Hannah, Barry (Vol. 23) - Introduction

Barry Hannah 1942–

American novelist and short story writer.

Hannah writes exuberant fiction set in the contemporary South. Because of his Southern background he is inevitably compared to other Southern writers: to Faulkner for his use of the South as microcosm and to Welty for his choice of eccentric characters enmeshed in violence. However, most critics agree that Hannah has an original and distinctive comic voice.

His novels include Geronimo Rex, a ribald initiation tale, and Nightwatchmen, an outrageous murder mystery. Many of the short stories collected in Airships were first published in Esquire. Their distinction derives from unusual narrative twists, impressionistic plots, and surrealistic violence.

(See also Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 6.)