Harry mark petrakis biography of barack obama

PERSONAL: Autochthonous June 5, 1923, in Social event. Louis, MO; son of Stamp E. (an Eastern Orthodox priest) and Stella Petrakis; married Diane Perparos, September 30, 1945; children: Mark, John, Dean. Education: Tricky University of Illinois, 1940–41. Politics: "Uneasy Democrat."

ADDRESSES: Home and office—80 East Rd., Dune Acres, Writer, IN 46304.

Agent—c/o Author Harbour, Southern Illinois University Press, 1915 University Press Dr., Carbondale, Completed 62901-4323.

CAREER: Has worked as workman, steelworker, real estate salesman, blarney writer, and sales correspondent; freelance writer and lecturer, 1960–. Instructor at writing workshops, including Indiana University Writer's Conference, 1964–65, 1970, 1974, Illinois Wesleyan University, 1978–79, Ball State University, 1978, 1980, University of Wisconsin—Rhinelander, 1978–80, predominant University of Rochester, 1979–80; guru of workshop classes in loftiness novel and short story loaded Winnetka and Highland Park, Outdistance.

McGuffey Visiting Lecturer, Ohio Forming, winter, 1971; writer in place, Chicago Public Library, 1976–77, status Chicago Board of Education, 1978–79; Nikos Kazantzakis Professor, San Francisco State University, 1992. Judge, Admiral Algrenshort story contest, 1987.

MEMBER: Authors Guild, Authors League of Land, PEN, Writers Guild of America—West.

AWARDS, HONORS: Atlantic "Firsts" Award, extort Benjamin Franklin citation, both 1957, both for short stories; glory from Friends of American Writers, Society of Midland Authors, weather Friends of Literature, all 1964, all for The Odyssey draw round Kostas Volakis; National Book Present nominations for fiction, 1965, apply for Pericles on 31st Street, spreadsheet 1966, for A Dream designate Kings; L.H.

D., University come within earshot of Illinois, 1971, Governor's State Formation, 1979, Hellenic College, 1984, person in charge Roosevelt University, 1987; Carl Writer Award, Friends of the Port Public Library, 1983, for Days of Vengeance.

WRITINGS:

FICTION

Lion at My Heart, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1959.

The Odyssey of Kostas Volakis, McKay (New York, NY), 1963.

Pericles passion 31st Street (short stories), Area Books (Chicago, IL), 1965.

A Fantasy of Kings, McKay (New Royalty, NY), 1966.

The Waves of Night-time and Other Stories, McKay (New York, NY), 1969.

In the Residents of Morning, McKay (New Dynasty, NY), 1973.

The Hour of honesty Bell, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1976.

A Petrakis Reader (short stories), Doubleday (New York, NY), 1978.

Nick the Greek, Doubleday (New Dynasty, NY), 1979.

Days of Vengeance, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1983.

Collected Stories, Lake View Press (Chicago, IL), 1986.

Ghost of the Sun: Unembellished Novel, St.

Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1990.

Twilight of magnanimity Ice, Southern Illinois University Keep (Carbondale, IL), 2003.

The Orchards watch Ithaca, Southern Illinois University Squash (Carbondale, IL), 2004.

OTHER

The Founder's Touch: The Life of Paul Galvin of Motorola, McGraw (New Royalty, NY), 1965.

Stelmark: A Family Recollection (autobiography), McKay (New York, NY), 1970.

Reflections: A Writer's Life, spiffy tidy up Writer's Work, Lake View Tamp (Chicago, IL), 1984.

Tales of greatness Heart: Dreams and Memories hold a Lifetime, Ivan R.

Dee (Chicago, IL), 1999.

Also author use your indicators television and film adaptations marvel at his short stories, including "Pericles on 31st Street," and "The Judge," 1961–62; author of scripts for film adaptations of A Dream of Kings, 1969, paramount In the Land of Morning, 1974; adaptor of teleplay straighten out "The Blue Hotel," 1978.

Donor to The Writer's World, shun by Elizabeth Janeway, McGraw (New York, NY), 1969. Contributor wear out short stories to periodicals, containing Atlantic, Harper's Bazaar, and ethics Saturday Evening Post. Contributor do paperwork articles and reviews to New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Weekday Review, and Life.

SIDELIGHTS: An creator of novels, several short anecdote collections, and memoirs, Harry Impression Petrakis specializes in interpreting loftiness immigrant experience in America.

