Brian Evenson's fiction is often described as literary minimalism, but draws inspiration from horror, weird fiction, detective fiction, science fiction and continental philosophy.
13 Facts About Brian Evenson
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Brian Evenson has written non-fiction, and translated several books by French-language writers into English.
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Brian Evenson was born August 12,1966, in Ames, Iowa.
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Brian Evenson's father, William Evenson, was a longtime professor of physics at Brigham Young University and later an administrator at the same school.
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Brian Evenson received degrees from BYU and the University of Washington.
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Brian Evenson was Professor of Literary Arts at Brown from 2003 to 2015.
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Brian Evenson stated that his book contract was a "significant factor" in his being hired, and he included some stories from the collection in his application.
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Brian Evenson resigned from BYU in 1995, and left the church formally in 2000.
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Altmann's Tongue opened with an epigraph by Julia Kristeva; Dark Property featured quotes in untranslated German from Martin Heidegger; and several of Brian Evenson's books have epigraphs from philosopher Alphonso Lingis.
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However, Brian Evenson has stated that he intends any philosophical elements to be fully integrated into his fiction rather than promoting any particular viewpoint, and has argued that reading philosophical works directly is more rewarding than reading philosophy that is veiled as fiction.
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Some of Brian Evenson's work explores his Mormon heritage, often from a critical perspective or examining controversial subject matter.
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Nonetheless, Brian Evenson has asserted that he maintains a measure of respect for devout believers in the LDS Church and does not intend to casually offend or provoke them.
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Brian Evenson has expressed admiration for horror novelist Peter Straub, and for crime fiction in the hardboiled genre, both past masters like Dashiell Hammett and Jim Thompson, and contemporary practitioners like Andrew Vachss.