Walter Kirn: Difference between revisions

Walter Kirn
Walter Kirn
	Kirn on March 1, 2015
Born	Walter Norris Kirn; August 3, 1962 (age 62); Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Education	Princeton University (AB); Oxford University
Occupations	Novelist; literary critic; essayist;
Notable work	Up in the Air
Spouse(s)	Penelope Locke (divorced); Maggie McGuane (divorced); Amanda Fortini
Children	2
Website	walterkirn.com/

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Walter Norris Kirn (born August 3, 1962)^[1] is an American novelist, literary critic, and essayist. He is the author of eight books, most notably Up in the Air, which was made into a film of the same name starring George Clooney.

Education

Kirn graduated with an A.B. in English from Princeton University in 1983 after completing a 22-page-long senior thesis entitled "Entangling Breaths (Poems)."^[2] Following that, he obtained a second undergraduate degree in English Literature at Oxford University, where he was a Keasbey Memorial Foundation Scholar.^[3]

Writing

Kirn has published a collection of short stories and several novels. These include Thumbsucker (1999), which was made into a 2005 film featuring Keanu Reeves and Vince Vaughn. Kirn's 2001 novel, Up in the Air, has been characterized as a literary chronotope relating to the genre of road narratives.^[4] It was made into a 2009 film directed by Jason Reitman. The film adaptation of Up In The Air, which starred George Clooney and Anna Kendrick, was a commercial success and went on to receive critical acclaim as well as numerous nominations and awards.

In 2005, Kirn took over blogger Andrew Sullivan's publication while Sullivan was on vacation. He also wrote The Unbinding, an Internet-only novel that was published in Slate magazine.^[5]

Kirn's 2013 memoir Blood Will Out, is an account of his relationship with the convicted murderer and imposter Christian Gerhartsreiter, who had initially approached Kirn using the alias of "Clark Rockefeller".

He has also reviewed books for New York Magazine and has written for The New York Times Book Review, New York Times Sunday Magazine, The Atlantic and Spy, and is a contributing editor of Time, where he has received popularity for his entertaining and sometimes humorous first-person essays among other articles of interest. He also served as an American cultural correspondent for the BBC.

In 2023, Kirn and David Samuels launched County Highway, a magazine about America in the form of a nineteenth-century newspaper, and as America's only newspaper. Donald Rosenfeld is the publisher.

Teaching

In addition to teaching nonfiction writing at the University of Montana, Kirn was the 2008–09 Vare Nonfiction Writer in Residence at the University of Chicago.^[6]

Media

Kirn appears on the weekly podcast, America This Week with Matt Taibbi. He is a weekly regular panelist on Gutfeld!

Personal life

Kirn was born in Akron, Ohio, but grew up in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota. After high school, he attended Macalester College for one year before transferring to Princeton University.^[7] Kirn's family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he was twelve, but Kirn is no longer affiliated with the church.^[8] In 1995, Kirn married Maggie McGuane, daughter of actress Margot Kidder and novelist Thomas McGuane. Kirn was 32 at the time; McGuane was 19.^[9] The couple had two children but have since divorced.^[10] Kirn is now married to magazine writer Amanda Fortini. The two split their time between Livingston, Montana and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Books

Fiction

Novels

She Needed Me (1992)
Thumbsucker (1999)
Up in the Air (2001)
Mission to America (2005)
The Unbinding (2006)

Short fiction collections

My Hard Bargain: Stories (1990)^[11]

Nonfiction

Filmography

Thumbsucker (2005)
Up in the Air (2009)

References

^ "Walter Kirn". Mormon Literature Database. Brigham Young University. c. 2003. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
^ Kirn, Walter Norris (1983). "Entangling Breaths (Poems)". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ "Walter Kirn". Retrieved 2014-11-22.
^ Hansen, Julie. "Space, time, and plane travel in Walter Kirn's novel up in the air." Nordic Journal of English Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, Sept. 2012, pp. 18+
^ "The Unbinding: An exclusive Slate novel. By Walter Kim". Slate. 13 March 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-22.
^ Coming This Fall: Walter Kirn
^ Kirn, Walter (2005-01-05). "Lost in the Meritocracy". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
^ NPR: Writer Walter Kirn, on a 'Mission to America'
^ Brozan, Nadine (1995-08-16). "Chronicle". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
^ - Walter Kirn Author, "Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever"]
^ Kirn, Walter (1990). My Hard Bargain: Stories. New York: Knopf.

