20 Facts About Barry Hannah

Barry Hannah was an American novelist and short story writer from Mississippi.

Barry Hannah wrote eight novels and five short story collections.

Barry Hannah was twice the recipient of a Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award in Fiction and received Mississippi's prestigious Governor's Award in 1989 for distinguished representation of the state of Mississippi in artistic and cultural matters.

Barry Hannah was director of the MFA program at the University of Mississippi, in Oxford, where he taught creative writing for 28 years.

Barry Hannah died on March 1,2010, of a heart attack.

Barry Hannah was born in Meridian, Mississippi, on April 23,1942, and grew up in Clinton, Mississippi.

Barry Hannah had three children, a daughter Lee and two sons, Barry Jr.

Barry Hannah was married three times, the last to Susan Hannah.

At Mississippi College, Barry Hannah majored in pre-med but later switched to literature.

Barry Hannah earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mississippi College in Clinton in 1964.

Barry Hannah spent the next three years at the University of Arkansas, where he earned a Master of Arts in 1966 and a Master of Fine Arts in 1967.

Barry Hannah's fictions contain situational humor that spans a wide gamut, from the surreal to grotesque and black humor.

Barry Hannah's first publication was a story that was placed in a national anthology of the best college writing when he was a student at the University of Arkansas.

Barry Hannah returned to form with the short-story collection Airships.

Barry Hannah attempted one more novel, which underwent several title changes.

Barry Hannah taught creative writing at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Clemson University, Bennington College, Middlebury College, the University of Alabama, Texas State University, and the University of Montana - Missoula.

Barry Hannah was a frequent visiting writer at the summer creative writing seminars at Sewanee.

Barry Hannah's students included Larry Brown, Bob Shacochis, Donna Tartt and Wells Tower.

Barry Hannah died of a heart attack in Oxford, Mississippi, on March 1,2010, at the age of 67.

Barry Hannah's death was just days before the 17th annual Oxford Conference for the Book, held in his hometown.