Henry Alley

Henry Alley is an American author and educator known for gay themes in his work.

Life and career

Henry Alley (born 1945) grew up in Seattle, Washington, and studied at Stanford University from 1963 to 1967, with a major in English literature and a minor in classics. He wrote his honors thesis on characterization in Milton. After graduating, he attended Cornell University from 1967 to 1971, receiving his MFA in fiction writing and his Ph.D. in prose fiction. After a year of working at Tompkins County Hospital, he went on to teach as a professor at the School of the Ozarks, the University of Idaho, and in the Robert D. Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon, where he is currently an Emeritus Professor of Literature. [ [http://honors.uoregon.edu/faculty/profiles/index.php?id=1| Faculty profile at Clark Honors College] ]

He has three novels: "Through Glass, The Lattice", and "Umbrella of Glass". He is also author of the scholarly study, "The Quest for Anonymity: The Novels of George Eliot", published by University of Delaware Press. His stories have appeared over the past thirty years in such journals as "Seattle Review", "Cimarron Review", "Clackamas Literary Review", "The Virginia Quarterly Review", and "Harrington Gay Men’s Quarterly Fiction". Since 1978, his literary articles have been published in "The Journal of Narrative Technique", "Studies in the Novel", "Twentieth Century Literature", "The Kenyon Review" and others.

After coming out in 1985, he slowly brought more and more gay themes into his work, which may be described as literary fiction and which emphasize character and landscape. He is especially interested in people who are just getting on their feet, as well as the way a particular point of view may impinge on the outside world and alter its perceived textures. His recent story, "Leonardo and I", which won the 2006 Gertrude Press Fiction Chapbook Competition, bears both of these interests out, showing a young man breaking free of Freudian psychoanalysis in 1962 and affirming his true gay heritage found in the Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. His forthcoming story, "Would You Mind Holding Down My Body," available on the "Stonetable Review" website, alternates between two loving runners, one straight, one gay, one devoted to the religious right, one to LGBT activism, who find their friendship in peril when the more conservative man learns of his athletic partner's sexuality.

Books

*"Through Glass" (Iris Press, 1979)
*"The Lattice" (Ariadne Press, 1986)
*"Umbrella of Glass" (Breitenbush Books, 1988)
*"The Quest for Anonymity: The Novels of George Eliot" (University of Delaware Press, 1997)
*"Leonardo and I" (Gertrude Press, 2006)

Stories and novel segments

*"The Festival." "University Review", 36, No. 1(1969), 75-80.
*"Through Glass" (novel segment). "Webster Review", 1, No. 3 (1975), 42-62.
*"Getting Rid of Aristotle." "The New Infinity Review", 2, No. 8 (1975-76), 159-162.
*"Tales." "Cimarron Review", 35 (1976), 57-63.
*"Stains of Light" (novel segment). "River Bottom Magazine", 4, No. 1 (1977), 18-40.
*"Within the Dial." "The Slackwater Review", 2, No. 1, (1977), 77-83.
*"The Museum." "The Lake Superior Review", 8, No. 1, (1977), 43-45.
*"The True and Only History of the Alexandria." "Sawtooth", No. 4 (1978), 4-16.
*"The Fish." "Snapdragon", 1, No. 2 (1978), 7-11.
*"Elizabeth Tyson, Poet, Playwright" (novel segment). "The Virginia Woolf Quarterly", 3, Nos. 3-4 (1978), 317-326.
*"The Baritone and the Tenor." "The Pikestaff Forum", 1, No. 2, (1979), 22-23.
*"Daughter of Elysium." "The Slackwater Review", 4, No. 1, (1981), 104-117.
*"The Eviction." "Outerbridge", Nos. 6-7 (1981), 72-78.
*"The Temple." "The Pale Fire Review", 2, No. 3 (1982), 34-43.
*"The Wild Bird Bell." "Outerbridge", Nos. 12-13 (1984), 84-94.
*"The Two Cultures." "The Widener Review", No. 2 (1985), 68-85.
*"The Witness." "The Round Table", 2, No. 2 (1985), 30-38.
*"The Commuter." "Kansas Quarterly", 17, No. 4 (1985), 131-146.
*"The Watermark." "Outerbridge", 16-17 (1986), 36-56.
*"The Lattice" (novel segment). "KSOR Guide to the Arts"(1987), 40-43.
*"The Periphery." "Parting Gifts", 4 (1991), 17-20.
*"Remix." "Outerbridge", 22 (1991), 28-43.
*"In the Middle of Things." "Parting Gifts", 6 (1993), 39-41.
*"The Birds of Honolulu." "Outerbridge", 24 (1993), 97-104.
*"Queen Isabella Pledges Her Jewels." "Oxford Magazine", 10 (1995), 94-103.
*"The Audubon Marathon." "Seattle Review", 18 (1995-6), 103- 111.
*"Earth Day." "Outerbridge", 27 (1998), 158-165.
*"Street Kid." "Nightfire 1", No. 1 (2001), 48-52.
*"The Wild Bird Bell", "Outerbridge: 1975-2000, A Retrospective Anthology", 28 (2001), 14-24.
*"Aunt Lil on Broadway", "Gertrude" Press (2001), 5-12.
*"Afternoons with Klaatu", "Clackamas Literary Review", 6, No. 1 (2002), 18-27.
*"The Facts of Life." "The Virginia Quarterly Review", 78, No. 3 (2002), 481-89.
*"The Sojourners." "Clackamas Literary Review", 7, No. 1 (2003), 128-141.
*"The Summer of the Beautiful Pink Hydrangea.” "Harrington Gay Men’s Fiction Quarterly", 5, No. 4 (2003), 37-52.
*"The Dahlia Field." "Torquere", Vol. 6 (2004), 168-176.
*“Would You Mind Holding Down My Body?” Stonetable Review,(2006),http://www.stonetablereview.com/1.1/alley_body.htm.
*“The Rembrandt Brotherhood,” Harrington Gay Men’s Literary Quarterly,8, No. 1 (2006), 35-51.
*“Lucy in the Sky.” In Herstory. Ed. Elizabeth Benson-Udom. Danville, CA: elizaPress Publications, 2007. 23-36.
*“Carter’s Aida.” In HIMS. Ed. Elizabeth Benson-Udom. Danville, CA: elizaPress Publications, 2007. 78-99.
*“In Recovery” Ars Medica, 4, No. 1 (2007), 87-93.
*Accepted for publication: “Item ‘i,’” Colere.

Awards and achievements

*Stories nominated for the Pushcart Prize, 2003, 2006, 2007
*Honorable Mention, Richard C. Hall Memorial Short Story Competition, Lambda Literary Festival, 2003
*Winner, Gertrude Press Fiction Chapbook Competition, 2006

References and notes

* [http://www.galenet.com/servlet/GLD/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&o=DataType&n=10&l=d&c=1&locID=euge94201&secondary=false&u=CA&t=KW&s=2&NA=Henry+Alley Contemporary Authors] - Henry Alley's CA listing
* [http://honors.uoregon.edu/faculty/profiles/index.php?id=1&eid=1 Clark Honors College] - Henry Alley's publication listing