External links

No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

[1] "Walter Kirn". Mormon Literature Database. Brigham Young University. c. 2003. Retrieved June 30, 2010.

[2] Kirn, Walter Norris (1983). "Entangling Breaths (Poems)". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[3] "Walter Kirn". Retrieved 2014-11-22.

[4] Hansen, Julie. "Space, time, and plane travel in Walter Kirn's novel up in the air." Nordic Journal of English Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, Sept. 2012, pp. 18+

[5] "The Unbinding: An exclusive Slate novel. By Walter Kim". Slate. 13 March 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-22.

[6] Coming This Fall: Walter Kirn

[atlantic-7] Kirn, Walter (2005-01-05). "Lost in the Meritocracy". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2014-07-20.

[8] NPR: Writer Walter Kirn, on a 'Mission to America'

[nyt-9] Brozan, Nadine (1995-08-16). "Chronicle". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-27.

[10] - Walter Kirn Author, "Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever"]

[11] Kirn, Walter (1990). My Hard Bargain: Stories. New York: Knopf.

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+{{short description|American novelist}}
 {{Infobox person
-|name        = Walter Kirn
+| name               = Walter Kirn
-|image       = Walter Kirn on The Virtual Memories Show.jpg
+| image              = Walter Kirn on The Virtual Memories Show.jpg
+| alt                = A black-and-white photograph of Walter Kirn
-|image_size  =
-|alt         = A black-and-white photograph of Walter Kirn
+| caption            = Kirn on March 1, 2015
+| birth_name         = Walter Norris Kirn
-|caption     = Kirn on March 1, 2015
-|birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1962|8|3|mf=y}}
+| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1962|8|3|mf=y}}
-|birth_place = [[Akron, Ohio]], United States
+| birth_place        = [[Akron, Ohio]], U.S.
-|other_names =
+| other_names        =
-|religion    =
+| known_for          =
+| occupation         = {{flatlist|
-|known_for   =
-|occupation  = {{flatlist|
 * Novelist
 * literary critic
 * essayist
 }}
+| education          = [[Princeton University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|AB]])<br>[[Oxford University]]
-|nationality = American
+| awards             =
-|alma_mater  = [[Princeton University]], [[Oxford University]]
+| notable_works      = ''[[Up in the Air (novel)|Up in the Air]]''
-|awards      =
+| website            = [https://www.walterkirn.com/ walterkirn.com/]
-|education   =
+| spouse             = Penelope Locke (divorced)<br>Maggie McGuane (divorced)<br>Amanda Fortini
-|notable_works = ''[[Up in the Air (novel)|Up in the Air]]''
-|website     =
+| children           = 2
-|spouse = Penelope Locke (divorced)<br>Maggie McGuane (divorced)<br>Amanda Fortini
-|children = 2
 }}
 '''Walter Norris Kirn''' (born August 3, 1962)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mormonlit.byu.edu/lit_author.php?a_id=1505|title=Walter Kirn|date=c. 2003|work=Mormon Literature Database|publisher=Brigham Young University|access-date=June 30, 2010}}</ref> is an American [[novelist]], [[literary criticism|literary critic]], and [[essay]]ist. He is the author of eight books, most notably ''[[Up in the Air (novel)|Up in the Air]]'', which was made into a [[Up in the Air (2009 film)|film of the same name]] starring [[George Clooney]].
-==Overview==
+==Education==
+Kirn graduated with an A.B. in English from [[Princeton University]] in 1983 after completing a 22-page-long senior thesis entitled "Entangling Breaths (Poems)."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kirn|first=Walter Norris|date=1983|title=Entangling Breaths (Poems)|url=http://dataspace.princeton.edu/jspui/handle/88435/dsp01k06988887}}</ref> Following that, he obtained a second undergraduate degree in English Literature at [[Oxford University]], where he was a Keasbey Memorial Foundation Scholar.<ref>{{cite web
