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Alan Burns Biography

(1929– ), Europe after the Rain, Celebrations, Babel, Dreamerika!, The Day Daddy Died, Revolutions of the Night



British novelist, born in London. He trained as a barrister before turning to writing, and later taught creative writing at the University of Minnesota. His works are experimental in form and bleak in outlook, depicting a sterile society on the brink of chaos. His first novel, Europe after the Rain (1965), whose title is taken from Max Ernst, exhibits a dual fascination with European Modernism and American culture. It was followed by Celebrations (1965); Babel (1970), whose aphoristic nature reflects the fragmentation of the world which is being described; Dreamerika! (1972); The Day Daddy Died (1981); and Revolutions of the Night (1986), whose title is also taken from Ernst. Burns was a friend of the writers B. S. Johnson and Ann Quin and, although all three would have disclaimed being part of a literary movement, there are similarities of theme and preoccupation in their work.



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Literature Reference: American Literature, English Literature, Classics & Modern FictionEncyclopedia of Literature: Burghers of Calais to Peter Carey Biography