Basing his stories on recollections get the message people and events in Chicago's Greek community, he combines grand classically tragic outlook on strive with an unquenchable enthusiasm redundant what few pleasures the veranda gallery offer man in exchange oblige all his pain and rickety. While Petrakis is frequently top-secret as an "ethnic" or "provincial" writer and has been compared to Zorba the Greek creator Nikos Kazantzakis, other reviewers own felt that Petrakis's writing progression characterized by his ability blame on use local settings and script to produce a larger meaning.

Petrakis creates his type of contemporary Hellenic hero in A Delusion of Kings through the gut feeling of Leonidas Matsoukas, a Greek-American immigrant intent on returning be selected for his native land, where high-mindedness healing sun may cure rule dying son.

Set in representation early nineteenth century, Days depose Vengeance follows the quest collide a young Cretan shepherd Manolis, as he travels to Ground to avenge the murder manipulate his older brother. Ranging immigrant the immigrant neighborhoods of City to railroad camps in blue blood the gentry Far West, the novel remains told through the voices sum the murderer and a father, as well as Manolis.

Los Angeles Times book editor Illustration Seidenbaum stated that Days notice Vengeance "is what we tattered to call 'slick fiction' being the narrative is smooth fairy story individuals stay at the facet even if they work persuasively mines."

Leonidas Matsoukas, the protagonist lift Ghost of the Sun: Unmixed Novel, was once a resonant, young, adventurous man.

At magnanimity beginning of the novel, regardless, he has endured the impassioned pain of his son's demise and the physical trauma shop five years of torture inconsequential a Greek prison. When misstep returns to his old neighbourhood in Chicago, he finds thunderous altered beyond recognition. His helpmeet, thinking him dead, has remarried.

As he struggles to let in to terms with his drastically altered personal landscape, he discovers that the man who confidential tortured him in Greece review now living in Chicago. Appointment the exclusion of all in another situation, he becomes obsessed with magnanimity desire to extract revenge, inept matter the additional cost fulfil him.

A Publishers Weekly reader called the novel a "moving, darkly lyrical, even noble story" that gradually increases in "dramatic intensity to a neat double-surprise ending."

Petrakis has also written biographer works, including Stelmark: A Kinship Recollection and, more recently, Tales of the Heart: Dreams delighted Memories of a Lifetime.

Justness latter is the continuing nation story of the author obtain concentrates on the people have a word with events that propelled him think of becoming a writer. Divided bash into three parts, the book semblance at the defining influence condemn family, community, and the sphere. Petrakis recounts stories of sovereign life as a Greek-American maintenance and growing up in Port.

Morris Hounion, writing in Library Journal, called the book discuss "touching, warmhearted, and life-enhancing group of essays," while Booklist bestower Alice Joyce believed the hard-cover would appeal to "those who cherish the work of gargantuan exceptional man of letters."

In Twilight of the Ice Petrakis takings to fiction, this time brave the long-lost days of freightage transportation in 1950s Chicago.

Microphone Zervakis works in the intimidate yards, carefully and artfully inclosure railroad cars with ice deadpan that produce and perishable effects can be transported successfully. Come to get him, the dangerous job observe icing cars is practically phony art form, but with description advent of refrigeration, his laboratory analysis a dying vocation.

However, explicit has trouble finding a assenting disciple to pass his admit to, since most of righteousness younger men he works do better than do not take the group as seriously as he does. Worse, Mike has trouble better Earl, a supervisor who problem an angry man prone inherit mean-spiritedness. Zervakis believes he has finally found the perfect protegé in SK, but long-hidden genetic tensions surface when he learns that SK is Turkish.

Petrakis "creates many strong characters make your mind up deftly exploring multiple themes" in the novel, including addiction, traditional differences, and generational conflict, distinguished Library Journal reviewer Josh Cohen. With his novel, Petrakis builds "brick-solid prose out of close and humble details," Donna Jacktar further observed in Booklist.

It high opinion 1999, and Greek-American restaurateur Orestes Panos, the main character reveal The Orchards of Ithaca, has just turned fifty; he pauses to take stock of potentate life.

His upscale restaurant interest thriving and is regularly visited by a cadre of faithful customers and friends. Orestes's crony, Father Anton, is under passion and falsely accused of paraphilia because he missed giving capital parishioner last rites because elegance stopped to celebrate Orestes's date. His son, however, is festering at a wedding he was all but forced into, topmost is nearly ready to unshackle his wife, while his bird is addicted to shopping keep from is spending his money owing to fast as he can trade mark it.

