Playwright · Novelist · Memoirist

William Justice Bruehl — author

William Justice Bruehl — known as Bill Bruehl — earned his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania and is now Professor Emeritus of Theater Arts at Stony Brook University, New York, and Honorary Professor Emeritus at Clemson University, South Carolina. An artist, teacher, and scholar, his primary academic interest is free play.

  • PhD, University of Pennsylvania
  • Professor Emeritus, Stony Brook University & Clemson University
  • National Endowment for the Arts Fellow

He is the author of 25 plays for the stage and 8 volumes of fiction and nonfiction. The National Endowment for the Arts awarded Bruehl a Fellowship for his work, which includes a volume exploring the psychological skills of performers, entitled “The Technique of Inner Action.”

He wrote and performed the poems in his volume of narrative poetry, “The Fearsome Colors of Forsythia,” which is available on “Audible.” His memoir, “A Pilgrimage Like No Other,” focuses on his search for identity and meaning in life.

Turning his playwright's skills to narrative fiction, Bill published three short story collections and the novel titled “The Final Retreat from Yudam Ni,” a character study of a fictional US Marine involved in the Korean War.

Bruehl's latest work, a novel entitled “The Mistress of Surfaces,” explores the journey of a fictional American transwoman through life.

You can read more about Bill on the About page, or browse his books on Amazon below.

Featured books

Click any title to view it on Amazon.

Coupling What the Girl at the Picnic Said A Pilgrimage Like No Other The Fearsome Colors of Forsythia The Wally Weet Stories The Final Retreat from Yudam Ni One Soldier: lost and found The Mistress of Surfaces The Technique of Inner Action

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My books

Click any title to view it on Amazon.

One Soldier: lost and found

One Soldier: lost and found

In this memoir of his years in the Army during the Korean War, young Bill Bruehl, a high school graduate and self-described nihilist with no prospects to engage him, turned to the Army out of desperation and need for direction. He left his hometown in eastern Pennsylvania for new experiences and the desire to travel abroad, but mostly because he wanted to escape the life he lived: nothing sparked his interest at home.

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0
The Mistress of Surfaces

The Mistress of Surfaces

Bill's latest novel: the journey of a fictional American transwoman through life.

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0
Coupling

Coupling

Sixteen linked stories following Mark and Marian, a Long Island couple, through love, pain, intimacy, anger, and transcendence.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8
What The Girl at the Picnic Said

What the Girl at the Picnic Said

A collection of coming-of-age short stories.

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0
A Pilgrimage Like No Other

A Pilgrimage Like No Other

A memoir exploring a lifelong search for meaning.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7
The Fearsome Colors of Forsythia

The Fearsome Colors of Forsythia

A collection of mostly narrative poems, also performed by the author on Audible.

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0
The Final Retreat From Yudam Ni

The Final Retreat from Yudam Ni

A character study of a fictional U.S. Marine living in the shadow of the Korean War.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3
The Technique of Inner Action

The Technique of Inner Action

A volume on the psychological skills of performers — the soul of a performer's work.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5
The Wally Weet Stories

The Wally Weet Stories

Short stories of Catholic school boys who don't just fight after school.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6

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