Robert Clark Young
Robert Clark Young (* 1960 in Hollywood , California ) is an American author.
life and work
Recurring themes in his contemporary and historical novels , essays, and short stories are alcoholism , abuse of power, and the failure of government institutions in modern America.
Born in liberal California, Young grew up in Los Angeles and San Diego , where he later studied literature; at the University of Houston , Texas , he took part in a creative writing program by satirist Donald Barthelme . He began teaching at the age of 25 on board several US Navy ships stationed in the Far East .
"One of the Guys"
This experience became the basis for his first novel, One of the Guys , published in 1999 . One of the Guys is a satire about a clergyman aboard a Navy ship in Southeast Asia who suffers a series of comical mishaps. The novel caused a sensation when the arch-conservative American Family Association (AFA) violently attacked Young's portrayal of the clergyman and the crew (some of which are alcoholics and tolerates child prostitution ) and used the funding policy of the National Endowment for the Arts , the state cultural foundation with funding programs for young artists to question. The US Congress was also involved in this discussion.
Young responded in various newspapers such as the Washington Post , stating that the passages in question were by no means pornographic, but that they reflected his own knowledge and experience of the problem of child prostitution in Southeast Asia and the Navy. He also criticized the fact that the AFA was apparently more interested in fighting books on sexual exploitation than in fighting the financing of this exploitation through taxpayers' money - namely the Navy budget.
One of the Guys was soon nominated for the Newman's Own Award , which recognizes authors who oppose censorship in the United States.
Another work
Young continued to write and publish during and after the One of the Guys controversy. He now lives in Sacramento (California) and works on other novels. He was arrested twice during the 2003 Iraq War for protesting American war policies.
He also made enemies of various authors of novels and short stories when he compared their works with previous publications and called them plagiarism . On the occasion of these allegations, he was accused by various old friends and colleagues of waging revenge campaigns against unpleasant critics.
Controversy over Wikipedia edits
In May 2013, Young was accused by the Salon.com reporter Andrew Leonard of having changed Wikipedia articles of his private and business opponents in a unilaterally negative way under user Qworty , while he praised and removed criticism from his own. After initially denying Leonard's allegation, Young admitted to being Qworty and to having committed the acts in question. A manifest appeared on his user page calling Wikipedia a postmodern novel .
Immediately after these publications, Qworty / Young was banned from editing Wikipedia for an indefinite period. A Sockpuppet investigation was also initiated to determine the extent of Young's activity under other user names and his user page was deleted.
bibliography
- One of the Guys , HarperCollins 1999 ISBN 0-06-093189-2
Web links
- Young's Response to AFA's Allegations ( Washington Post , December 15, 2000)
Individual evidence
- ^ Andrew Leonard: Revenge, ego and the corruption of Wikipedia . In: Salon , May 17, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
- ↑ Unrestricted editing ban on Qworty's talk page.
- ↑ Andrew Leonard: Wikipedia cleans up its measurement . Salon.com. May 21, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ↑ Sockpuppet study on Qworty.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Young, Robert Clark |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Young, Bob (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1960 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hollywood , Los Angeles , California |