Marie Arana
Encyclopedia
Marie Arana is an editor
, journalist
and author
.
Born in Peru
, the daughter of Jorge Arana, a Peruvian born civil engineer, and Marie Campbell Arana, she moved with her family to the United States
at the age of 9, achieved her B.A.
in Russian
at Northwestern University
, her M.A.
in linguistics
at Hong Kong University, a certificate of scholarship at Yale University
in China, and began her career in book publishing, where she was vice president and senior editor at Harcourt Brace and Simon & Schuster
.
For more than a decade she was the editor in chief of "Book World
", the book review section of The Washington Post
, during which time she instituted the partnership of The Washington Post with the White House
(First Lady Laura Bush
) and the Library of Congress
(Dr. James H. Billington
, Librarian of Congress) in hosting the annual National Book Festival on the Washington Mall. She currently sits on the board of the National Book Festival. Arana is a Writer at Large for The Washington Post. She is married to Jonathan Yardley
, the Posts chief book critic, and has two children from a previous marriage, Lalo Walsh and Adam Ward.
Marie Arana is the author of a memoir about a bicultural childhood American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood (finalist for the 2001 National Book Award
as well as the PEN/Memoir Award); editor of a collection of Washington Post essays about the writer's craft, The Writing Life (2002); and the author of Cellophane (a satirical novel set in the Peruvian Amazon
, published in 2006, and a finalist for the John Sargent Prize). Her most recent novel, published in January 2009, is Lima Nights. She has written the introductions for many books, among them a National Geographic book of aerial photographs of South America, Through the Eyes of the Condor.
Arana has served on the board of directors of the National Book Critics Circle
and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists
. For many years, she has directed literary events for the Americartes Festivals at the Kennedy Center. She has been a judge for the Pulitzer Prize
and National Book Award
as well as for the National Book Critics Circle. Her commentary has been published in USA Today
, Civilization
, Smithsonian
magazine, National Geographic, and numerous other literary publications throughout the Americas.
Arana was an Invited Research Scholar at Brown University
in 2008-2009 .
In April 2009, Arana was named John W. Kluge Distinguished Scholar at the Library of Congress
through 2010. In September 2009, she was elected to the Scholars' Council of the Library of Congress.
In October 2009, Arana received the Alumnae Award of the Year at Northwestern University
.
Arana is working on a biography of Venezuelan military and political leader Simon Bolivar
under contract to be published by Simon and Schuster.
Live Online, Book Club Live!, WashingtonPost.com
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Born in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, the daughter of Jorge Arana, a Peruvian born civil engineer, and Marie Campbell Arana, she moved with her family to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the age of 9, achieved her B.A.
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...
in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, her M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
at Hong Kong University, a certificate of scholarship at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in China, and began her career in book publishing, where she was vice president and senior editor at Harcourt Brace and Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
.
For more than a decade she was the editor in chief of "Book World
Book World
Book World or Bookworld may refer to:* "Book World", a defunct Chicago Tribune entertainment section* "Book World", a Washington Post entertainment section established in 1972* B.C...
", the book review section of The 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...
, during which time she instituted the partnership of The Washington Post with the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
(First Lady Laura Bush
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. She was the First Lady of the United States from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009. She has held a love of books and reading since childhood and her life and education have reflected that interest...
) and the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
(Dr. James H. Billington
James H. Billington
Lord LeBron James Hadley Billington is an American academic. He is the thirteenth Librarian of the United States Congress.-Early years:...
, Librarian of Congress) in hosting the annual National Book Festival on the Washington Mall. She currently sits on the board of the National Book Festival. Arana is a Writer at Large for The Washington Post. She is married to Jonathan Yardley
Jonathan Yardley
Jonathan Yardley is a book critic at The Washington Post, and at one time of the Washington Star. In 1981 he received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.-Background and education:...
, the Posts chief book critic, and has two children from a previous marriage, Lalo Walsh and Adam Ward.
Marie Arana is the author of a memoir about a bicultural childhood American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood (finalist for the 2001 National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
as well as the PEN/Memoir Award); editor of a collection of Washington Post essays about the writer's craft, The Writing Life (2002); and the author of Cellophane (a satirical novel set in the Peruvian Amazon
Peruvian Amazon
The Peruvian Amazon is the area of the Amazon jungle included in the territory of Peru, from the east of the Andes to borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia. This region comprises 60% of the country and is marked by a large degree of biodiversity...
