William Tanner Vollmann (born July 28, 1959 in Los Angeles, California) is an American novelist, journalist, short story writer and essayist. He lives in Sacramento, California with his wife and daughter. Vollmann studied at Deep Springs College and earned a BA, summa cum laude, in comparative literature at Cornell University. July 28 is the 209th day (210th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 156 days remaining. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... An essay is a short work of writing that treats a topic from an authors personal point of view. ... Nickname: River City Location of Sacramento in California County Sacramento Government  - Mayor Heather Fargo Area  - City  99. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Deep Springs is a private, all-male, alternative college located in Deep Springs, California, in the United States. ... Comparative literature (sometimes abbreviated Comp. ... Cornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA. Its two medical campuses are in New York City and in Education City, Qatar. ...

After graduation, Vollmann worked odd jobs (including as a secretary at an insurance company) and saved up enough money to go to Afghanistan in 1982. His experiences travelling with the mujahideen formed the basis of his first non-fiction book An Afghanistan Picture Show, or, How I Saved the World which was published in 1987. Upon his return to the USA he briefly attended the University of California, Berkeley as a graduate student but dropped out after one year. He then worked as a computer programmer, despite having virtually no experience with computers. According to a New York Times Magazine profile by novelist Madison Smartt Bell, he spent the better part of a year there writing his first novel You Bright and Risen Angels after hours on office computers, subsisting on candy bars from vending machines and hiding from the janitorial staff. Mujahideen ( Arabic: ‎, , Turkish: , literally strugglers) is a term for Muslims fighting in a war or involved in any other struggle. ... Sather tower (the Campanile) looking out over the San Francisco Bay and Mount Tamalpais. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... Madison Smartt Bell (born August 1, 1957) is a U.S. novelist. ...

He has written for Harper's, Spin Magazine, Esquire, The New Yorker, Gear, Granta and sometimes contributes to the New York Times Book Review among other publications. Vollmann has called himself a "former hack journalist" and his travel writing and reportage often inform his fiction, giving it a hybridized and journalistic feel. An issue of Harpers Magazine from 1905 Another issue, from November 2004 Harpers Magazine (or simply Harpers) is a monthly general-interest magazine covering literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts from a progressive, moderate left perspective in a fashion often not found in the ordinary news... Spin is a music magazine that reports on all the music that rocks. Founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. ... George Lois cover design for Esquire (May 1969) Esquire is a magazine for men owned by the Hearst Corporation. ... The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ... Fear was an English language mens magazine published by Bob Guccione, Jr. ... Granta 37, published September 1991 Granta is a literary magazine which publishes new writing — fiction, personal history, reportage and investigative journalism — four times a year. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

In early 2004 (after many delays) McSweeney's published Rising Up and Rising Down, a 3,300 page, heavily illustrated, seven-volume treatise on violence which was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. A single-volume condensed version was published at the end of the year by Ecco Press, an abridgement he justified by saying "I did it for the money." [1] It represents over 20 years of work and attempts to establish a moral calculus to consider the causes, effects, and ethics of violence. Much of it consists of Vollmann's own reporting from places wracked by violence, among them Cambodia, Somalia, and Iraq. McSweeneys is a publishing house founded by editor Dave Eggers, author of You Shall Know Our Velocity, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius , How We Are Hungry and What Is the What. ... The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) is an American association of approximately seven hundred book reviewers. ... A publishing imprint of Harper Collins Books. ...

Vollmann's other works often deal with the settlement of North America (as in Seven Dreams: A Book of North American Landscapes, a cycle of seven novels), or stories of people (often prostitutes) on the margins of war, poverty and hope. His 2005 novel Europe Central follows the trajectories of a wide range of characters (including Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich) caught up in the fighting between Germany and the Soviet Union, and won the 2005 National Book Award for fiction. Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ... Europe Central is a 2005 National Book Award winning novel by William T Vollmann. ... Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich   (Russian: , Dmitrij Dmitrievič Å ostakovič) (September 25 [O.S. September 12] 1906–August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Book Award is one of the most important literary prizes in the United States, presented annually for the best books by living U.S. citizens published in the U.S. The awards have been presented since 1950 in at least one category, and are presently awarded in each...

Vollmann's papers were acquired by the Rare Books & Manuscripts Library of Ohio State University [2].

Critical opinions

Vollmann is often cited as a major force in contemporary fiction. Many critics praise the boldness and originality of his works, as well as the erudition and beauty of his prose. Some reviewers have commended him for his ambition, while others find aspects of his work pretentious, egotistical or unfocused. In addition, some view Vollmann's obsession with prostitutes as extending into fetishism. The basic idea of sexual fetishism is sexual arousal and satisfaction through an inanimate object, the fetish. ...

Partial bibliography

• You Bright And Risen Angels (1987)
• The Rainbow Stories (1989)
• The Ice-Shirt (1990) (Volume One of Seven Dreams: A Book of North American Landscapes)
• Whores For Gloria (1991)
• 13 Stories And 13 Epitaphs (1991)
• An Afghanistan Picture Show (1992)
• Fathers And Crows (1992) (Volume Two of Seven Dreams: A Book of North American Landscapes)
• Butterfly Stories (1993)
• The Rifles (1994) (Volume Six of Seven Dreams: A Book of North American Landscapes)
• The Atlas (1996)
• The Royal Family (2000)
• Argall: The True Story of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith (2001) (Volume Four of Seven Dreams: A Book of North American Landscapes)
• Rising Up and Rising Down : Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom and Urgent Means (2004)
• Expelled from Eden: A William T. Vollmann Reader (Larry McCaffery and Michael Hemmingson, eds.) (2004)
• Europe Central (2005)
• Uncentering the Earth: Copernicus And the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (2006) (Part of the nonfiction series "Great Discoveries")
• Poor People (2007)

1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Ice-Shirt is an historical novel by American writer William T. Vollmann which was first published in 1990. ... MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... The Rifles is a novel by American writer William T. Vollmann which was first published in 1994. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... The Atlas is a 1996 semi-autobiographical work by American novelist William T. Vollmann, which was first published in 1996. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The Royal Family is a novel by William T. Vollmann, first published by Viking Penguin in 2000. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Europe Central is a 2005 National Book Award winning novel by William T Vollmann. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ...

External links

• KCRW Bookworm Interview
• The Vollmann Club
• Alma Books author
• Profile of Vollmann in the New York Review of Books, December 2005
• McSweeney's Author Page
• TimeOut New York interview
• Drinks with Tony inteview hosted by Tony DuShane
• The Bat Segundo Show #26 (podcast interview)
• Review of Poor People [3] by Alexander Provan, published in the May 2007 issue of Stop Smiling magazine.
• The Bat Segundo Show #109 (2007 podcast interview)