Amanda Davis (writer): Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|American writer (1971–2003)}}

'''Amanda Davis''' was a [[writer]]. She released one collection, ''Circling Down the Drain'', and one [[novel]], ''Wonder When You'll Miss Me''. She died at the age of 32 in a plane crash on [[March 15]], [[2003]]. She was memorialized on several [[website]]s.

{{about|the writer|other uses|Amanda Davis (disambiguation)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2015}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Amanda Davis

| image = AmandaDavis.jpg

| birth_date = {{birth date|1971|2|28}}

| birth_place = [[Durham, North Carolina]], U.S.

| education = [[Wesleyan University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Brooklyn College]] ([[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]])

| notableworks = ''Circling the Drain'' (1999)<br/>''Wonder When You'll Miss Me'' (2003)

| genre =

| death_date = {{death date and age|2003|03|14|1971|2|28}}

| death_place = [[McDowell County, North Carolina]], U.S.

| yearsactive = 1999–2003

}}

'''Amanda Davis''' (February 28, 1971{{spaced ndash}}March 14, 2003) was an American writer and teacher who died in a plane accident.

== Early life ==

Amanda Davis was born on February 28, 1971, in [[Durham, North Carolina]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lara|first1=Adair|title=Writing community mourns the loss of young author / Amanda Davis, 32, had only just begun|url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/APPRECIATION-Writing-community-mourns-the-loss-2661901.php|accessdate=February 13, 2017|work=SFGate|date=March 19, 2003}}</ref> Davis graduated from [[Charles E. Jordan High School]]<ref name=Early/> and received a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in theatre at [[Wesleyan University]] as well as a [[Master of Fine Arts|M.F.A.]] in fiction at [[Brooklyn College]].<ref name=Death/>

== Career ==

In 1999, Davis published a series of short stories called ''Circling the Drain''. The collection was reviewed in various newspapers including ''[[The New York Times]]''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Williams|first1=Mary Elizabeth|title=Books in Brief: Fiction|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/20/books/books-in-brief-fiction-116912.html|accessdate=February 13, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=June 20, 1999}}</ref> and ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rozzo|first1=Mark|title=First Fiction|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-01-bk-61452-story.html|access-date=February 20, 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=August 1, 1999}}</ref> as well as the website ''[[Salon (website)|Salon]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Morrice|first1=Polly|title=Circling the Drain|url=http://www.salon.com/1999/06/07/davis_2/|accessdate=February 13, 2017|work=Salon|date=June 7, 1999}}</ref> In the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', critic Mark Rozzo wrote, "At their best, Davis' stories are potent miniatures about the weird demands that uncertainty and inevitability place upon people, mostly young women linked to men or situations seemingly beyond their control."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-01-bk-61452-story.html|title = First Fiction| website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date = August 1999}}</ref>

Davis' short story, "Louisiana Loses Its Cricket Hum", was featured in the 2001 edition of ''Best New American Voices''.<ref name=Early/> Four days prior to her death, Davis interviewed with Dawn Dreyer of [[Indy Week]] regarding her life and career.<ref name=Early>{{cite news|last1=Dreyer|first1=Dawn|title=Missing Amanda Davis|url=http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/missing-amanda-davis/Content?oid=1188952|accessdate=February 13, 2017|work=Indy Week|date=March 19, 2003|language=en|archive-date=November 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108133541/http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/missing-amanda-davis/Content?oid=1188952|url-status=dead}}</ref> Furthermore, according to [[Michael Chabon]], Davis planned to write a second novel, either a historical novel about "early [[Jews|Jewish]] immigrants to the South" or a "creepy modern gothic".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Chabon|first1=Michael|title=The Lives They Lived; Books Left Unwritten|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/28/magazine/the-lives-they-lived-books-left-unwritten.html|accessdate=February 13, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=December 28, 2003}}</ref>

