Pauls Harijs Toutonghi (born 1976)[1] is a first-generation American fiction and non-fiction writer. He was born in Seattle, Washington,[1] to immigrant parents. His mother emigrated from Latvia,[2] his father emigrated from Egypt and was of Syrian descent.[3][4][5]

Pauls Harijs Toutonghi
Born1976 (age 47–48)
Seattle, Washington
Occupation
  • Academic
  • writer
Alma mater
Years active2000—present
Notable awardsPushcart Prize, 2000
SpousePeyton Marshall
Children2
Website
paulstoutonghi.com

His first novel, Red Weather, was published by Random House/Shaye Areheart Books in 2006.[6] His second, Evel Knievel Days, was published by Random House/Crown in 2012.[7]

Red Weather was widely—and favorably—reviewed.[8] Toutonghi has published work in Sports Illustrated, The Burnside Review, Glimmer Train, The Boston Review, One Story Magazine, and The New Yorker.[9] His story, "Regeneration" won a Pushcart Prize in 2000.[10] His 2016 non-fiction narrative, Dog Gone: A Lost Pet's Extraordinary Journey and the Family Who Brought Him Home, was the source for the 2023 Netflix film, Dog Gone.[11]

Toutonghi received his MFA in poetry from Cornell University in 2003, followed by a PhD in English Literature in 2006. After his first novel was published, he moved from Brooklyn, New York to Portland, Oregon, where he now teaches as a Professor of English at Lewis and Clark College, specializing in Fiction and Creative Nonfiction Writing.[12]

Works

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Fiction

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Short stories

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  • Regeneration. The Boston Review, 2000[13]
  • Homecoming. The Boston Review, 2001[14]
  • Live Cargo. Livingston Press, 2003[15]

Novels

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  • Red Weather. Random House, 2006[16]
  • Evel Knievel Days. Random House, 2012[17]
  • The Refugee Ocean. Simon & Schuster, 2023[18]

Non-fiction

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Books

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  • Dog Gone: A Lost Pet's Extraordinary Journey and the Family Who Brought Him Home. Knopf, 2016[19]

Essays

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Personal life

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He is married to the writer Peyton Marshall,[21] and is the father of twins. His sister, Annette Toutonghi,[22] is a professional actor. His father, Joseph Toutonghi, died in December 2017.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Live Cargo ... by Paul Toutonghi Amazon.com Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Toutonghi, Pauls. 9 Sencu Iela The Virginia Quarterly Review. Vol. 85 No.1, Winter 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Toutonghi, Pauls. Our Father’s Body The New Yorker. March 31, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  4. ^ Toutonghi, Pauls (2017-02-28). "Leaving Aleppo". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  5. ^ Stevens, Krista (2017-03-06). "Leaving Aleppo: 'A distant star / Exhausts its light on the sleep of the dead.'". Longreads. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  6. ^ Langer, Adam (2012-01-04). "Stumbling Through an American Muslim Maze". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  7. ^ Sandomir, Richard (2018-04-04). "Drue Heinz, Patron of Literature and Host of Authors, Dies at 103". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  8. ^ "East Meets Midwest (Published 2006)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-09-28.
  9. ^ Could Harvesting Fog Help Solve the World’s Water Crisis?
  10. ^ Pauls Toutonghi, The Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  11. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 5, 2021). "Rob Lowe To EP & Star In Netflix Family Film 'Dog Gone'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  12. ^ Pauls Toutonghi Lewis & Clark College. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  13. ^ Toutonghi, Pauls. Regeneration The Boston Review, December 1, 1999. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  14. ^ Toutonghi, Pauls. Homecoming The Boston Review, April 1, 2001. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  15. ^ ISBN 1931982198
  16. ^ ISBN 030733676X
  17. ^ ISBN 030738215X
  18. ^ ISBN 1668007436
  19. ^ ISBN 1799994147
  20. ^ Toutonghi, Pauls (June 18, 2012). "My First Early Success". The Quivering Pen. David Abrams. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  21. ^ Peyton Marshall Penguin Random House. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  22. ^ Munro, Ilse (September 7, 2011). "On Being Invisible". Little Patuxent Review. Retrieved December 23, 2023.