Description: Skyblue the BadassWiebe, DallasPublished by Doubleday & Company, Inc. / Paris Review Editions, Garden City NY, 1969 The first of only two published novels by this Kansas-born author (1930-2008), a ribald satire that became a small-scale literary cause celbre after an excerpt published in The Paris Review in 1967 ignited a somewhat bizarre censorship attempt in the Long Island town of South Farmingdale, N.Y.; in the course of the kerfuffle, TPR editor George Plimpton interceded to speak out against the censorship, and subsequently agreed to published the full novel under the Paris Review Editions imprint. "Skyblue," the book's protagonist -- "the eternal striver who knows we are all losers, the observer who feelingly shares every experience of nature and mankind and yet continually wonders what the hell he's doing here -- the perfect guide to the inevitable defeat that is life" -- was Wiebe's literary alter-ego, and a figure to which he returned in later stories and essays. Better known as a poet and essayist, Wiebe enjoyed a long teaching career at the University of Cincinnati; at least one critic has declared his work to be in the same darkly comic literary vein as that of Laurence Sterne, Franz Kafka, William S. Burroughs and Flannery O'Connor. So much energy, so much erudition, so many apocalyptic visions. . . so little involvement for the reader in a novel that tries to clout the cosmic consciousness. Born of myth and tradition, Skyblue arrives on an early 1930's morning, ""nine pounds and nine ounces of prime Aryan fetus"" who has ""come to right the ancient frauds."" Through childhood then, in small town Newton, Kansas and on to a Ph.D. in literature, a teaching post in Madison, Wisconsin and throughout, essays, discourse, comment, raving, the gnashing of teeth at everything from the current polities of despair to Hoot Gibson. Religion and mythology are both rewritten, reinterpreted; there is charm, wit, and substantial talent that buries itself in an endless self-indulgent discharge. Skyblue is obviously Mr. Wiebe's super-conscious, an embattled id trying to make sense out of the willy-nilly components of creation and life. His appeal will be to the young who might be able to trip along with him. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaDallas Wiebe (1930–2008) was an American writer,[1] poet,[2] and a professor of English. He is best known for his 1969 controversial novel, Skyblue the Badass. The Newton, Kansas native was also a founder of the writing program at the University of Cincinnati,[3] where he served as professor emeritus in the Department of English from 1963 until 1995.[4] Some of his other works include "Night Flight to Stockholm," The Transparent Eyeball, Down the River: A Collection of Ohio Valley Fiction and Poetry, "Skyblue on the Dump", "Skyblue's Memoirs," Our Asian Journey, Going to the Mountain, The Kansas Poems and The Vox Populi Stories.[citation needed] Early life and educationWiebe was born in Newton, Kansas. He completed his undergraduate education at Bethel College. He attended graduate school at the University of Michigan, where he co-founded the "John Barton Wolgamot Society".[4] CareerWiebe's career as a professor began at the University of Wisconsin in 1960. He left the University of Wisconsin in 1963 and went to the University of Cincinnati as an assistant professor of English. Wiebe wrote Skyblue the Badass between 1963 and 1967, and it was published in 1969.[4] In 1968, Wiebe initiated creative writing courses at the University of Cincinnati, which paved the way for the creation of the university's Creative Writing Program in 1976. Wiebe taught in the program from its inception until 1993 and served as director for eight years.[4] In addition, Wiebe served as literary adviser for the university's literary magazine, PROFILE.[5] Wiebe co-founded the Cincinnati Poetry Review in 1975 [4] and served as its editor.[6] He also co-founded the Cincinnati Writer's Project (CWP) in 1987. He continued to write and publish works throughout his life. He retired from university work in 1995. Skyblue on the Dump censorship issueIn 1967, New Yorker Carl Gorton happened to read Wiebe's short story, "Skyblue on the Dump" in Farmington Public Library's copy of The Paris Review #39.[7] Disturbed by the content of the story,[4] Gorton removed the magazine from the library, which was against library policy.[8] The removal was reported in The New York Times, where Gorton was quoted as stating that the story "'should not be available to minors" or made available "at the expenditure of taxpayers' dollars."'[4] Gorton was later elected to the Farmingdale library board, where he printed and distributed a scene from the story to support his views about the library budget.[9] The editor of The Paris Review, George Plimpton, denounced the censoring of the magazine in the June 1967 New York Newsday article titled "Literary Lion Roars Back." Students from the State University of New York-Farmingdale publicly protested the censorship outside of the South Farmingdale library branch.[4] WorksWiebe's works, in order by date of publication[10] "Sonnet," published in The Paris Review, 1963In the Late Gnat Night, 1965"Skyblue on the Dump," published in The Paris Review, 1966Skyblue the Badass, 1969"Night Flight to Stockholm," published in The Paris Review, 1978, and included in the 2912 anthology Object Lessons.[11]The Transparent Eyeball: Stories, 1982[12]The Transparent Eyeball, 1984The Kansas Poems, 1987Going to the Mountain, 1988Skyblue's Essays, 1995Our Asian Journey, 1997[13][14]Skyblue's Memoirs, finished in 1972, excerpts published in 2003The Vox Populi Stories, 2003The Saying of Abraham Nofziger: A Guide for the Perplexed, 2004The Notebook of Laura Bonair: and other stories, 2005Fer Fio's Journey, 2005The Nofziger Letters, 2005On the Cross: Devotional Poems, 2005The Nofziger Letters II, 2006The White Book of Life, 2006The Sayings of Abraham Nofziger II: An Enchiridion for the Pious, 2007Monument: On Aging and Dying, 2008Edited: Down the River: A Collection of Ohio Valley Fiction and Poetry, 1991 Unpublished: Slapsticks (a portion of this work was published in 1999) Awards[4] The Agha Khan Fiction Award, for his short story "Night Flight to Stockhold" published in The Paris Review[15]1998 Governor's Award for Individual ArtistIndividual Artists Grant from the Ohio Arts Council, for a portion of his unpublished work SlapsticksPushcart Prize[16]
Price: 49.99 USD
Location: Utica, New York
End Time: 2024-11-11T17:09:57.000Z
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Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 60 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Binding: Hardcover
Language: English
Special Attributes: 1st Edition, Dust Jacket
Author: Dallas Wiebe
Publisher: Doubleday and Co. (Paris Review Editions
Topic: Literature
Subject: Literature & Fiction
Year Printed: 1969
Original/Facsimile: Original