-As a writer, he has published a collection of short stories and several novels, including ''[[Thumbsucker (novel)|Thumbsucker]]'', which was made into a 2005 film featuring [[Keanu Reeves]] and [[Vince Vaughn]]; ''[[Up in the Air (novel)|Up in the Air]]'', which was made into a 2009 film directed by [[Jason Reitman]]; and ''[[Mission to America]]''. The [[Up in the Air (2009 film)|film adaptation]] of ''Up In The Air'', which starred [[George Clooney]] and [[Anna Kendrick]], was a commercial success and went on to receive critical acclaim as well as numerous nominations and awards. In 2005, he took over blogger [[Andrew Sullivan]]'s publication for a few weeks while Sullivan was on vacation. He also wrote ''[[The Unbinding]]'', an Internet-only novel that was published in ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Unbinding: An exclusive Slate novel. By Walter Kim | work=Slate | url=http://www.slate.com/id/2137804/ | access-date=2006-06-22}}</ref> His most recent work, ''[[Blood Will Out (memoir)|Blood Will Out]]'', is a personalized account of his relationship with the convicted murderer and imposter [[Christian Gerhartsreiter|Clark Rockefeller]].
-He has also reviewed books for ''[[New York Magazine]]'' and has written for ''[[The New York Times Book Review]]'' and ''[[New York Times Sunday Magazine]]'', and is a contributing editor of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', where he has received popularity for his entertaining and sometimes humorous first-person essays among other articles of interest. He also served as an American cultural correspondent for the [[BBC]].
-In addition to teaching nonfiction writing at the [[University of Montana – Missoula|University of Montana]], Kirn was the 2008–09 Vare Nonfiction Writer in Residence at the [[University of Chicago]].<ref>[http://varewir.uchicago.edu/ Coming This Fall: Walter Kirn]</ref> He graduated with an A.B. in English from [[Princeton University]] in 1983 after completing a 22-page-long senior thesis entitled "Entangling Breaths (Poems)."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kirn|first=Walter Norris|date=1983|title=Entangling Breaths (Poems)|url=http://dataspace.princeton.edu/jspui/handle/88435/dsp01k06988887}}</ref> Following that, he obtained a second undergraduate degree in English Literature at [[Oxford University]], where he was a Keasbey Scholar.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.c-span.org/video/?287039-1/qa-walter-kirn
 | title = Walter Kirn
 | access-date = 2014-11-22
 }}</ref>
+==Writing==
+Kirn has published a collection of short stories and several novels. These include ''[[Thumbsucker (novel)|Thumbsucker]]'' (1999), which was made into a 2005 film featuring [[Keanu Reeves]] and [[Vince Vaughn]]. Kirn's 2001 novel, ''[[Up in the Air (novel)|Up in the Air]]'', has been characterized as a literary [[chronotope]] relating to the genre of road narratives.<ref>Hansen, Julie. "Space, time, and plane travel in Walter Kirn's novel up in the air." ''Nordic Journal of English Studies'', vol. 11, no. 3, Sept. 2012, pp. 18+</ref> It was made into a 2009 film directed by [[Jason Reitman]]. The [[Up in the Air (2009 film)|film adaptation]] of ''Up In The Air'', which starred [[George Clooney]] and [[Anna Kendrick]], was a commercial success and went on to receive critical acclaim as well as numerous nominations and awards.
+In 2005, Kirn took over blogger [[Andrew Sullivan]]'s publication while Sullivan was on vacation. He also wrote ''The Unbinding'', an Internet-only novel that was published in ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Unbinding: An exclusive Slate novel. By Walter Kim | work=Slate | date=13 March 2006 | url=http://www.slate.com/id/2137804/ | access-date=2006-06-22}}</ref>
+Kirn's 2013 memoir ''[[Blood Will Out (memoir)|Blood Will Out]]'', is an account of his relationship with the convicted [[murderer]] and [[imposter]] [[Christian Gerhartsreiter]], who had initially approached Kirn using the alias of "[[Christian Gerhartsreiter#Clark Rockefeller|Clark Rockefeller]]".
+He has also reviewed books for ''[[New York Magazine]]'' and has written for ''[[The New York Times Book Review]],'' ''[[New York Times Sunday Magazine]],'' ''[[The Atlantic]]'' and [[Spy (magazine)|''Spy'']], and is a contributing editor of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', where he has received popularity for his entertaining and sometimes humorous first-person essays among other articles of interest. He also served as an American cultural correspondent for the [[BBC]].
+In 2023, Kirn and [[David Samuels (writer)|David Samuels]] launched ''[[County Highway]],'' a magazine about America in the form of a nineteenth-century newspaper, and as America's only newspaper. [[Donald Rosenfeld]] is the publisher.
+==Teaching==
