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Thomas Ligotti |
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Thomas Ligotti (b. July 9 1953, Detroit, Michigan) is a writer of horror stories.
Something of a cult figure, Ligotti is rather little known, but has seen high praise as one of the most effective and unique horror writers of recent decades: The Washington Post called him "the best kept secret in contemporary horror fiction";[1] another critic declared "It's a skilled writer indeed who can suggest a horror so shocking that one is grateful it was kept offstage."[2] OverviewLigotti attended Macomb County Community College between 1971 and 1973 and graduated from Wayne State University in 1977.Ligotti began his publishing career in the early 1980s with a number of short stories published in various American small press magazines. His unique and affecting tales gathered a small following. Ligotti's relative anonymity and reclusiveness led to speculation about his identity: Was Ligotti a pseudonym used by a prominent literary writer? Were his stories in fact collaborations of multiple authors? In an introduction to a 1996 collection of Ligotti fiction, The Nightmare Factory, Poppy Z. Brite mentioned these notions, with a rhetorical question: "Are you out there, Thomas Ligotti?" In recent years, Ligotti has conducted interviews and disclosed some details of his background. For twenty-three years Ligotti worked as an Associate Editor at Gale Research (now the Gale Group), a publishing company that produces compilations of literary (and other) research. In the summer of 2001, Ligotti quit his job at the Gale Group and moved to south Florida. His favorite music is generally instrumental rock. Nevertheless there are still some who question Ligotti's actual existence and--in a fittingly Ligottian notion--claim these biographical details are part of an extended literary conspiracy. If so, however, it is a conspiracy that does not hesitate to hold e-conversations in Ligotti's name. Ligotti's worldview has been described as profoundly nihilistic (though he's wary of the label, stating "'Nihilist' is a name that other people call you. No intelligent person has ever described or thought of himself as a nihilist"[3], and has stated he has suffered from anxiety for much of his life; these have been prominent themes in his work. Ligotti generally avoids the explicit violence common in some recent horror fiction, preferring to establish an intensely disquieting, pessimistic atmosphere through the use of subtlety and repetition. He has cited Vladimir Nabokov, Thomas Bernhard, Edgar Allan Poe, Bruno Schulz, Emil Cioran and William S. Burroughs among his favorite writers. There are similarities between some of Ligotti's work and the subtly disturbing stories of Robert Aickman, as well. H.P. Lovecraft is also an important touchstone for Ligotti: a few stories, "The Sect of the Idiot" in particular, make explicit reference to Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, and one, "The Last Feast of Harlequin," was dedicated to Lovecraft. Ligotti has explored metafictional notions in several stories: "Notes on the Writing of Horror" and "Professor Nobody's Little Lectures on Supernatural Horror" both begin as advice for prospective writers of horror fiction, but gradually become uniquely Ligottian exercises in quietly disturbing fiction. Ligotti has stated he prefers short stories to longer forms, both as a reader and writer, though he has recently written a novella, My Work Is Not Yet Done. Ligotti has collaborated with the musical group Current 93 on the albums In A Foreign Town, In A Foreign Land (1997, reissued 2002), I Have A Special Plan For This World (2000) and This Degenerate Little Town (2001) all released on David Tibet's Durtro label. Tibet has also published several limited editions of Ligotti's books on Durtro Press. Ligotti also played guitar on Current 93's contribution to the compilation Foxtrot, an album whose proceeds went to the treatment of musician John Balance's alcoholism. Critical analyses of Ligotti's work can be found in S. T. Joshi's book The Modern Weird Tale (2001), as well as in a critical anthology assembled by Darrell Schweitzer, a fan of Ligotti. Fox Atomic Comics will release in September 2007 The Nightmare Factory, a graphic novel based on Ligotti's stories. Wonder Entertainment is currently finalizing plans to release "The Frolic," adapted from Thomas Ligotti's short story, on DVD. There will be two packages: the "standard" package, and a collector's edition. Though the contents of the collector's edition have not yet been finalized, they are reported to include the following: commentary tracks by director Jacob Cooney, producer Jane Kelly Kosek, actor Maury Sterling, co-adaptor Brandon Trenz, and cinematographer Robert Morris; a new interview with screenwriters Thomas Ligotti and Brandon Trenz; the original short story, with a new introduction by Thomas Ligotti; and the screenplay, with a new introduction by Brandon Trenz. In addition, Wonder Entertainment is in discussions with organizers of the World Horror Convention to debut "The Frolic" at their 2007 convention in Toronto, in March. ReviewsCritical opinion of Ligotti has generally been favorable. The New York Times Book Review wrote "If there were a literary genre called 'philosophical horror,' Thomas Ligotti's Grimscribe would easily fit within it" and praised his "provocative images and a style that is both entertaining and lyrical".He has often been favorably compared to Edgar Allan Poe, Jorge Luis Borges, Franz Kafka and H.P. Lovecraft. AwardsLigotti has received many awards and nominations for his work:
Books
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July 9 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining. Events
..... Click the link for more information. 19th century - 20th century - 21st century 1920s 1930s 1940s - 1950s - 1960s 1970s 1980s 1950 1951 1952 - 1953 - 1954 1955 1956 Year 1953 (MCMLIII ..... Click the link for more information. City of Detroit Flag Seal Nickname: Motor City, Motown, Rock City, The D Motto: "Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus" ..... Click the link for more information. writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ..... Click the link for more information. Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the audience. Historically, the cause of the "horror" experience has often been the intrusion of an evil—or, occasionally, misunderstood—supernatural element into everyday human ..... Click the link for more information. worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific area of pop culture. Cult followings most often develop around television shows, films, and books. ..... Click the link for more information. The September 22, 2005 front page of The Washington Post Type Daily newspaper Format Broadsheet Owner Washington Post Company Editor Leonard Downie, Jr. Founded 1877 Headquarters 1150 15th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. ..... Click the link for more information. Wayne State University (Detroit, MI 48202) is located in Detroit, Michigan, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center. Wayne State is a research intensive university with 11 schools and colleges offering more than 350 major subject areas to 33,000 graduate and undergraduate students. ..... Click the link for more information. Short Stories may refer to one of the following.
