Everything about Peter Straub totally explained
This article is about Peter Straub the novelist. For the German statesman, see Peter Straub (politician).
Peter Francis Straub, born
March 2,
1943 in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is an
American author and
poet, most famous for his work in the
horror genre. His horror fiction has received numerous literary honors such as the
Bram Stoker Award,
World Fantasy Award, and
International Horror Guild Award, placing him among the most-honored horror authors in recent history.
Life and literary career
At the age of seven, Straub was struck by a car, sustaining serious injuries. He was hospitalized for several months, and temporarily confined to a wheelchair after being released, until he'd re-learned how to walk. He attended
Milwaukee Country Day School on a scholarship, and during his time there began writing.
Straub earned an honors B.A. in English at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1965, and an MA at
Columbia University a year later. He briefly taught English at his
alma mater, now known as the University School of Milwaukee, then moved to
Dublin,
Ireland, in 1969 to work on a Ph.D., and to start writing professionally.
After mixed success with two attempts at literary mainstream novels in the mid-
1970s (
Marriages and
Under Venus - the latter not even published until he'd gained fame as a horror writer), Straub dabbled in the supernatural for the first time with
Julia (1976). He then wrote
If You Could See Me Now (1977), and came to widespread public attention with his fifth novel,
Ghost Story (1979), which was a critical success and was later loosely adapted into a
1981 film starring
Fred Astaire. Several horror novels followed, with growing success, including
The Talisman and
Black House, two fantasy-horror collaborations with Straub's long-time friend and fellow author
Stephen King.
After a fallow period, Straub re-emerged in
1988 with
Koko, a nonsupernatural (though horrific)
Vietnam novel.
Koko was followed in the early '90s by the related novels
Mystery and
The Throat, which together with
Koko make up the "Blue Rose Trilogy". These complex and intertwined novels extended Straub's explorations into
metafiction and
unreliable narrators.
Straub followed 1996's ambitious mainstream thriller
The Hellfire Club, which applied the lessons learned in the Blue Rose period to a more overtly gothic plot, with
Mr. X, dealing with a
doppelgänger theme. In
2001, Straub and King reteamed for
Black House, a loose sequel to
The Talisman tying that book in with King's
Dark Tower Series.
2003 saw the publication of a new Straub novel
Lost Boy, Lost Girl followed by the related
In the Night Room (
2004). Both of these novels won Stoker awards.
Straub edited the
Library of America volume of the Tales of
H. P. Lovecraft. His novel
Mr. X also paid tribute to Lovecraft, as the eponymous Mr. X wrote in a similar style.
Straub has also published several books of poetry.
My Life in Pictures appeared in 1971 as part of a series of six poetry pamphlets Straub published with his friend
Thomas Tessier under the Seafront Press imprint while living in Dublin. In 1972 the more substantial chapbook
Ishmael was published by Turret Books in London. Straub's third book of poetry,
Open Air, appeared later that same year from Irish University Press. The collection
Leeson Park and Belsize Square: Poems 1970 - 1975 was published by Underwood-Miller in October 1983. This collection reprints much of
Ishmael along with previously uncollected poems, but none of the poems from
Open Air.
Significant detail about the two collaborations with King may be found at http://www.horrorking.com. A critical essay on Straub's horror work can be found in
S. T. Joshi's book
The Modern Weird Tale (2001).
At the Foot of the Story Tree, by
Bill Sheehan, discusses Straub's work before
2000.
Rumors continue to circulate that King and Straub may collaborate on a final novel, finishing the tale of Jack Sawyer and the Talisman. King himself has stated in an interview that there will be such a novel sometime in the future.
Bibliography
Further Information
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