Justin Carmickle

Justin Carmickle (born January 12, 1988 in Bedford, Indiana) is an American short story writer and poet.

Biography

Carmickle grew up poor in Loogootee, Indiana, where he spent his childhood and teenage years living in a trailer park. His early life was troubled by tragedy and near poverty. Growing up poor on the wrong side of town has been a major theme in his writing. His fiction is greatly influenced by Andre Dubus and Flannery O'Connor; he has noted some favorite poets include Charles Bukowski and Elizabeth BishopHe is currently a student at Indiana University-Bloomington. In 2010 he was nominated by English faculty at IUB for the Ruth Halls fiction prize, and received an honorable mention for his story "The Beekeeper".

Background

Carmickle began writing television scripts in high school. In college, he realized how difficult the television industry can be to break into, and so he turned his attention to writing fiction. He began developing his craft in workshops at IU

Themes

Recurring themes in his fiction and poetry include working class Loogootee, family, Catholicism, class struggles, and academia. These themes can be linked to his influence from Andre Dubus and Flannery O'Connor.

Collections

Too Much Skin: Stories and Poems (Crack Crack, forthcoming 2010)

Individual Stories and Poems

Tin Foil Boy (poem) in Leaf Garden (2009)

"Mountain Child", "Hell's Circles", and "Thumbing a Ride" (poems) in Unlikely 2.0 (2010)

Fly-fishing (story) in Leaf Garden (2010)

"Damien Hirst's Aids" (poem) in Canvas (2010), and Unlikely 2.0 (2010)

"Adultery in the Afternoon" (poem) in Breadcrumb Scabs (2010)

"What Becomes of Us" (poem) in The Battered Suitcase (2010)

"Ode to Richard Brautigan" (poem) in Bastards & Whores (2010)

"The Beekeeper" (story) in Louisiana Literature (2010)