, published in 2006, and a finalist for the John Sargent Prize). Her most recent novel, published in January 2009, is Lima Nights. She has written the introductions for many books, among them a National Geographic book of aerial photographs of South America, Through the Eyes of the Condor.
Arana has served on the board of directors of the National Book Critics Circle
National Book Critics Circle
The National Book Critics Circle is an American tax-exempt organization for active book reviewers. Its flagship is the National Book Critics Circle Award....
and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists
National Association of Hispanic Journalists
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to the advancement of Hispanic journalists in the United States and Puerto Rico...
. For many years, she has directed literary events for the Americartes Festivals at the Kennedy Center. She has been a judge for the Pulitzer Prize
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...
and National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
as well as for the National Book Critics Circle. Her commentary has been published in USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, Civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
, Smithsonian
Smithsonian (magazine)
Smithsonian is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970.-History:...
magazine, National Geographic, and numerous other literary publications throughout the Americas.
Arana was an Invited Research Scholar at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
in 2008-2009 .
In April 2009, Arana was named John W. Kluge Distinguished Scholar at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
through 2010. In September 2009, she was elected to the Scholars' Council of the Library of Congress.
In October 2009, Arana received the Alumnae Award of the Year at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
.
Arana is working on a biography of Venezuelan military and political leader Simon Bolivar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
under contract to be published by Simon and Schuster.
External links
- "Marie Arana Examines Two Americas," by Justin Braun, Rollins.com, April 8, 2011
- American Writers Museum, Marie Arana's page, accessed December 7, 2010
- "The Thanksgiving Cultural Blend," by Marie Arana, Real Simple Magazine, November 2010?
- "Women's History Month celebrated with writer Marie Arana at the Embassy of Peru in Washington," SwedishScene.com, April 1, 2010
- 2008-2009 John Carter Brown Library Scholars in Residence
- A Few Words with Marie Arana, by Ben Jonjak, Living in Peru, March 9, 2009
- "Best books...chosen by Marie Arana," TheWeek.com, February 12, 2009
- "We Are a Nation of Many Voices" by Marie Arana, America.gov, February 5, 2009
- Book Review: Marie Arana's "Lima Nights," by Jan Stuart, New York Times, February 9, 2008
- Review of Marie Arana's "Lima Nights," by Elaina Richardson, Oprah.com, 2008
- Employment Testimonials: Marie Arana, The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe 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...
- The Washington Post's Off the Page host Carole Burns interviews Marie Arana and Richard Bausch, December 10, 2007
- The Stones She Carries, by Marie Arana, The Washington Post Magazine, December 2, 2007
- "Through the Eyes of the Condor: An Aerial Vision of Latin America," by Marie Arana (adapted from the introduction by Marie Arana to the book by Robert B. Haas), NationalGeographic.com, October 2007
- "Crossing the Divide: Novelist Daniel Alarcón's writings evoke the gritty, compelling landscape of urban Latin America," by Marie Arana, Smithsonian magazine, October 2007
- Favorites: Marie Arana, by Garrett M. Graff, Washingtonian Magazine, August 1, 2006
- 'Cellophane': Life in an Amazon Factory Town' Marie Arana's Cellophane reviewed by Dominique de Turenne, NPR's Day to Day, host: Noah Adams, July 26, 2006
- Sorted And Sort of . . ., Marie Arana and Jonathan Yardley (Staff Writers), The Washington Post, March 23, 2006
- Recent Washington Post articles by Marie Arana
- Photo of Marie Arana, luncheon keynote speaker, signing copies of her book "America Chica," VABOOK! Photo Album, Virginia Festival of the Book, March 20-24, 2002
- A Conversation with Marie Arana, by Bella Stander, Albemarle, February/March 2002
