Michael Hemmingson

Michael Hemmingson
Born 12 July 1966
Los Angeles, California, United States
Died 9 January 2014 (age 47)
Tijuana, Mexico
Occupation novelist, journalist, short story writer, essayist, cultural anthropologist, qualitative researcher
Nationality American
Period 1982–2014
Genre Literary fiction, genre fiction
Literary movement culture, violence, autoethnography
Notable works The Naughty Yard, Hard Cold Whisper
Website
mhemmingson.wordpress.com

Michael Hemmingson (July 12, 1966 – January 9, 2014) was a novelist, short story writer, literary critic, cultural anthropologist, qualitative researcher, playwright, and screenwriter. He died in Tijuana, Mexico on 9 January 2014. The reported cause was cardiac arrest.[1]

Publishing history

As an independent scholar, Hemmingson wrote the meditation, Gordon Lish and His Influence on Twentieth Century American Literature[2] a short TV studies monograph on Star Trek (Wayne State Univ. Press), and an ethnographic research project, Zona Norte (Cambridge Scholars).[3] At the time of his death he was working on a biography of Raymond Carver, set for publication in 2014 by McFarland & Company.

Hemmingson was a prolific writer, often publishing 2-3 books a year. According to one reviewer, "Hemmingson has written over fifty books, and his experience shows. Not only does he inform the stories in This Other Eden with tangible details of the publishing industry, but he also imbues his characters with personalities that are displayed through his skillful use of highly individualized dialogue for each person."[4]

He was a staff writer at the San Diego Reader from November 2004 through December 2009.[5][6] Many of the photos that accompany his articles there were taken by San Diego's iconic brand photographer, Chris Morrow.[7] In 2010 he joined the staff of Pacific San Diego Magazine.

Film

As a screenwriter, his first indie feature, The Watermelon, was directed by Brad Mays and produced by Lorenda Starfelt at LightSong Films.[8][9][10]

He wrote the screenplay for the 2007 film Aliens, based on a one act play.[11] Maxim Dashkin produced and directed.

Real Ideas Studio produced a short documentary, "Life in Zona Norte,"[12] that was screen at Cannes Film Festival's Short Film Corner[13] May, 2009.[14]

Awards and honors

Hemmingson won the San Diego Book Awards Association's first Novel-in-Progress grant for The Rose of Heaven and SDBAA’s Best Published novel for Wild Turkey. His media study monograph, Star Trek: A Post-Structural Critique of the Original Series, was a 2010 finalist nominee for General Non-fiction Book.[15]

He was selected as the toastmaster for the Death Equinox 2001 convention.[16]

Recipient of two Everett Helm Research Fellowships at the Lily Library Indiana University for research on Gordon Lish, Raymond Carver, and William Vollmannn.

He wrote multiple auto-ethnography articles for Forum: Qualitative Research. [17][18][19]

Influences

Hemmingson acknowledged[20] influences Harlan Ellison, Raymond Carver, Gordon Lish, and William T. Vollmann for literature, Wim Wenders, David Lynch, David Mamet, and Stanley Kubrick for film.

Hemmingson was called "Raymond Carver on acid" by literary guru Larry McCaffery and "a disciple of a quick and dirty literature" by the American Book Review.[21]

Theater

From 1995-2000, he was Literary Manager of The Fritz Theater in San Diego, where he directed, produced, and wrote many plays there, as well as for his own company, The Alien Stage Project,[22][23] that still produces theater in San Diego and Los Angeles. His full-length play, Driving Somewhere, won the 1997 Ventana New Play Award in San Francisco. It was first produced in 1995 by The Fritz Theater.

His one-act play, Iraq, was produced in the 2000 Samuel French, Inc. One-Act Play Festival in New York.

His one-act, Milk, has been widely produced and is published in the book, The Art of the One-Act.[24] It has been produced in Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, and San Diego.

His full-length play, Erotic Scenes in a Cheap Motel Room, has been produced by dozens of theaters and is available as a radio drama from Walcott & Sheridan Audio Library. Its debut was on March 11 at the Fritz Theatre.[25]

Fritz Theater original productions: Driving Somewhere, Iraq, Bosnia, Erotic Scenes in Cheap Motel Room.

