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Epigraph:
Yes, I survived the impossible. But no, I did not do it alone. With God’s grace and the unstoppable love of my wife, I have created a rewarding life from one that had burned to ashes. Thank you, Mary Balfour, for your beautiful heart. This book is for you.
An Episcopal priest, the Rev. Greg Farrand says, “Dunlap’s poetry leads us through the unvarnished reality of human powerlessness and pain to honest spirituality, an optimistic realism born of suffering and faith. His grit inspires the weary heart to rediscover light and hope. His words are the perfect companion for anyone committed to walking the journey with eyes wide open.”
Dr. Fred Ashe says, “These poems–both the story they tell and the simple miraculous fact of their existence–should inspire every reader to do as Murray has done: to defy depression; to seek out a soulmate; to re-discover God. “
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Fires is a collection of short stories interspersed with non-fiction about Dunlap’s difficult recovery. Fires was published by The Ardent Writer Press.
“In Fires, Murray Dunlap slaloms between nonfiction accounts of the accident that changed his life and works of pure invention, short stories and flash fiction pieces, many of which were written before the accident. Not only does this blending of fact and fiction make for good reading, plain and simple, but it also presents us with a privileged glimpse of a man in flux, before and after, how he has changed, how he has remained the same, how he’s still finding his way. Ultimately this book will make readers bottomlessly glad that he survived his metaphorical fire– wounded, yes, but wiser and still writing.”
Michael Knight, author of Eveningland
“When you read Dunlap’s stories, you can feel the landscape springing up around you —the cypress roots and pine needles, the weight of the air and the pull of the water. The landscape is deeply tied to the idea of home, and there’s a weight to that, too, whether characters are being driven away from it or dragged back to it. Or both. Dunlap himself is more than one of these dragged and driven characters. He is the Murray Dunlap before his life-changing car wreck, and he is the Murray Dunlap after it. Writing about his continued recovery, he sifts and sorts through possible choices, possible selves, always seeking. These stories make the reader glad that he keeps on searching.”
Gin Phillips, author of The Well and the Mine
“We can choose to look at Murray as the poor writer who suffered a traumatic brain injury. We can choose to look at him as someone who lost the kind of life it could kill a person to lose. Or we can choose to look at him as a writer who went through some shit and now has another story to tell.”
Kristen Tsetsi, author of Pretty Much True
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Murray Dunlap’s work has appeared in countless magazines and journals. His stories have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize three times, as well as to Best New American Voices. The story ‘Race Day’ was a finalist for the American Fiction Short Story award, 2014. Dunlap has an MA in creative writing from U.C. Davis. The extraordinary individuals Pam Houston, Michael Knight, and Fred Ashe taught him the art of writing.
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Dunlap’s first book, Bastard Blue:
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“Murray Dunlap is a brave writer, and an honest one; the lives he portrays here are as heart-stoppingly authentic as his prose is dazzlingly beautiful.”
Pam Houston, author of Cowboys Are My Weakness
“Yes, Bastard Blue is a first book but there’s more than promise on display within its pages. This collection introduces us to a fully realized talent. “
Michael Knight, author of The Typist
“Reading his stories is about as close to having a storyteller there—present, in the room–as I know.”
George Singleton, author of The Half-Mammals of Dixie
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.‘Faces of Oddity’
Visual Art by Dunlap…
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Murray Dunlap on Amazon.
Dunlap’s photography: National Geographic, ‘Your Shot’
Contact: murraydunlap (at) gmail (dot) com
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