Kent Haruf was a highly acclaimed American author, best known for his literary fiction novels. He was born in Pueblo, Colorado, in 1943, to a Methodist preacher named Louis Hoerauf. The family name was later changed to Haruf, as Louis was frustrated that people often mispronounced it. However, the change did not seem to have much effect, as people still struggle to pronounce it correctly. Kent's childhood was nomadic, as his father moved around Colorado for his preaching duties, causing the family to live in more than three small towns.
After graduating from high school, Haruf attended Nebraska Wesleyan University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in literature in 1965. He then joined the Peace Corps and spent two years teaching English in Turkey. It was during this time that Haruf started writing fiction. He later moved to Iowa City with his family to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa Writers Workshop. Haruf's first break as a professional author came when his short story was published in Puerto del Sol, a literary magazine. This motivated him to publish his first novel, "Ties That Bind," in 1984, which won the Whittington Foundation Award.
Haruf's other jobs before becoming a full-time writer included working at a chicken farm, a construction site, a rehab center, a hospital, a library, an alternative high school, and universities. He received his Bachelors of Arts in literature from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1965 and his Masters of Fine Arts from the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa in 1973. Haruf was the author of Plainsong, which received the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Maria Thomas Award in Fiction, and The New Yorker Book Award. Plainsong was also a finalist for the 1999 National Book Award.
Haruf's novels are known for their setting in the fictional town of Holt, Colorado. Holt is based on Yuma, Colorado, where Haruf lived in the early 1980s. He lived with his wife, Cathy, in Salida, Colorado, with their three daughters. Haruf died of cancer on November 30, 2014. All of his novels are set in the fictional town of Holt, Colorado, and have received critical acclaim for their honest storytelling and compelling narrative. Haruf's writing is known for its simplicity and truthfulness, which resonates with readers and has earned him a place among the great American authors.