Fredrick Barthelme (born October 10, 1943) is an American novelist and short story writer of minimalist fiction. He is the director of the Center For Writers at The University of Southern Mississippi and editor of New World Writing (formerly Blip Magazine)
Frederick Barthelme was born on October 10, 1943, in Houston, Texas. In the 1960s, he studied at University of St. Thomas, Tulane University, the University of Houston, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and Johns Hopkins University.
Barthelme was a founding member of the Texan experimental rock band Red Krayola. In August 1967, he left the band to pursue writing and conceptual art in New York, working for a brief period as an assistant to the director of the Kornblee Gallery.
In November 1967, he showcased the conceptual art piece "untitled" at a New York art gallery and later several other pieces between 1968 and 1970, as well as some pieces in Art-Language, his works were later published in the book "Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object".
His writing focuses on the landscape of the New South. Along with being a minimalist, his work has also been described as "dirty realism" and "Kmart realism". He published his first short story in The New Yorker.
Barthelme was the editor of Mississippi Review for three years. He is a teacher and the director of the Center For Writers at The University of Southern Mississippi and editor of New World Writing (formerly Blip Magazine).
His brothers Donald Barthelme and Steven Barthelme are also writers.