+In addition to teaching nonfiction writing at the [[University of Montana – Missoula|University of Montana]], Kirn was the 2008–09 Vare Nonfiction Writer in Residence at the [[University of Chicago]].<ref>[http://varewir.uchicago.edu/ Coming This Fall: Walter Kirn]</ref>
+==Media==
+Kirn appears on the weekly podcast, ''America This Week'' with [[Matt Taibbi]]. He is a weekly regular panelist on ''[[Gutfeld!]]''
 ==Personal life==
-Kirn was born in [[Akron, Ohio]] but grew up in [[Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota]]. After high school, he attended [[Macalester College]] for one year before transferring to Princeton University.<ref name=atlantic>{{cite news| url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/01/lost-in-the-meritocracy/303672/ | work=The Atlantic | title=Lost in the Meritocracy | first=Walter | last=Kirn | date=2005-01-05 | access-date=2014-07-20}}</ref> Kirn's family joined [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] when he was twelve, but Kirn is no longer affiliated with the church.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4964686&ft=1&f=1033 NPR: Writer Walter Kirn, on a 'Mission to America'<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 1995, Kirn married Maggie McGuane, daughter of actress [[Margot Kidder]] and novelist [[Thomas McGuane]]. Kirn was 32 at the time; McGuane was 19.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE1D91F3DF935A2575BC0A963958260 | work=The New York Times | title=Chronicle | first=Nadine | last=Brozan | date=1995-08-16 | access-date=2010-05-27}}</ref> The couple had two children but have since divorced.<ref>[http://www.c-span.org/video/?287039-1/qa-walter-kirn - Walter Kirn] Author, "Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever"]</ref> Kirn is now married to magazine writer Amanda Fortini. The two split their time between [[Livingston, Montana]] and [[Los Angeles, California]].
+Kirn was born in [[Akron, Ohio]], but grew up in [[Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota]]. After high school, he attended [[Macalester College]] for one year before transferring to Princeton University.<ref name=atlantic>{{cite news| url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/01/lost-in-the-meritocracy/303672/ | work=The Atlantic | title=Lost in the Meritocracy | first=Walter | last=Kirn | date=2005-01-05 | access-date=2014-07-20}}</ref> Kirn's family joined [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] when he was twelve, but Kirn is no longer affiliated with the church.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4964686&ft=1&f=1033 NPR: Writer Walter Kirn, on a 'Mission to America'<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 1995, Kirn married Maggie McGuane, daughter of actress [[Margot Kidder]] and novelist [[Thomas McGuane]]. Kirn was 32 at the time; McGuane was 19.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE1D91F3DF935A2575BC0A963958260 | work=The New York Times | title=Chronicle | first=Nadine | last=Brozan | date=1995-08-16 | access-date=2010-05-27}}</ref> The couple had two children but have since divorced.<ref>[http://www.c-span.org/video/?287039-1/qa-walter-kirn - Walter Kirn] Author, "Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever"]</ref> Kirn is now married to magazine writer Amanda Fortini. The two split their time between [[Livingston, Montana]] and [[Las Vegas, Nevada]].
-==Bibliography==
+==Books==
+===Fiction===
-{{Expand list|date=June 2017}}
+====Novels====
-*''My Hard Bargain: Stories'' (1990)<ref>{{cite book |author=Kirn, Walter |title=My Hard Bargain: Stories |location=New York |publisher=Knopf |year=1990 <!--isbn=0394583035-->}}</ref>
 * ''She Needed Me'' (1992)
 * ''[[Thumbsucker (novel)|Thumbsucker]]'' (1999)
@@ Line 48: / Line 63: @@
 * ''[[Mission to America]]'' (2005)
 * ''The Unbinding'' (2006)
+====Short fiction collections====
+*''My Hard Bargain: Stories'' (1990)<ref>{{cite book |author=Kirn, Walter |title=My Hard Bargain: Stories |location=New York |publisher=Knopf |year=1990 <!--isbn=0394583035-->}}</ref>
+===Nonfiction===
 * ''[[Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever]]'' (2009)
-* ''[[Blood Will Out (memoir)|Blood Will Out]]'' (2013)
+* ''[[Blood Will Out (memoir)|Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade]]'' (2013)
 ==Filmography==
@@ Line 61: / Line 79: @@
 * {{Official website}}
+{{USC Scripter Awards — Film}}
 {{Authority control}}
@@ Line 83: / Line 102: @@
 [[Category:Time (magazine) people]]
 [[Category:University of Montana faculty]]
+[[Category:Substack writers]]

