Brian Morton (American writer)

Brian Morton (born 1955) is an American author of five works of fiction. He currently teaches at Sarah Lawrence College, New York University and The Bennington Writing Seminars. [1]

For the Scottish writer, see Brian Morton (Scottish writer).

Morton's 1998 novel Starting Out in the Evening was adapted into the 2007 film of the same name.[2] His 2006 novel Breakable You was adapted into the 2017 film of the same name.[3]

Early life and education

Morton was born and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, where he attended Teaneck High School.[4] His father was an Irish-Catholic and a union organizer, and his mother was Jewish, and a school teacher. His mother was from a family of artists. Her brother was a composer, and her father (Morton's grandfather) was an actor in Yiddish theater. He has an older sister who wrote stories as a child.[5]

He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1978. [5]

Career

In 1984, a few months after his father died, Morton began to write a portrait of him. The character of Francis Xavier Burke of The Dylanist is an idealized version of his father. In 1988 he finished the book. In 1988 he was working as a co-editor for the book review of the magazine Dissent, where he became executive editor in 1995. Through his connections at Dissent Morton found Harvey Klinger as an agent who loved the book. Ted Solotaroff at HarperCollins purchased the book, which received critical praise.[5]

Works of fiction

Awards

Personal life

Morton lives with his partner Heather Harpham a drama teacher, performer and author[6] of a memoir, Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After.[5] Together they have a daughter, Gracie-Amelia,[7] and a son, Gabriel.[8]

References
  1. Voreacos, David. "AUTHOR COMES OF AGE -- FIRST BOOK IS A NOVEL EXPERIENCE", The Record (Bergen County), November 27, 1991. Accessed September 12, 2007.
  2. Scott, A. O. "Starting Out in the Evening (2007)", The New York Times, November 23, 2007. Accessed May 4, 2008. "A crepuscular glow suffuses “Starting Out in the Evening,” Andrew Wagner’s intelligent, careful adaptation of a near-perfect novel by Brian Morton."
  3. Greene, Ray (14 January 2017). "'Breakable You' Palm Springs Review: Bright Ensemble Elevates Neurotic Comedy". TheWrap. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  4. Morton, Brian. "May 3: When Proust Came to Teaneck", The New York Times, May 2, 2013. Accessed August 18, 2015. "About 50 years later, when Proust reached Teaneck High School, we were blown away, too."
  5. Kingstone, Lisa (13 October 2003). "Tales of Love and Art in the World". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  6. "Hello Sunshine". Hello Sunshine. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  7. "Heather Harpham on her exquisite literary memoir, about love & medicine & parenting, HAPPINESS". Leslie A. Lindsay. 2018-05-25. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  8. "'Happiness' Explores The Complex Push And Pull Of Human Relationships". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-12-02.


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