Outside of writing, Davis taught undergraduate and graduate fiction at [[Mills College]].<ref name=Early/><ref name=Death/><ref name=History>{{cite news|title=Amanda Davis, 32, Professor, Popular Writer|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-03-25/news/0303240557_1_wesleyan-writers-conference-buoyant-girl-affirmative-voice|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213165008/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-03-25/news/0303240557_1_wesleyan-writers-conference-buoyant-girl-affirmative-voice|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 13, 2017|accessdate=February 13, 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 25, 2003|language=en}}</ref>

== Personal life ==

Davis was [[Jews|Jewish]]. She had one brother, Adam, and one sister, Joanna.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rakoff|first1=Joanna Smith|title=She Made New York Hers|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/30/nyregion/citypeople-she-made-new-york-hers.html|accessdate=February 13, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=March 30, 2003}}</ref>

== Death ==

On March 14, 2003, while touring for her first novel, ''Wonder When You′ll Miss Me'', Davis was in a [[Cessna 177 Cardinal]] being piloted by her father, James Davis. 18 miles from the [[Asheville Regional Airport]], the plane crashed on Old Fort Mountain in [[McDowell County, North Carolina]], killing Davis and her parents.<ref name=Death>{{cite news|title=Amanda Davis, 32, Novelist, Short-Story Writer and Teacher|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/18/arts/amanda-davis-32-novelist-short-story-writer-and-teacher.html|accessdate=February 13, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=March 18, 2003}}</ref><ref name=Tribute>{{cite news|last1=Luther|first1=Claudia|title=Amanda Davis, 32; 1st-Time Novelist|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-mar-24-me-davis24-story.html|access-date=February 13, 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 24, 2003}}</ref> After her death, several writers paid respects for her, including [[Heidi Julavits]] for [[Poets & Writers#Magazine|Poets & Writers Magazine]]<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Julavits|first1=Heidi|title=Remembering Amanda Davis|url=http://www.pw.org/content/remembering_amanda_davis|accessdate=February 13, 2017|journal=Poets and Writers|date=May–June 2003|language=en}}</ref> and others on [[McSweeney's]], the same site where Davis' work previously appeared.<ref name=Tribute/>

== Legacy ==

In honor of Davis' life, McSweeney's introduced an award called the "Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award" in 2004, which awarded women writers 32 years old or younger who embodied "Amanda’s personal strengths—warmth, generosity, a passion for community—and who needs some time to finish a book in progress".<ref>{{cite web|title=The Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award. - McSweeney's Internet Tendency|url=https://www.mcsweeneys.net/pages/the-amanda-davis-highwire-fiction-award|accessdate=February 13, 2017|work=McSweeney's}}</ref>

==References==

{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==

*[http://wonderwhenyoullmissme.com/ Wonder When You'll Miss Me]

*[http://www.aopa.org/asf/ntsb/narrative.cfm?ackey=1&evid=20030324X00371 ASF Accident Details]

*[http://www.mcsweeneys.net/davis.html McSweeny's]

*[http://indyweek.com/durham/2003-03-19/ae4.html Indy Week]

{{Authority control}}

*[http://www.pw.org/mag/0305/davis.htm Poets & Writers Magazine]

[[Category{{DEFAULTSORT:2003 deaths|Davis, Amanda]]}}

[[Category:American novelists|Davis,women Amandashort story writers]]

[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]

[[Category:21st-century American short story writers]]

[[Category:21st-century American women novelists]]

[[Category:Jewish American novelists]]

[[Category:Jewish American short story writers]]

[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States]]

[[Category:Accidental deaths in North Carolina]]

[[Category:1971 births]]

[[Category:2003 deaths]]

[[Category:Brooklyn College alumni]]

[[Category:Wesleyan University alumni]]

[[Category:Writers from Durham, North Carolina]]

[[Category:Novelists from North Carolina]]

[[Category:20th-century American women]]

[[Category:20th-century American writers]]

[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]

[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]

[[Category:20th-century American educators]]

[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2003]]