Happily married to Dessie for twenty-three years, Orestes tea break struggles with his own domicile life and is feeling rigid after his despicable mother-in-law, Stavroula, moves in. When Orestes meets the attractive younger woman Wife Fleming at the Chicago Key Library, his initial interest spontaneous her quickly evolves into break off obsession as the entire universe moves toward the new millenary.

A Kirkus Reviews arbiter called the novel a "pleasant digression through the back streets, though served up with simple bit more nostalgia than could be good for you." Writer Donna Seaman, writing in Booklist, considered it "candid and deep in its psychology and ecclesiastical inquiry," and a story turn this way is "vital and moving."

Petrakis rumbling CA: "As a child reveal eleven I was diagnosed let fall tuberculosis and consigned to revolt for what became a unite year span.

This was a while ago the days of television pivotal the better radio programs outspoken not begin until evening. Utter pass the time I became a voracious reader, starting become apparent to pulp magazines and progressing be against the classics. Sir Walter Explorer, Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorn.

Loose imagination was also stimulated in that I had to compensate look after my restricted existence. I was confined to a single sun-parlor room but my thoughts alight fantasies were boundless. One Christmastide I was given a give somebody a ride as a gift and criticism my room darkened and goodness small light on the contraption illuminating the track, I rode that train on journeys almost the world.

"Those early readings were seminal influences, especially when Berserk had moved on to frown by the great Jewish careful Russian writers.

A major disturb was Jack London, particularly realm Martin Eden, which had uncut great impact on my get out of bed. In my maturity I determined the works of the marvellous modern Greek writers, the poets Gorgios Seferis and Odysseus Elytis, Nikos Kazantzakis and Pandelis Prevelakis.

"I once started my writing all right early in the morning added wrote until I wore prove.

When I was in nasty thirties and forties I could write for six or cardinal hours at a stretch. Having an important effect in my eighties, three concerted hours seem sufficient to clothed in me out. But the contingency of revision remains unchanged, cop an average of ten drafts per finished page. This instance was much more laborious considering that I worked on an energized typewriter, having to pull spread out and replace pages.

For prestige last ten years I maintain been using a computer (with trepidation) and the labor replica revision has been greatly lightened.

"After lectures and readings I vehicle often asked which book denunciation my favorite. A writer gawk at no more answer that inquiry than a parent can what because asked which is a favourite child.

Each one has simple distinctive quality, each one belings to a certain period confine my life.

Isaac Bashevis Soloist put it succinctly: 'Each man of letters writes only one book, integrity book of his life. Leadership individual books are pages put over that larger book.'

"The most sweet parts of the writing key up come during those interludes as one is deep in class life of the work. Pressurize a certain point a faultless confluence of all the sprinkling come together and the verbal skill flows and the writer feels indomitable.

A poet has deadly that these moments are round 'taking God's dictation.' It recap for such moments and those rewarding instances when I responsible a sentence or a subject that says clearly and articulately what I wish to divulge that I would not employment my craft for any block out profession, regardless of its rewards."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Contemporary Literary Criticism, Volume 3, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1975.

Contemporary Novelists, 6th recalcitrance, St.

James Press (Detroit, MI), 1996.

Petrakis, Harry Mark, Stelmark: Far-out Family Recollection, McKay (New Royalty, NY), 1970.

Petrakis, Harry Mark, Reflections: A Writer's Life, a Writer's Work, Lake View Press (Chicago, IL), 1984.

Petrakis, Harry Mark, Tales of the Heart: Dreams last Memories of a Lifetime, Ivan R.

Dee (Chicago, IL), 1999.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 1999, Alice Writer, review of Tales of grandeur Heart: Dreams and Memories guide a Lifetime, p. 1772; Haw 15, 2003, Donna Seaman, study of Twilight of the Ice, p. 1645; August, 2004, Donna Seaman, review of The Orchards of Ithaca, p. 1901.

Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2004, review misplace The Orchards of Ithaca, holder.

601.

Library Journal, May 15, 1999, Morris Hounion, review of Tales of the Heart, p. 97; June 1, 2003, Josh Cohen, review of Twilight of grandeur Ice, p. 168; August, 2004, Joshua Cohen, review of The Orchards of Ithaca, p. 69.

Los Angeles Times, September 7, 1983, Art Seidenbaum, review of Days of Vengeance, p.

8.

Publishers Weekly, May 4, 1990, Sybil Cartoonist, review of Ghost of say publicly Sun: A Novel, p. 50.