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9. Brendan Mathews

Brendan Mathews

Areas of Specialization

• Creative writing (fiction)
• Modern Irish literature
• Contemporary literature

Interests

Research Interests: 20th century Ireland, 1930s New York City, photography, film

Teaching Interests: Creative writing, literature and the formation of national identity, adaptation, graphic novels, the short story

Favorite/Regular Course Offered

• Introduction to Creative Writing
• Fiction Workshop
• Literary Reinvention
• Literature & Film
• Modern Irish Literature
• Focus: Ulysses
• Focus: Chekhov
• Contemporary African Literature
• 21st Century Literature

Biography

MFA, University of Virginia
BA (Highest Honors, Phi Beta Kappa), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

In 2014, Mr. Mathews was a Fulbright U.S. Scholar in Ireland, where he was Fulbright Visiting Professor at University College Cork. His debut novel, The World of Tomorrow, was published in September 2017 by Little, Brown & Co. His stories have twice appeared in Best American Short Stories (2010 & 2014), as well as in Virginia Quarterly Review, Salon, Glimmer Train, and other magazines in the U.S. and U.K. Mr. Mathews has been teaching at Simon's Rock since 2007.

Highlights

Honors & Awards

• Sustainable Arts Foundation Grant (2015)
• Martha Boschen Porter Fund Grant (2015)
• Fulbright U.S. Scholar Teaching & Research Award (2014)
• Artist Fellowship, Massachusetts Cultural Council (2012)
• Emily Clark Balch Prize, Virginia Quarterly Review (2007)
• McGinnis-Ritchie Prize, Southwest Review (2007)
• Stanley Elkin Scholarship, Sewanee Writers Conference (2006)

Selected Writing

• "This Is Not A Love Song," Virginia Quarterly Review & Best American Short Stories 2014 
• "My Last Attempt to Explain to You What Happened with the Lion Tamer " (excerpt), Cincinnati Review & Best American Short Stories 2010 
• "Lydia Davis: I kind of like the fact that my work isn't for everybody," Salon