Robert Flynn (author)
| Robert Flynn | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 12, 1932 Chillicothe, Texas |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Genre | Texas literature, Western fiction, satire |
| Subject | Texas, war, religion |
| Notable works | North To Yesterday |
| Website | |
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Robert Flynn (né Robert Lopez Flynn; born 12 April 1932 Chillicothe, Texas) is an author and professor emeritus at Trinity University.
Styles and themes
Flynn's early fame came with the novel, North to Yesterday, which was a national bestseller. In Don Quixote fashion, it mocked the legend of the cowboy in Western novels while paying homage to it at the same time (anticipating Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove). Later works focused on more modern themes: rural life, going to war, religion in modern times and conflicts between "small town morality" and mass media/pop culture.
Novels like In the House of the Lord explored more religious/spiritual themes. Wanderer Springs adopted the gently satirical tone of his earlier works while also examining the interconnectedness between people and families in a small Texas town (inviting comparison to writers like Elmer Kelton or Garrison Keillor). The Last Klick touches upon themes of his service in the Vietnam War (reminiscent of novelist Tim O'Brien). In his latest novel Tie-Fast Country, Flynn returns to earlier themes, depicting a grandmother rancher with a checkered past who is out of sync with contemporary life. (The narrator, on the other hand, is a TV news producer who has to confront her).
Flynn's short stories touch upon more serious themes and are written perhaps with a more lyrical style.
Flynn was inducted into the Texas Literary Hall of Fame in October 2012.[1]
Bibliography
Novels
- North To Yesterday
- In the House of the Lord
- The Sounds of Rescue, The Signs of Hope
- Wanderer Springs
- The Last Klick
- The Devil's Tiger, with Dan Klepper
- Tie-Fast Country
- Jade: The Outlaw (ebook + pb) JoSara MeDia (September 1, 2010)
- Jade: The Law (ebook + pb) JoSara MeDia (October 2011)
Vietnam Memoir
- A Personal War In Vietnam
Short story collections
- Living with the Hyenas
- Seasonal Rain
- Slouching towards Zion
Essays
- When I was Just Your Age, oral histories, edited with Susan Russell
- Growing Up a Sullen Baptist
- Paul Baker and the Integration of Abilities
Religious/social essays
References
- ↑ "Texas Literary Hall of Fame | Fort Worth Library". Fortworthtexas.gov. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
Further reading
- Art at Our Doorstep: San Antonio Writers and Artists featuring Robert Flynn. Edited by Nan Cuba and Riley Robinson (Trinity University Press, 2008).
External links
- Interview with Robert Flynn(about his book Growing Up a Sullen Baptist).
- The Door: The World's Pretty Much Only Magazine of Religious Satire. Essay by Robert Flynn.
- Robert Flynn's Author Website
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