Alien Stage Project original productions: Erotic Scenes in a Cheap Motel Room, Milk.

Actor's Alliance Play Festival original productions: Milk, NASDAQ, The Aliens, Happiness.

Compass Theater (San Diego) production of full-length, Stations in Summer 2009. Stations was directed by David Meredith and performed at the Resilience of the Spirit Festival.[26]

Independent scholarship

As an independent scholar, Hemmingson focused his studies on Raymond Carver and William T. Vollmann, and the methodologies of critifiction and autoethnography. He published extensively in these areas of study, as well as critical monographs on Star Trek, Barry N. Malzberg, Charles Bukowski, blogging and micro-blogging.

In 2009, at the National Communication Association convention in Chicago, Hemmingson was awarded, by the Carl Couch Center, the Norman K. Denzin Qualitative Research Award for his paper of auto/ethnography, "Fragments of my Grandmothers."[27][28]

Radio

From April 2012 until his death, Hemmingson hosted the show The Art of Dreaming on Revolution Radio at freedomslips.com.[29]

Bibliography

Anthologies (edited)

Novels

Fiction collections

Poetry collections

Plays

Literary criticism

Anthologies (appeared in)

Reviews

References

  1. ↑ San Diego Reader: R.I.P., Michael Hemmingson
  2. ↑ Gordon Lish and His Influence on Twentieth Century American Literature Routledge Press
  3. ↑ Zona Norte : the post-structural body of erotic dancers and sex workers in Tijuana, San Diego and Los Angeles : an auto/ethnography of desire and addiction. Michael Hemmingson
  4. ↑ http://somebodydies.blogspot.com/2010/03/this-other-eden-by-michael-hemmingson.html
  5. ↑ San Diego Reader staff bio
  6. ↑ San Diego Reader stories by Michael Hemmingson
  7. ↑ see www.gigglecam.com
  8. ↑ The Watermelon IMDb
  9. ↑ TheWatermelon.net
  10. ↑ B Side
  11. ↑ Aliens IMDb
  12. ↑ Zona Norte
  13. ↑ Short Film Corner
  14. ↑ Ireport
  15. ↑ San Diego Book Awards 2010 Finalists
  16. ↑ Essay about Hemmingson's selection as the Death Equinox 2001 Toastmaster, written by the organizer.
  17. ↑ Make Them Giggle: Auto/Ethnography as Stand-up Comedy. Creative Approaches to Research, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2008: doi:10.3316/CAR0102009. ISSN 1835-9434.
  18. ↑ Here Come the Naval Gazers - Definitions and Defenses for Auto/Ethnography (2/27/08). Available at SSRN
  19. ↑ Anthropology of the Memorial: Auto/Ethnographic Notes on Cultural Rituals Associated with Death (April 15, 2008). Available at SSRN
  20. ↑ see http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/thedreampeople/aug04/hemmingson.html
  21. ↑ American Book Review, Vol. 3, 1996, review of Crack Hotel by Daniella Mayz
  22. ↑ Heavy fare Nicky Silver returns to San Diego with taboo-rich Food Chain by Anne Marie Welsh (Apr 30, 2004) The San Diego Union - Tribune, Lifestyle section
  23. ↑ Stylized comedy is Honeymoon promise by Michael Phillips (Apr 12, 1996) The San Diego Union - Tribune, Lifestyle section "While continuing their association with the Fritz producing director Karin Williams and literary manager Michael Hemmingson have formed Alien Stage Project"
  24. ↑ Art of the One-Act: An Anthology
  25. ↑ Erotic Scenes debut Playbill article
  26. ↑ San Diego News Network review: Resilience of the Spirit Festival; July 16, 2009
  27. ↑ Black Lawrence Wordpress
  28. ↑ Carl Couch Center Norman K. Denzin Award
  29. ↑ Revolution Radio Schedule
  30. ↑ Michael Hemmingson's The Barbie Wrecking Yard Google Books archived excerpt
  31. ↑ Michael Hemmingson's Tuck Google Books archived excerpt
  32. ↑ Michael Hemmingson's Hollow Hills Google Books archived excerpt
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