Jane Smiley
Encyclopedia
Jane Smiley is a Pulitzer Prize
-winning American
novelist.
, Smiley grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri
, a suburb of St. Louis
, and graduated from John Burroughs School
. She obtained an A.B.
at Vassar College
, then earned an M.F.A.
and Ph.D.
from the University of Iowa
. While working towards her doctorate, she also spent a year studying in Iceland
as a Fulbright Scholar
.
for her short story "Lily", which was published in The Atlantic Monthly
. Her best-selling A Thousand Acres
, a story based on William Shakespeare
's King Lear
, received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
in 1992
. It was adapted into a film of the same title
in 1997. In 1995 she wrote her sole television script, produced for an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street
. Her novella The Age of Grief was made into the 2002
film The Secret Lives of Dentists
. Her essay "Feminism Meets the Free Market" was included in the 2006 anthology Mommy Wars by Washington Post
writer Leslie Morgan Steiner
.
Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel (2005
), is a non-fiction meditation on the history and the nature of the novel, somewhat in the tradition of E. M. Forster
's seminal Aspects of the Novel, that roams from eleventh century Japan's Murasaki Shikibu
's The Tale of Genji
to 21st-century American women's literature.
From 1981 to 1996, Smiley taught undergraduate and graduate creative writing workshops at Iowa State University
, continuing to teach there even after relocating to California.
In 2001, Smiley was elected a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters
. She participates in the annual Los Angeles Times
Festival of Books in association with UCLA. Smiley chaired the judges' panel for the prestigious Man Booker International Prize in 2009.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist.
Biography
Born in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Smiley grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri
Webster Groves, Missouri
Webster Groves is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 22,995 at the 2010 census. The city is named after New England politician Daniel Webster....
, a suburb of St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, and graduated from John Burroughs School
John Burroughs School
Founded in 1923, John Burroughs School is a private, non-sectarian preparatory school with nearly 600 students in grades 7-12. Its 47.5 acre campus is located in Ladue, Missouri , an affluent suburb of Saint Louis. It is named for U.S...
. She obtained an A.B.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
at Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
, then earned an M.F.A.
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
and Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
from the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. While working towards her doctorate, she also spent a year studying in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
as a Fulbright Scholar
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
.
Career
Smiley published her first novel, Barn Blind, in 1980, and won a 1985 O. Henry AwardO. Henry Award
The O. Henry Award is the only yearly award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American master of the form, O. Henry....
for her short story "Lily", which was published in The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,...
. Her best-selling A Thousand Acres
A Thousand Acres
A Thousand Acres is a 1991 novel by American author Jane Smiley. It won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction in 1991 and was adapted to a 1997 film of the same name....
, a story based on William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
, received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. It originated as the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, which was awarded between 1918 and 1947.-1910s:...
in 1992
1992 in literature
The year 1992 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Ben Aaronovitch - Transit*Julia Álvarez - How the García Girls Lost Their Accents*Paul Auster - Leviathan*Iain Banks - The Crow Road...
. It was adapted into a film of the same title
A Thousand Acres (film)
A Thousand Acres is an American motion picture drama directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jason Robards....
in 1997. In 1995 she wrote her sole television script, produced for an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
. Her novella The Age of Grief was made into the 2002
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
film The Secret Lives of Dentists
The Secret Lives of Dentists
The Secret Lives of Dentists is a 2003 drama film directed by Alan Rudolph. The screenplay was written by Craig Lucas, based on the novella The Age of Grief by Jane Smiley...
. Her essay "Feminism Meets the Free Market" was included in the 2006 anthology Mommy Wars by Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
writer Leslie Morgan Steiner
Leslie Morgan Steiner
Leslie Morgan Steiner is an American author, blogger and businesswoman.-Life and career:Morgan was born in Washington, D. C. A 1987 graduate of Harvard College with a B.A. in English, Steiner's first published work was an autobiographical account of her teenage struggle with anorexia nervosa,...
.
Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel (2005
2005 in literature
The year 2005 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February 25 - Canada Reads selects Rockbound by Frank Parker Day as the novel to be read across the nation....
), is a non-fiction meditation on the history and the nature of the novel, somewhat in the tradition of E. M. Forster
E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society...
's seminal Aspects of the Novel, that roams from eleventh century Japan's Murasaki Shikibu
Murasaki Shikibu
Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court during the Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012...
's The Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji
is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be...
to 21st-century American women's literature.
From 1981 to 1996, Smiley taught undergraduate and graduate creative writing workshops at Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
, continuing to teach there even after relocating to California.
In 2001, Smiley was elected a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 250-member honor society; its goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Located in Washington Heights, a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan in New York, it shares Audubon Terrace, its Beaux Arts campus on...
. She participates in the annual Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Festival of Books in association with UCLA. Smiley chaired the judges' panel for the prestigious Man Booker International Prize in 2009.
Novels
- Barn Blind (1980)
- At Paradise Gate (1981)
- Duplicate Keys (1984)
- The Greenlanders (1988)
- Ordinary Love & Good Will (1989)
- A Thousand AcresA Thousand AcresA Thousand Acres is a 1991 novel by American author Jane Smiley. It won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction in 1991 and was adapted to a 1997 film of the same name....
(1991) - MooMoo (novel)Moo is a 1995 novel by Jane Smiley. It is set in the American Midwest on the fictional campus of Moo University during the 1989-1990 academic year...
(1995) - The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton (1998)
- Horse Heaven (2000)
- Good Faith (2003)
- Ten Days in the Hills (2007)
- The Georges and the Jewels (UK title: Nobody's Horse) (2009)
- Private Life (2010)
Non-fiction
- Charles Dickens (2003)
- A Year at the Races: Reflections on Horses, Humans, Love, Money, and Luck (2004)
- Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel (2005)
- The Man Who Invented The ComputerThe Man Who Invented the ComputerThe Man Who Invented the Computer is a 2010 historical biography by author Jane Smiley about American physicist John Vincent Atanasoff and the invention of the computer. The book follows Atanasoff as he collaborates with others to develop the Atanasoff-Berry Computer , the first electronic digital...
(2010)
Television
- "In Search of Crimes Past", episode of Homicide: Life on the StreetHomicide: Life on the StreetHomicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
(teleplay; story by Henry BromellHenry BromellHenry Bromell is an American author, screenwriter, and director.Bromell attended Eaglebrook School and the United World College of the Atlantic . He graduated from Amherst College in 1970. He won the Houghton Mifflin Literary Award for his first novel, The Slightest Distance...
& Julie MartinJulie Martin (writer)Julie Martin is an American television writer and producer. She has worked on the NBC crime dramas Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She won a Humanitas Prize and was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for her work on Homicide...
) (1995)
External links
- Jane Smiley website
- Column archive at The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- 2004 Slate article: "The unteachable ignorance of the red states"
- Write TV Public Television Interview with Jane Smiley
- 2003 interview of Jane Smiley, IdentityTheory
- 'Jane Smiley's Good Faith', review of Good Faith in the Oxonian Review
- In Search of Crimes Past for Homicide: Life on the Street at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- 2010 Monterey Weekly article: "In her new novel, Private Life, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author uses family history as fictional fodder."