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John Dufresne

Biography

John Dufresne

I write and I teach. Here’s what I’ve written: the short story collection, THE WAY THAT WATER ENTERS STONE; three chapbooks, LETHE, CUPID, TIME AND LOVE; WELL ENOUGH ALONE; and I WILL EAT A PIECE OF THE ROOF AND YOU CAN EAT THE WINDOW; the novels LOUISIANA POWER AND LIGHT, LOVE WARPS THE MIND A LITTLE, DEEP IN THE SHADE OF PARADISE, and REQUIEM: MASS; the story collection JOHNNY TOO BAD, and THE LIE THAT TELLS THE TRUTH: a Guide to Writing Fiction. I was one of the thirteen authors of the mystery novel, Naked Came the Manatee. My short story “The Timing of Unfelt Smiles” was included in Miami Noir and in Best American Mystery Stories 2007. I wrote a full-length play, Trailerville, which was produced at the Blue Heron Theatre in New York in 2005. I wrote the screenplay for the award-winning short film The Freezer Jesus. My friend Don Papy and I wrote the screenplay for To Live and Die in Dixie, which was released this June. I teach in the MFA program at Florida International University in Miami. When I’m not writing, I’m reading or walking or playing tennis. I suppose I’m an unreconstructed old new lefty. I still like baseball and still believe in the ideals of socialism. When I’m confused or beside myself, I try to ask, What would Chekhov do?

John Dufresne