Michael Downing (writer)

Michael Downing
Born(1958-05-08)May 8, 1958
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedFebruary 9, 2021(2021-02-09) (aged 62)
OccupationWriter and academic
NationalityAmerican
Alma materHarvard University
Notable works Breakfast with Scot
The Chapel
Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time
Spouse
Peter Bryant
​
(m. 2013)​

Michael Downing (May 8, 1958 – February 9, 2021) was an American writer and academic.[1] A longtime professor of creative writing at Tufts University, he was most noted for his 1999 novel Breakfast with Scot,[2] which was a Stonewall Book Award nominee in 2001 and was adapted by Canadian film director Laurie Lynd into the 2007 film Breakfast with Scot.[3]

Career

A native of Pittsfield, Massachusetts,[1] and a graduate of Harvard University,[4] Downing wrote for various magazines before publishing his debut novel A Narrow Time in 1987.[5] He followed up with Mother of God in 1990,[6] and Perfect Agreement in 1997.[7]

He joined Tufts University in 1998, after several years teaching at Wheelock College.[8]

His later books included the novels The Chapel (2015)[9] and Still in Love (2019),[10] the non-fiction books Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center (2001)[11] and Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time (2005),[12] and the personal memoir Life with Sudden Death: A Tale of Moral Hazard and Medical Misadventure (2009).[13] The memoir addressed his experiences learning that he suffered from the same genetic heart defect that had caused the sudden deaths of his father and older brother, and his decision to mitigate the risk by having surgery to receive an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.[14]

Personal life

Downing met his partner Peter Bryant in 1982.[1] The couple legally married in 2013.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Bryan Marquard, "Michael Downing, whose books illuminated his illness and the lives of others, dies at 62". Boston Globe, February 28, 2021.
  2. ^ Greg Bottoms, "'Breakfast With Scot' by Michael Downing: In a smart, funny and affecting novel, two gay men inherit an 11-year-old boy and blanch when he turns out to be a budding queen". Salon, November 16, 1999.
  3. ^ Rodriguez, Rene (December 4, 2008). "Breakfast With Scot: The Spoonful of Sugar Helps Messages Go Down". Miami Herald.
  4. ^ Lynne C. Daley, "Author Michael Downing's novel to be published soon". The Berkshire Eagle, November 2, 1987.
  5. ^ Sara Laschever, "A first novel about a compelling issue". Boston Globe, January 7, 1988.
  6. ^ Peter Filkins, "Pittsfield is setting for family's tale of sleaze and pain". The Berkshire Eagle, June 17, 1990.
  7. ^ Rebecca Dinerstein, "Revisiting the Shaker Community in Michael Downing’s 'Perfect Agreement'. The New York Times, March 15, 2019.
  8. ^ "Remembering Michael Downing". Tufts Now, February 22, 2021.
  9. ^ "The Chapel". Publishers Weekly, February 23, 2015.
  10. ^ "Still in Love". Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2018.
  11. ^ Gary Gach, "How the center found its Zen". San Francisco Examiner, November 25, 2001.
  12. ^ David Mehegan, "Man of the hour: Michael Downing wanted to find out what makes daylight saving time tick". The Boston Globe, April 2, 2005.
  13. ^ Elizabeth Benedict, "Memoirs are the New Novel: Here's to 'Life with Sudden Death'. The Huffington Post, March 18, 2010.
  14. ^ Carey Goldberg, "Genetic testing brings new hope, hard choices". Boston Globe, August 4, 2008.

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