Ian Frazier (born 1951 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American writer and humorist. He wrote the 1989 non-fiction history Great Plains, 2010's non-fiction travelogue Travels in Siberia, and works as a writer and humorist for The New Yorker.[1]
Ian "Sandy" Frazier | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Ian Frazier 1951 (age 72–73) Cleveland, Ohio |
| Occupation | Non-fiction writer, humorist |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Period | 1974–present |
| Notable works | Great Plains (1989) Coyote v. Acme (1990) Travels in Siberia (2010) |
| Spouse | Jacqueline Carey |
Biography
editFrazier grew up in Hudson, Ohio.[2] His father, David Frazier, was a chemist,[3] who worked for Sohio;[4][5] his mother, Peggy, was a teacher, as well as an amateur actor and director,[3] who performed in and directed plays in local Ohio theaters.[6] He graduated from Western Reserve Academy in 1969 and from Harvard University in 1973.[3]
Writing career
editThe New York Times critic James Gorman described Frazier's 1996 humor collection Coyote v. Acme (in the title piece, Wile E. Coyote is suing Acme Corporation, the manufacturer of products such as explosives and rocket-propelled devices purchased by the coyote to aid in hunting the Road Runner; these products always backfire disastrously) as the occasion for "irrepressible laughter in the reader". The piece served as the basis for the film Coyote vs. Acme, which is set to be claimed as a tax write-off by Warner Bros. Discovery. The film is currently looking for a new distributor.[7] Gorman rates Frazier's first collection, 1986's Dating Your Mom, as "one of the best collections of humor ever published".[8]
Awards
edit- 1989: Whiting Award
- 1997: Thurber Prize for American Humor, for essay collection Coyote vs. Acme[2]
- 2009: Thurber Prize for American Humor, for essay collection Lamentations of the Father[2][9]
Bibliography
editReferences
edit- ^ "Contributors: Ian Frazier". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on December 7, 2010. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Humorist Ian Frazier, who grew up in Hudson, Ohio, wins another Thurber award". October 6, 2009. The Plain Dealer. Retrieved via Cleveland.com, November 10, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Ian Frazier." Contemporary Authors Online. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2017. Retrieved via Biography In Context database, November 10, 2018.
- ^ Lambert, Craig (September/October 2008). "Seriously Funny: Ian Frazier combines an historian's discipline with an original comic mind". Harvard Magazine. harvardmagazine.com. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- ^ Ian Frazier, Family. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1994. p. 256.
- ^ Ian Frazier, Family. p. 26.
- ^ Bergson and Perella, Samantha and Vincent (March 10, 2024). "'Coyote vs. Acme' Writer Samy Burch Says Film May Still Be Released: Conversations Are 'Ongoing,' but We'd Be 'Heartbroken' If It's Shelved". Indiewire.
- ^ James Gorman, "Beep-Beep!", The New York Times, June 23, 1996.
- ^ Hartig, Jean (2010). "Thurber House." Poets & Writers Magazine. Vol. 38, no. 2. p. 133 f. Retrieved via Literature Resource Center database, November 10, 2018.
External links
edit- Works by or about Ian Frazier at the Internet Archive
- Ian Frazier articles for Outside Magazine
- Ian Frazier articles at Byliner
- Ian Frazier on NPR for Travels in SIberia
- Ian Frazier at FSG
- Profile at The Whiting Foundation
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Interview with Ian Frazier on WFMU's "The Speakeasy with Dorian" (RealAudio)
- Review of Gone to New York
- Select the RealAudio link by "LAMENTATIONS OF A FATHER" at time 28:42 to hear Ian Frazier read his "Laws Concerning Food and Drink; Household Principles; Lamentations of the Father" on the January 24, 1998 Prairie Home Companion broadcast.
- The famous mock-legal complaint Coyote v. Acme, to which a lawyer made this reply
- Lambert, Craig (September–October 2008). "Seriously Funny: Ian Frazier combines an historian's discipline with an original comic mind". Harvard Magazine.