- "The Face in the Mirror," by Alberto Manguel, review of Marie Arana's American Chica, The Washington Post, May 7, 2001
- Marie Arana discusses Maxine Hong Kingston's "Woman Warrior," The Washington Post Book Club LiveOnline, April 24, 2000
- Washington Post Book World editor steps down: Heir apparent's personal life may complicate matters., Craig Offman, Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, July 15, 1999 - "Three Marielitos, Three Manifest Destinies," by Marie Arana-Ward, The Washington Post, July 9, 1996
Book reviews by Marie Arana
- Book Review by Marie Arana: "An Atlas of Impossible Longing" by Anuradha Roy, The Washington Post, April 25, 2011
- "Sally Ryder Brady's memoir of marriage, 'A Box of Darkness,'" review by Marie Arana of "A Box of Darkness" by Sally Ryder Brady, The Washington Post, February 4, 2011
- "Undone by a House of Dreams," review of "Bird Cloud: A Memoir" by Annie Proulx, by Marie Arana, The Washington Post, January 21, 2011
- "A History of Ballet: it's not all tutus and sugar plums," review of Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet, by Jennifer Homans. Random House. by Marie Arana, The Washington Post, December 22, 2010
- Stacy Schiff's new biography of Cleopatra, reviewed by Marie Arana, The Washington Post Book World, November 2, 2010
- Jessica Stern's "Denial: A Memoir of Terror," reviewed by Marie Arana, The Washington Post Book World, August 15, 2010
- "Marie Arana reviews 'Dreams in a Time of War' by Ngugi wa Thiong'o," The Washington Post, March 10, 2010
- Andre Aciman's "Eight White Nights," reviewed by Marie Arana, The Washington Post Book World, February 9, 2010
- "Love as a relic, frozen in amber," review of "The Museum of Innocence," by Orhan Pamuk, The Washington Post Book World, October 20, 2009
Online chats
Off the Page: Writers Talk About Beginnings, Endings, and Everything in Between, WashingtonPost.comLive Online, Book Club Live!, WashingtonPost.com
Commentary by Marie Arana
- "Why We Should Get Rid of the Nobel Prize in Literature," by Marie Arana, The Washington Post Outlook, April 19, 2009
- "He's Not Black," by Marie Arana, The Washington Post Outlook, November 30, 2008
- The Elusive Hispanic / Latino Identity, Marie Arana, Nieman Reports, Nieman Foundation, Summer 2001 (excerpted from a resource guide for journalists put together by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists)
Audiolinks
- "A Conversation with Laura Lippman," interview with author Laura Lippman by Marie Arana, The Washington Post Book World, August 11, 2009
- Marie Arana hosts Barack Obama, Amy Sedaris, and John Updike, Book Expo America #12 – Saturday Book & Author Breakfast, June 23, 2006
- Marie Arana discusses American Chica on NPR's The Diane Rehm Show, January 6, 2001
Video links
- Marie Arana introduces Dr. James Billington, Library of Congress, who presents author Isabel Allende, followed by dialogue between Allende and Arana, National Book Festival, October 2010
- Marie Arana speaks at Embassy of Peru, May 1, 2010
- Marie Arana's address at Northwestern University upon being awarded 2009 Alumnae of the Year, on Youtube, 3 of 3
- Marie Arana's address at Northwestern University upon being awarded 2009 Alumnae of the Year, on Youtube, 2 of 3
- Marie Arana's address at Northwestern University upon being awarded 2009 Alumnae of the Year, on Youtube, 1 of 3
- Celebration of Marie Arana, words by Bob Kaiser, Marcus Brauchli, Donald Graham, The Washington Post Newsroom, December 18, 2008
- Marie Arana presents the 2008 National Book Award in Nonfiction to Annette Gordon-Reed, for "The Hemingses of Monticello." Eric Bogosian introduces Arana. More information at nationalbook.org. (video posted December 4, 2008)
- "Survival of Book Culture," Shelby Coffey moderates Newseum discussion with Marie Arana, Robert Weil, and Deidre Donahue on the state of the publishing industry and the future of books, C-SPAN Video Library, October 29, 2008
- Marie Arana delivers 2008 Hispanic Heritage Month Keynote Address, The Library of Congress, Washington, DC, September 18, 2008
- Marie Arana speaking at National Book Festival, The Library of Congress, Washington, DC, September 30, 2006
- Marie Arana speaking at National Book Festival, introduction by Michael Dirda, The Library of Congress, Washington, DC, September 8, 2001