Бриc Декстер Джон Панкейк: Қасіретті жазушының өмірі мен шығармашылығы

American short story writer

Breece Dexter John Pancake (June 29, 1952 – April 8, 1979) was an American short story writer. He is said to be "one of the greatest authors you've never heard of" according to an article on his work in Study Breaks. Pancake was a native of West Virginia. Several of his short stories were published in The Atlantic Monthly and other periodicals during his lifetime. Pancake died of suicide on Palm Sunday, 1979, at the age of 26. His motives for suicide are still somewhat unclear but many speculate the death of his father to alcoholism and the death of his close friend from a gruesome car accident could have had an influence on his choices—his writing style could also prove he was living a haunted life. Milton, the home of the Blenko Glass Company, situated in a plateau of farms outside the city of Huntington, is said to be Pancake's inspiration for the fictionalized settings of his stories. Growing up in Milton, Pancake's best friend was Rick Blenko. Pancake suffered from feelings of alienation at the University of Virginia. He felt that faculty and staff looked down upon him, despite the fact that the college was so close to his native state. He was, however, a gregarious person who befriended everyone he could. His attachment to alcohol eventually led to further isolation, likely contributing to his depressive state.

He was an avid outdoorsman, who enjoyed hunting, fishing, and camping. Pancake was a devout fan of the music of folk singer Phil Ochs, who had attended Staunton Military Academy, where Pancake later taught. The unusual middle name "D'J" originated when The Atlantic Monthly misprinted his middle initials (D. J., for Dexter John) in the byline of Trilobites, a short story the magazine published in 1977. Pancake decided not to correct it. Dexter was Pancake's middle name; he took the name John after converting to Catholicism in his mid 20s.

Pancake died from a self inflicted gunshot wound on the outskirts of Charlottesville, Virginia. He was buried in Milton, West Virginia. According to Foster, "One cannot consider Pancake's work without probing his tragic death. Douglass points out that, in hindsight, there were many indications of Pancake's suicidal longings," such as the act of giving away many personal items, including his guns, with the exception of the Savage over under shotgun he used to end his life. Murphy says, "Pancake has become a semi mythical figure of American Literature, a hillbilly Hemingway for those few—heavy on writers and academicians—who do know him. Parts of the myth he created for himself are through the way he lived his life and the foggy circumstances surrounding his death. The rest of the myth we've created ourselves around the legacy of his extraordinary writing."