A Missouri Writer on a Missouri Writer… Steve Paul on Evan S. Connell
We always look forward to working with our friends at the University of Missouri Press when putting the Unbound program together. This year we’re pleased to present two of the Press’s authors, each of whom have written biographies of writers with close links to Missouri. Steve Paul’s biography of Evan S. Connell, Literary Alchemist, has been widely acclaimed and hailed as a long-overdue appraisal of an important writer. Based on personal accounts from Connell’s friends, relatives, and others who knew him, extensive correspondence in library archives, and insightful literary and cultural analysis of his work, the book illuminates many aspects of American publishing, Hollywood, male anxieties, and the power of place.
Unbound alum Jennifer Haigh wrote: “With his iconic Bridge novels, Evan S. Connell inspired a generation of writers and left an indelible mark on twentieth-century American literature. Steve Paul’s illuminating, highly readable biography paints a vivid portrait of a writer who eschewed fashion and maintained an almost monastic dedication to craft. Informed by a deep understanding of Connell’s work, Literary Alchemist is a satisfying exploration of the demands and pleasures of the writing life.”
Steve Paul has been a writer and editor for more than 45 years. His daily newspaper career at the Kansas City Star included in-depth profiles of musicians, artists, and writers; long stints as book critic and arts editor; special projects on race and religion, the Lewis and Clark expedition, Ernest Hemingway’s centennial, architectural landmarks, and a Georgia O’Keeffe mystery; along with riveting tales of competitive barbecue, demolition derby, and cold-case murders. As an editor, he shared in the coverage of the fatal Hyatt Hotel skywalk collapse (1981) that led to a Pulitzer Prize for the newspaper’s staff. He ultimately served as editorial page editor and opinion columnist before his retirement in 2016. Among his other books are Hemingway at Eighteen: The Pivotal Year that Launched an American Legend (2017) and Architecture A to Z: An Elemental, Alphabetical Guide to Kansas City’s Built Environment (2011). He edited Kansas City Noir (2012), a collection of contemporary short fiction, and co-edited War + Ink: New Perspectives on Ernest Hemingway’s Early Life and Work (2013). He is a regular contributor to KC Studio magazine and various book-review publications; he’s a former board member of the National Book Critics Circle, and he now serves on the board of the Biographers International Organization. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri.
