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Alone With the Owl
Hailed as a voice that "transports and sings" by Dorothy Alison, Alan Davis's new collection Alone With the Owl is a magical collection of stories that further demonstrate his acute and lyric sensibilities.
163 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2000
6 people want to read
About the author
Alan Davis
11 books1 followerAlan Davis's forthcoming novel-in-stories [Clouds Are the Mountains of the World] is "a compelling vision rendered in language, both surreal and chillingly familiar, that summons the apocalyptic dreams of Bruegel and Bosch." Lin Enger
Davis grew up in Zydeco Louisiana and now lives in Dylanesque Minnesota; he has published three prize-winning collections of short fiction (Rumors From the Lost World, Alone With the Owl, and So Bravely Vegetative) and co-edited Visiting Bob: Poems Inspired by the Life and Work of Bob Dylan and 10 editions of American Fiction: The Best Unpublished Short Stories by Emerging Writers. Professor emeritus at Minnesota State, he also taught at the University of North Carolina, Fairfield University's MFA Program, and the University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast MFA Program. He is the recipient of a Loft-McKnight Award of Distinction in Creative Prose, a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship, a Fulbright to Slovenia, and a Fulbright-Hays Grant to Indonesia.
Praise for previous books:
"Moving easily between blue-collar types and Social Register summer people, New Age dancers and Old World immigrants, underground poets and Elvis freaks, Davis demonstrates an impressive range in this collection." Kirkus Reviews
"Although these stories occur in many different parts of the country, they are aesthetically shaped by the landscape of Louisiana, the muddy delta, and the oily bayou - the bottomland to which all things flow." Debra Marquart
"I kept thinking that I wouldn't mind ending up as a character in one of his stories. Odds are, he'd do me justice." Dorothy Allison, The New York Times Book Review.
"A magical collection of stories, one of the best I've encountered in years. It's hard to convey my enthusiasm for this book - all the ordinary adjectives of praise seem trite and inadequate. But as personal testimony, I can say that I was tremendously moved and enlightened by each story, and that the collection as a whole lingers in my memory like a hometown - a place I once lived in and once loved." Tim O'Brien
"He has an original talent, a feel for action, a sparse yet vivid style, a sharp satirical sense, a keen eye and ear for the follies of the age." Walker Percy
"There is magic in a world that still somehow seems devoid of magic." Publishers Weekly
He's available for readings, workshops, craft lectures, virtual visits for book clubs, or editorial consultations.
Davis grew up in Zydeco Louisiana and now lives in Dylanesque Minnesota; he has published three prize-winning collections of short fiction (Rumors From the Lost World, Alone With the Owl, and So Bravely Vegetative) and co-edited Visiting Bob: Poems Inspired by the Life and Work of Bob Dylan and 10 editions of American Fiction: The Best Unpublished Short Stories by Emerging Writers. Professor emeritus at Minnesota State, he also taught at the University of North Carolina, Fairfield University's MFA Program, and the University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast MFA Program. He is the recipient of a Loft-McKnight Award of Distinction in Creative Prose, a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship, a Fulbright to Slovenia, and a Fulbright-Hays Grant to Indonesia.
Praise for previous books:
"Moving easily between blue-collar types and Social Register summer people, New Age dancers and Old World immigrants, underground poets and Elvis freaks, Davis demonstrates an impressive range in this collection." Kirkus Reviews
"Although these stories occur in many different parts of the country, they are aesthetically shaped by the landscape of Louisiana, the muddy delta, and the oily bayou - the bottomland to which all things flow." Debra Marquart
"I kept thinking that I wouldn't mind ending up as a character in one of his stories. Odds are, he'd do me justice." Dorothy Allison, The New York Times Book Review.
"A magical collection of stories, one of the best I've encountered in years. It's hard to convey my enthusiasm for this book - all the ordinary adjectives of praise seem trite and inadequate. But as personal testimony, I can say that I was tremendously moved and enlightened by each story, and that the collection as a whole lingers in my memory like a hometown - a place I once lived in and once loved." Tim O'Brien
"He has an original talent, a feel for action, a sparse yet vivid style, a sharp satirical sense, a keen eye and ear for the follies of the age." Walker Percy
"There is magic in a world that still somehow seems devoid of magic." Publishers Weekly
He's available for readings, workshops, craft lectures, virtual visits for book clubs, or editorial consultations.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 29, 2020
"Davis has an original talent, a feel for action, a sparse yet vivid style, a sharp satirical sense, a keen eye and ear for the follies of the age." Walker Percy (The Moviegoer)
"Moving easily between blue-collar types and Social Register summer people, New Age dancers and Old World immigrants, underground poets and Elvis freaks, Davis demonstrates an impressive range in this collection." Kirkus Reviews
"There is magic in a world that still somehow seems devoid of magic." Publishers Weekly
"Alan Davis's voice transports and sings ... I kept thinking that I wouldn't mind winding up as a character in one of his stories. Odds are, He'd do me justice." New York Times Book Review, Dorothy Allison (Bastard Out of Carolina)
"...A magical collection of stories, one of the best I've encountered in years. It's hard to convey my enthusiasm for this book - all the ordinary adjectives of praise seem trite and inadequate." Tim O' Brien (The Things They Carried)
"I have met a gallery of characters more thoroughly and deeply than I do in half a year of my ordinary existence." Josip Novakovich (Salvation and Other Disasters)
"Although the stories occur in many different parts of the country, they are aesthetically shaped by the landscape of Louisiana, the muddy delta, and the oily bayou - the bottomland to which all things flow." Debra Marquart (The Horizontal World)
"Alan Davis writes with a poet's sense of language, lyricism, and imagination...The range in these stories is nothing short of amazing." Clint McCown (The Weatherman)
"A marvelous collection of stories - beautifully written, daringly inventive, frequently disturbing ... These stories will haunt you." Michael White (A Brother's Blood)
"Moving easily between blue-collar types and Social Register summer people, New Age dancers and Old World immigrants, underground poets and Elvis freaks, Davis demonstrates an impressive range in this collection." Kirkus Reviews
"There is magic in a world that still somehow seems devoid of magic." Publishers Weekly
"Alan Davis's voice transports and sings ... I kept thinking that I wouldn't mind winding up as a character in one of his stories. Odds are, He'd do me justice." New York Times Book Review, Dorothy Allison (Bastard Out of Carolina)
"...A magical collection of stories, one of the best I've encountered in years. It's hard to convey my enthusiasm for this book - all the ordinary adjectives of praise seem trite and inadequate." Tim O' Brien (The Things They Carried)
"I have met a gallery of characters more thoroughly and deeply than I do in half a year of my ordinary existence." Josip Novakovich (Salvation and Other Disasters)
"Although the stories occur in many different parts of the country, they are aesthetically shaped by the landscape of Louisiana, the muddy delta, and the oily bayou - the bottomland to which all things flow." Debra Marquart (The Horizontal World)
"Alan Davis writes with a poet's sense of language, lyricism, and imagination...The range in these stories is nothing short of amazing." Clint McCown (The Weatherman)
"A marvelous collection of stories - beautifully written, daringly inventive, frequently disturbing ... These stories will haunt you." Michael White (A Brother's Blood)
Displaying 1 of 1 review