v t e USC Scripter Awards – Film
1980s	Hugh Whitemore and Helene Hanff (1988) Frank Galati, Lawrence Kasdan, and Anne Tyler (1989)
1990s	Steven Zaillian and Oliver Sacks (1990) Carol Sobieski and Fannie Flagg (1991) Richard Friedenberg and Norman Maclean (1992) Steven Zaillian and Thomas Keneally (1993) Frank Darabont and Stephen King (1994) Emma Thompson and Jane Austen (1995) Anthony Minghella and Michael Ondaatje (1996) Curtis Hanson, Brian Helgeland, and James Ellroy (1997) Steven Zaillian and Jonathan Harr (1998) Armyan Bernstein, Dan Gordon, Rubin Carter, Sam Chaiton, and Terry Swinton (1999)
2000s	Steve Kloves and Michael Chabon (2000) Akiva Goldsman and Sylvia Nasar (2001) David Hare and Michael Cunningham (2002) Brian Helgeland and Dennis Lehane / Gary Ross and Laura Hillenbrand (2003) Paul Haggis and F.X. Toole (2004) Dan Futterman and Gerald Clarke (2005) David Arata, Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Timothy J. Sexton, and P. D. James (2006) Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, and Cormac McCarthy (2007) Simon Beaufoy and Vikas Swarup (2008) Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, and Walter Kirn (2009)
2010s	Aaron Sorkin and Ben Mezrich (2010) Alexander Payne, Jim Rash, Nat Faxon, and Kaui Hart Hemmings (2011) Chris Terrio, Antonio J. Mendez, and Joshuah Bearman (2012) John Ridley and Solomon Northup (2013) Graham Moore and Andrew Hodges (2014) Adam McKay, Charles Randolph, and Michael Lewis (2015) Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney (2016) James Ivory and André Aciman (2017) Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, and Peter Rock (2018) Greta Gerwig and Louisa May Alcott (2019)
2020s	Chloé Zhao and Jessica Bruder (2020) Maggie Gyllenhaal and Elena Ferrante (2021) Sarah Polley and Miriam Toews (2022) Cord Jefferson and Percival Everett (2023)

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International	ISNI VIAF FAST WorldCat
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