Chris Offut (1958 - )

Chris Offut is a classic example of a writer who leaves Kentucky only to find himself romanticizing his memories of home -- believing his own stories. Sometimes the return trip is a rocky one. His feeling of being adrift, not knowing where he belongs, is epitomized by a quote from Flannery O'Connor at the front of Offut's collection Out of the Woods:

Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were going to never was there, and where you are is no good unless you can get away from it.

His recent book No Heroes, is about moving back after having been away. Offut found that he had changed more than his old home, and perhaps remembered why he left in the first place. He is presently teaching in Iowa. 

Excerpt froMoscow, Idaho (from Out of the Woods)

Tilden had been among the first prisoners assigned to a new facility in Morgan County. People called it the Pink Palace due to the pastel color of its outer walls. The prison was surrounded by hills. Sometimes groundfog prevented the men from going into the yard because the sharpshooter in the tower couldn't see well enough. On clear mornings, each tree leaf was distinct in the mountain light. Their presence was a tease, like a friend's wife who liked to flirt.

Tilden wondered if a view of the river made men sadder or gave them hope. He figured the prison psychologist would like it, since he favored anything that was different, even a new coat of paint. Tilden had learned to give the shrink what he wanted, which was mainly the impression that you wouldn't shank the first son of a bitch who looked at you mad-dog. Getting through the joint took the ability to make everyone think you were crazy enough to be dangerous. Getting out was the opposite. Tilden wasn't sure what it took to stay out.

No Heroes
  • Hardcover: 268 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster
  • ISBN: 0684865513
  • (April 2002)

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Kentucky Straight
  • Paperback: 167 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage Books
  • ISBN: 067973886X
  • (November 1992)

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The Good Brother
  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Scribner Paperback Fiction
  • ISBN: 0684846195
  • (May 1998)

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Bibliography *
  • Good brother. 1997
  • Kentucky straight. 1992
  • No heroes : a memoir of coming home. 2002
  • Out of the woods : stories. 1999
  • Same river twice : a memoir. 1993

*Dates are earliest editions of given titles in the Library of Congress catalog.

Out of the Woods: Stories
  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Scribner Paperback Fiction
  • ISBN: 0684853760
  • (February 2000)

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