Special Collections

cited: https://www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/ms-writers/dir/brown_larry/

One of the foremost writers in what has been dubbed grit lit, Larry Brown has been lauded for his graphic, raw fiction about the rural South stories featuring characters who are ordinary and poor, and struggling with such real-life issues as marital strife, alcoholism, suicide, and the traumas of war. Born July 9, 1951, in Oxford, Mississippi, Brown is sometimes compared to fellow Oxford resident William Faulkner because of their similar origins and education: both briefly attended the University of Mississippi (without graduating), and both learned their craft as writers in large measure by avid reading.

Brown worked in a number of jobs over the years, including carpenter, lumberjack, fence builder, carpet cleaner, housepainter, hay hauler, and store employee, but he began his writing career during his career as a firefighter, a job he held from 1973 to 1990, when he retired to write full-time. First publishing stories in a number of magazines and journals, Brown’s first book was a collection of stories, Facing the Music (1988). The following year, he published his first novel, Dirty Work (1989), which was inspired in part by his father’s experiences in World War II.

Brown’s fiction continued to chronicle the downtrodden and disheartened denizens of the American South. The stories in Big Bad Love (1990) depict marital malaise of varying degrees, while the novel Joe (1991) teams up the title character, a hard-drinking ex-convict who heads up a forest defoliation crew, with 15-year-old Gary Jones, the son of a truly evil no-count drunk migrant worker; despite the opinion of the local cops, both are essentially good and just, and despite his own reluctance as a role model, Joe proves to be just what Gary needs.

Other works of fiction by Brown include Father and Son (1996) and Fay (2000). He has also written several nonfiction works, including On Fire (1993), about his work as a firefighter, and Billy Ray’s Farm (2001), essays about his life and work as a writer.

Brown died November 24, 2004, at his home near Oxford. He was 53 years old.

The collection contains original manuscripts, galleys, and promotional materials relating to his work. 21 boxes. Typed inventory available.

Open.

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