'''Ron Hansen''' (born [[December 8]], [[1947]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[novel]]ist, [[essay]]ist, and [[Professor#North American|professor]].
==Biography==
[[Image:Assassination jesse.JPG|thumb|''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'' (1983). Arrow 1997 paperback edition. 304 pages]]
Hansen was born in [[Omaha, Nebraska]], and earned a [[Bachelor of Arts|Bachelor's]] degree in English from [[Creighton University]]. He then went on to graduate studies, receiving his MFA at the [[University of Iowa]] and receiving another Masters Degree from [[Stanford University]].
[[As of 2006]] he is the [[Gerald Manley Hopkins]] Professor in the Arts and Humanities at [[Santa Clara University]], where he teaches courses in writing and literature. He is married to the writer Bo Caldwell and is the stepfather of her two children, John Scott "Scotty" Caldwell Arnold and Kate Arnold. Scotty attends Hansen's place of employment, Santa Clara University, and Kate is pursuing her medical degree at Georgetown University.
==Novels and short stories==
Hansen has published numerous [[Short story|short stories]] in literary magazines nationwide. His first book was ''Desperadoes'' (1979), a [[Western (genre)|Western]] novel that reimagines the story of the [[Dalton Gang]]. ''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford '', a 1983 novel chronicling the life and death of the iconic [[Jesse James|outlaw]], was Hansen's most popular work and brought him wide critical acclaim, as well as his being a finaist for the [[PEN/Faulkner Award]].
Many of his novels combine elements of mainstream literature with a Western sensibility, and he avoids use of experimental or [[Postmodernism|postmodern]] techniques. He frequently writes about the [[American Old West|Old West]], mixing history with morality and drama. [[Catholicism|Catholic]] themes of unconditional love, redemption and resurrection also recur in Hansen's novels and stories. ''Mariette in Ecstasy'' (1991), a study of the faith and religious experience in the context of a cloistered [[Catholic]] nun who apparently bears a [[stigmata]], earned him near universal critical praise, as well as the fiction prize from the Bay Area Reviewers Association and the Gold Medal for Excellence in Fiction from the Commonwealth Club of California. His 1996 novel, ''Atticus'', about the bond of love between a father and a son who has died under mysterious circumstances in a dusty Mexican town, was a finalist for both the [[National Book Award]] and the [[PEN/Faulkner Award]]. ''Hitler's Niece'' (1999) is a [[historical novel]] that offers a view of [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] as seen through the eyes of [[Geli Raubal]], the daughter of his half-sister. ''Isn't It Romantic?'' (2003) is a comic novel about two sophisticated [[Paris]]ians stranded in small-town Nebraska.
In addition to his novels, Hansen has published a short story collection (''Nebraska''), a compilation of essays (''A Stay Against Confusion''), and a children's book (''The Shadowmaker''). Hansen also wrote the screenplay for the 1996 film adaptation of ''Mariette in Ecstasy''.
In 2006, ''[[The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford|The Assassination of Jesse James]]'' was adapted for the screen in a film written and directed by [[Andrew Dominik]] and starring [[Brad Pitt]] as James. Initially intended for a 2006 release, the film was postponed and re-edited for a September 21, 2007 release.
==Bibliography==
===Works===
* ''Desperadoes'' (1979)
* ''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'' (1983)
* ''The Shadowmaker'' (1987)
* ''Nebraska'' (1989)
* ''Mariette in Ecstasy'' (1991)
* ''Atticus'' (1996) ISBN 0-06-092786-0
* ''Hitler's Niece'' (1999) ISBN 0-06-093220-1
* ''A Stay Against Confusion: Essays On Faith And Fiction'' (2001)
* ''Isn't It Romantic?'' (2003)
===As editor or contributor===
* ''You Don't Know What Love Is: Contemporary American Stories'' (Compiler) (1987)
* ''You've Got to Read This: Contemporary American Writers Introduce Stories That Held Them in Awe'' (Editor, with Jim Shepard) (1994)
* ''John of the Cross: Selections from The Dark Night and Other Writings'' (Foreword) (2004)
* Flyover Fiction, series from University of Nebraska Press (Series editor) (2005-present)
==Sources==
* [http://brothersjudd.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/daily.month/month/12 ''Brothers Judd'']
==External links==
* [http://www.scu.edu/cas/english/faculty/hansen.cfm Santa Clara University Faculty Page: Ron Hansen]
* [http://mockingbird.creighton.edu/NCW/hansen.htm Nebraska Center for Writers--Ron Hansen, with a link to a detailed bibliography]
* [http://wiredforbooks.org/ronhansen/ 1983 audio interview of Ron Hansen at Wired for Books.org] by [[Don Swaim]]
*{{imdb name|id=0361069|name=Ron Hansen}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Ron}}
[[Category:1947 births|Hansen, Ron]]
[[Category:Living people|Hansen, Ron]]
[[Category:American novelists|Hansen, Ron]]
[[Category:American screenwriters|Hansen, Ron]]
[[Category:American academics|Hansen, Ron]]
[[Category:Nebraska writers|Hansen, Ron]]
[[Category:California writers|Hansen, Ron]]
[[Category:People from Omaha, Nebraska|Hansen, Ron]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic writers|Hansen, Ron]]
[[Category:Christian writers|Hansen, Ron]]
[[Category:Creighton University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Iowa alumni]]
[[Category:Stanford University alumni]]
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