MILTON, W.Va. — Breece D’J Pancake soared like a meteor through the American literary universe in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Kurt Vonnegut wrote of him, “I give you my word of honor that he is merely the best writer—the most sincere writer I’ve ever read.”
Who was Breece D’J Pancake? A rising voice in Appalachian literature
Pancake is perhaps known as much for his short stories as for his tragic passing: he ended his life at 26, just as his ascent to literary stardom began.
Breece Dexter John Pancake was born June 29, 1952, and grew up in 
Main Street in Miltof follows the route of the old Midland Trail, U.S. 60.[/caption]
Interest in his works has remained strong over the years. English professor Thomas Douglass wrote the first biography of Pancake, “A Room Forever,” in 1998. In 2002, the stories “Trilobites” and “Fox Hunters” were included in the West Virginia University Press anthology book “Backcountry: Contemporary Writing in West Virginia.”
The Library of America published “The Collected Breece D’J Pancake” in 2020, a single volume that includes his original book, letters, and drafts of unfinished stories. Most recently, an article on Pancake served as the cover story for the Winter 2023 issue of Huntington Quarterly magazine.
Pancake is buried beside his parents in Section G, Row F, Plot 72 at Milton Cemetery, near the Summers Avenue entrance. The cemetery is on a hill overlooking the valley where Pancake grew up.
Milton has undergone significant changes in the decades since Breece D’J Pancake’s death. Main Street has become an ocean of asphalt and chain stores. While a few of the older commercial buildings stand intact, they struggle to compete with shopping plazas and fast-food restaurants. A Wendy’s occupies the lot where Pancake’s family home once stood.
Perhaps due to the nature of his writing or his tragic death, Milton has done little to commemorate his homegrown literary icon. Fans know to visit the Milton Public Library, where his mother, Helen Pancake, worked for decades. Inside is a display case containing books, pictures, and other memorabilia from Breece Pancake’s life.
Travelers often come here first to read the directions to his grave, written by Helen herself. From this modest tribute, they make their way to Pancake’s modest resting place and contemplate the oversized mark he left on American literature.
The small town of Milton, located in Cabell County, lies between Huntington, West Virginia, and Charleston, West Virginia, along both US-60 and I-64. Its biggest attractions for visitors are the Blenko Glass factory, the Milton Flea Market, and the annual West Virginia Pumpkin Festival.
Less obvious is the community’s association with Breece D’J Pancake, one of the great American writers of the late twentieth century, a young man who many critics once considered the next Ernest Hemingway.
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Thank you, Cody Straley, for an excellent profile of Breece Pancake. I have followed his work with admiration from when he was still alive to the present day. He and I both grew up at the same time not far from the Kanawha River. His literary reputation would have been much more renowned had he lived long enough to produce a larger body of work. His early suicide was the result, I believe, of his heavy drinking on the night he shot himself. What a tragic loss. Also, Mr. Straley, please learn the difference between who and whom. Your use of who in your last sentence is grammatically incorrect. But please press on with your historical writing……BOB KITTLE, Cayucos, California.
This is a great piece, Cody. I knew Breece D’ J’ Pancake’s story. This inspired me to purchase an audiobook collection of his stories, which I am listening to now. What a tragic loss of an amazing talent!
Very interesting article I had no idea about Breece Pancake. His suicide was around the time I traveled to a student nurse convention in Texas with two other students and most of my time was involved with studying for state boards. I’ll have to look his books up at the library next time I go. It’s sad that so many are remembered after they pass away.
Thank you for this article. A sad tale, for sure, but you have inspired me to read his stories.