born April 7, 1931, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.
died July 23, 1989, Houston, Texas
U.S. writer.
Barthelme worked as a journalist, journal editor, and museum director before his fiction began to be published. He is known for modernist "collages" marked by technical experimentation and melancholy gaiety. His story collections include Come Back, Dr. Caligari (1964), City Life (1970), Sixty Stories (1981), and Overnight to Many Distant Cities (1983); his novels include Snow White (1967), The Dead Father (1975), Paradise (1986), and The King (1990). His brother Frederick (b. 1943) is also a novelist ( Second Marriage , 1984) and short-story writer ( Moon Deluxe , 1983).