..... Click the link for more information. Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts. ..... Click the link for more information. A pseudonym (Greek: ψευδόνυμον, pseudo + -onym: false name) is an artificial, fictitious name, also known as an alias ..... Click the link for more information. Poppy Z. Brite (born Melissa Ann Brite on May 25, 1967) is an American author born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Literary historyEarly in Brite's career, she was best known for writing gothic and horror novels and short stories...... Click the link for more information. Thomson Gale was a part of the Thomson Learning division of the Thomson Corporation, and is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, in the western suburbs of Detroit. It is now part of Cengage Learning and is called Gale Cengage Learning. ..... Click the link for more information. Instrumental rock & roll is a type of rock and roll music which emphasises musical instruments, and which features no or very little singing. Examples of instrumental rock & roll can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the ..... Click the link for more information. Genre Talk radio Running time ca. 55 min. Country United States Language(s) English Home station WBEZ Syndicates WBEW WBEQ XM Public Radio Host(s) Jerome McDonnell Creator(s) ..... Click the link for more information. Nihilism (from the Latin nihil, nothing) is a philosophical position, sometimes called an anti-philosophy, which argues that the world, especially past and current human existence, is without objective meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or essential value. ..... Click the link for more information. misleading. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Anxiety disordersClassification & external resources ICD-10 F40-F42 ICD-9 300 Anxiety disorder ..... Click the link for more information. Splatterpunk describes a subgenre of horror fiction distinguished by its graphic depiction of violence. Clive Barker is often cited as the best known writer of the style (particularly his six volumes of short story collections, Clive Barker's Books of Blood). ..... Click the link for more information. Pessimism, from the Latin pessimus (worst), denotes a belief that the experienced world is the worst possible. It describes a general belief that things are bad, and tend to become worse; or that looks to the eventual triumph of evil over good; it is the antonym of ..... Click the link for more information. Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov Born: April 22 [O.S. April 10] 1899 Saint Petersburg, Russia Died: July 2 1977 (aged 78) Montreux, Switzerland Occupation: novelist, lepidopterist, professor Literary movement: Modernism, Postmodernism ..... Click the link for more information. Thomas Bernhard (born Nicolaas Thomas Bernhard, February 9, 1931 - February 12, 1989) was an Austrian playwright and novelist. LifeThomas Bernhard was born in 1931 in Heerlen, Netherlands as an illegitimate child to Herta Fabjan (1904-1950) and the carpenter Alois..... Click the link for more information. Edgar Allan Poe This daguerreotype of Poe was taken in 1848 when he was 39, a year before his death. Born: January 19 1809 Boston, Massachusetts U.S. ..... Click the link for more information. Bruno Schulz Self portrait of Schulz Born: July 12 1892 Drohobycz Died: November 19 1942 (aged 50) Drohobycz Occupation: art teacher, graphic artist, writer Nationality: Polish ..... Click the link for more information. Emil Cioran (April 8 1911 – June 20 1995) was a Romanian philosopher and essayist. Early lifeEmil Cioran was born in Răşinari, Sibiu County, which was part of Austria-Hungary at the time...... Click the link for more information. William S. Burroughs Pseudonym: William Lee Born: 5 February 1914 St. Louis, Missouri Died: 2 August 1997 (aged 83) Lawrence, Kansas Occupation: novelist, essayist Genres: Beat, science fiction, satire Literary movement: Beat Postmodern ..... Click the link for more information. Robert Fordyce Aickman (June 27 1914–February 26 1981) was an English conservationist and writer of fiction and nonfiction. As a writer, he is best known for his short supernatural fiction, which he described as "strange stories". ..... Click the link for more information. Howard Phillips Lovecraft Born: July 20 1890 Providence, Rhode Island, USA Died: March 15 1937 (aged 48) Providence, Rhode Island, USA Occupation: short story writer novelist ..... Click the link for more information. The Cthulhu Mythos encompasses the shared elements, characters, settings, and themes found in the works of H.P. Lovecraft and associated horror fiction writers. Together, they form the that authors writing in the Lovecraftian milieu have used — and continue to use ..... Click the link for more information. For the album by Vic Mignogna, see . Metafiction is a type of fiction which self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction. It is the literary term describing fictional writing that self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its ..... Click the link for more information. Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the audience. Historically, the cause of the "horror" experience has often been the intrusion of an evil—or, occasionally, misunderstood—supernatural element into everyday human ..... Click the link for more information. This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia® - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the Wikipedia® encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License. |
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Due out fall 2007 is "The Nightmare Factory," adapted from the anthology series by Thomas Ligotti, which will be a recurring anthology series of one to three separate horror tales per novel. Due out fall 2007 is "The Nightmare Factory," adapted from the anthology series by Thomas Ligotti, which will be a recurring anthology series of one to three separate horror tales per novel. |
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Thomas Ligotti