernmost, 1996
- Limit Point, 2007
Plays edit
- Terrible Sunlight, 1980
- Packet Piece, 1982
- No Packet Piece, 1982
- Dose Center, 1990
- Night of the Chair, 1990
- Six Scenes: A Barracks Brawl, 1994
- The Anti-Muse, reading 1996, performance 2000
Translation edit
- Eleuthéria, by Samuel Beckett, written 1947, suppressed, published 1995
Nonfiction edit
- "Svevo: The Artist as Analyzand", Review of Existential Psychology and Psychiatry, 15 no. 2-3 (1977), pp 112–133.
- "Toward the Plane of the Sacred: Hafftka’s Great Chain of Being" essay in the catalogue for Michael Hafftka "A Retrospective: Large Oils 1985-2003" (2004).[7]
Further reading edit
A short biography, and brief summaries of Brodsky's longer fiction and critical reception can be found here:
- Herman, Peter G., "Michael Brodsky", World Authors, 1995-2000 Ed. Clifford Thompson and Mari Rich. New York: H. W. Wilson Company (2003). pp 113–115.
- Contemporary Authors New Revision Series, vol 147 (2006) pp 56–8.
Brief summaries of his shorter fiction, critical reception, and quotations from Brodsky on his own fiction, can be found here:
- Hawley, John C., "Michael Brodsky (2 August 1948-)", American Short-Story Writers Since World War II, Fourth Series. Ed. Patrick Meanor and Joseph McNicholas. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 244. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. pp 34–39. Online here.
References edit
CANRS refers to Contemporary Authors New Revision Series, and DLB refers to Dictionary of Literary Biography. Full citations are above.
- ^ This is taken from World Authors, 1995-2000, CANRS 147, DLB 244. Brodsky's first two books give his birth year as 1951, later books give 1948.
- ^ See also CANRS 147 and DLB 244, cited above.
- ^ 11/28/1976, as given in DLB 244 and CANRS 147
- ^ all other information, these two paragraphs, is from World Authors 1995-2000 or DLB 244 or CANRS 147
- ^ CANRS 147, and Zeek magazine.
- ^ Hafftka was the illustrator (cover and some internal) for Brodsky's early fiction, and later for Limit Point.