Breece D'J Pancake

Breece D'J Pancake (June 29, 1952 - April 8, 1979) was an American author of short fiction.

Early life

Pancake was born in South Charleston, West Virginia in 1952 and reared in Milton. Pancake briefly attended West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon before transferring to Marshall University in Huntington, where he completed a bachelor's degree in English education. As a graduate student he studied at the University of Virginia's creative writing program under John Casey and James Alan McPherson. Pancake also worked as an English teacher at two Virginia military academies.

While at the University of Virginia, Pancake deliberately styled himself as an uncultured hillbilly, distancing himself from the mostly erudite students at the prestigious school. He was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting, fishing and camping.

Writing

Pancake's short fiction, for the most part, was published originally in The Atlantic, and was later collected in The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake. His vivid, compact style has been compared to that of Ernest Hemingway. Most of his stories are set in rural West Virginia and revolve around characters and naturalistic settings, often adapted from his own past.

Death

Pancake died from a self-inflicted shotgun wound in Charlottesville, Virginia. His death was officially labeled a suicide, although there has, over the years, been some debate from people who believe the gunshot may have been an accident. [1] Pancake was buried in Milton.

Writers influenced by Pancake

Among the writers who claim Pancake as a strong influence are Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club and Andre Dubus III, author of House of Sand and Fog. After Pancake's death, author Kurt Vonnegut wrote, "I give you my word of honor that he is merely the best writer, the most sincere writer I’ve ever read. What I suspect is that it hurt too much, was no fun at all to be that good."

Trivia

• The unusual middle name "D'J" originated from a misprint of Pancake's middle initials by the Atlantic (D.J., for Dexter John) when Pancake's first published story, Trilobites was printed in 1977. ^[1] Dexter is Pancake's middle name, while John is the name Pancake adopted after converting to Catholicism in his mid-20s. Pancake decided not to correct it.
• Pancake was a devout fan of the music of folk singer Phil Ochs, who committed suicide due to depression. If Pancake's death was also a suicide, it may have been in emulation of Ochs.

External links

• Biography from West Virginia Wesleyan College
• Essay on Pancake in Missouri Review by Cynthia Kadohata
• The complete text of Pancake's "The Honored Dead"

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