Tracy Kidder
Encyclopedia
John Tracy Kidder is a Pulitzer Prize
-winning American
writer
of the 1981 nonfiction narrative, The Soul of a New Machine
, about the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation
. He also received much praise for his biography of Paul Farmer
, Mountains Beyond Mountains
.
.
He graduated from Phillips Academy
in 1963.
He attended Harvard University
, originally majoring in political science
, but switched to English
after taking a course in creative writing
from Robert Fitzgerald
.
He received an AB
degree from Harvard in 1967.
He served in the US Army as a first lieutenant
, Military Intelligence
, Vietnam, from 1967 to 1969. After returning from Vietnam he wrote for some time and then enrolled in the Iowa Writers' Workshop
.
He received an MFA
degree from the University of Iowa
in 1974.
Murders, while at the University of Iowa
. The Atlantic Monthly commissioned the work, and he continued writing as a freelance for the magazine during the 1970s. The Road to Yuba City was a critical failure, and Kidder said in a 1995 interview that "I can't say anything intelligent about that book, except that I learned never to write about a murder case. The whole experience was disgusting, so disgusting, in fact, that in 1981 I went to Doubleday and bought back the rights to the book. I don't want The Road to Yuba City to see the light of day again."
Kidder said that, unlike many other writers, he was not much influenced by his Vietnam experience: "Of course, whenever you're in an experience like Vietnam, it is bound to influence your work; it's inevitable, but I really don't think it greatly shaped me as a writer." His works for Atlantic Monthly include several essays and short stories about the Vietnam War, including "The Death of Major Great" (1974), "Soldiers of Misfortune" (1978), and "In Quarantine" (1980). Writing in 1997, David Bennett rated these three pieces "among the finest reporting to come out of Vietnam".
His second book, The Soul of a New Machine
, was much more successful than his first, and won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction
in 1982. He has continued to write nonfiction books and articles and these have been well received by the critics.
Kidder is considered a literary journalist because of the strong story line and personal voice in his writing.
He has cited as his writing influences John McPhee
, A. J. Liebling
, and George Orwell
. In a 1984 interview he said, "McPhee has been my model. He's the most elegant of all the journalists writing today, I think."
Kidder wrote in a 1994 essay, "In fiction, believability may have nothing to do with reality or even plausibility. It has everything to do with those things in nonfiction. I think that the nonfiction writer's fundamental job is to make what is true believable."
Kidder's latest book, Strength in What Remains, is a vivid and moving portrait of a man who survived the genocide in Burundi.
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...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
of the 1981 nonfiction narrative, The Soul of a New Machine
The Soul of a New Machine
Tracy Kidder's non-fiction book, The Soul of a New Machine, chronicles the experiences of an engineering team racing to design a next generation computer under a blistering schedule and tremendous pressure. This machine was eventually launched in 1980 as the Data General Eclipse MV/8000...
, about the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation
Data General
Data General was one of the first minicomputer firms from the late 1960s. Three of the four founders were former employees of Digital Equipment Corporation. Their first product, the Data General Nova, was a 16-bit minicomputer...
. He also received much praise for his biography of Paul Farmer
Paul Farmer
Dr. Paul Edward Farmer is an American anthropologist and physician. He is currently the Kolokotrones University Professor at Harvard University, formerly the Presley Professor of Medical Anthropology in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, an attending physician and Chief...
, Mountains Beyond Mountains
Mountains Beyond Mountains
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World is a non-fiction, biographical work by American writer Tracy Kidder. The story traces the life of physician and anthropologist Paul Farmer. The book was a New York Times Notable Book for 2003.-External links:*...
.
Early life and education
Kidder was born November 12, 1945 in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
He graduated from Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
in 1963.
He attended Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, originally majoring in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, but switched to English
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
after taking a course in creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
from Robert Fitzgerald
Robert Fitzgerald
Robert Stuart Fitzgerald was a poet, critic and translator whose renderings of the Greek classics "became standard works for a generation of scholars and students." He was best known as a translator of ancient Greek and Latin...
.
He received an AB
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...
degree from Harvard in 1967.
He served in the US Army as a first lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
, Military Intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
, Vietnam, from 1967 to 1969. After returning from Vietnam he wrote for some time and then enrolled in the Iowa Writers' Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
.
He received an MFA
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...
degree 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...
in 1974.
Career
Kidder wrote his first book, The Road to Yuba City: a Journey into the Juan CoronaJuan Corona
Juan Vallejo Corona is a Mexican-born serial killer in the United States.He was convicted of the 1971 murders of 25 itinerant laborers; men who had been found buried in shallow graves in the orchards of fruit ranches in Sutter County, California, along the Feather River north of Yuba City, where...
Murders, while at 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...
. The Atlantic Monthly commissioned the work, and he continued writing as a freelance for the magazine during the 1970s. The Road to Yuba City was a critical failure, and Kidder said in a 1995 interview that "I can't say anything intelligent about that book, except that I learned never to write about a murder case. The whole experience was disgusting, so disgusting, in fact, that in 1981 I went to Doubleday and bought back the rights to the book. I don't want The Road to Yuba City to see the light of day again."
Kidder said that, unlike many other writers, he was not much influenced by his Vietnam experience: "Of course, whenever you're in an experience like Vietnam, it is bound to influence your work; it's inevitable, but I really don't think it greatly shaped me as a writer." His works for Atlantic Monthly include several essays and short stories about the Vietnam War, including "The Death of Major Great" (1974), "Soldiers of Misfortune" (1978), and "In Quarantine" (1980). Writing in 1997, David Bennett rated these three pieces "among the finest reporting to come out of Vietnam".
His second book, The Soul of a New Machine
The Soul of a New Machine
Tracy Kidder's non-fiction book, The Soul of a New Machine, chronicles the experiences of an engineering team racing to design a next generation computer under a blistering schedule and tremendous pressure. This machine was eventually launched in 1980 as the Data General Eclipse MV/8000...
, was much more successful than his first, and won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction
Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
The Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction has been awarded since 1962 for a distinguished book of non-fiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in another category.-1960s:...
in 1982. He has continued to write nonfiction books and articles and these have been well received by the critics.
Kidder is considered a literary journalist because of the strong story line and personal voice in his writing.
He has cited as his writing influences John McPhee
John McPhee
John Angus McPhee is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, widely considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction....
, A. J. Liebling
A. J. Liebling
Abbott Joseph Liebling was an American journalist who was closely associated with The New Yorker from 1935 until his death.-Biography:...
, and George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
. In a 1984 interview he said, "McPhee has been my model. He's the most elegant of all the journalists writing today, I think."
Kidder wrote in a 1994 essay, "In fiction, believability may have nothing to do with reality or even plausibility. It has everything to do with those things in nonfiction. I think that the nonfiction writer's fundamental job is to make what is true believable."
Kidder's latest book, Strength in What Remains, is a vivid and moving portrait of a man who survived the genocide in Burundi.
Selected awards
- Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fictionPulitzer Prize for General Non-FictionThe Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction has been awarded since 1962 for a distinguished book of non-fiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in another category.-1960s:...
, 1982, for The Biography of Daniel Minnich - National Book AwardNational Book AwardThe 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...
for General Nonfiction, 1982, for The Soul of a New MachineThe Soul of a New MachineTracy Kidder's non-fiction book, The Soul of a New Machine, chronicles the experiences of an engineering team racing to design a next generation computer under a blistering schedule and tremendous pressure. This machine was eventually launched in 1980 as the Data General Eclipse MV/8000... - Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, 1989–1990, for Among Schoolchildren
- Ambassador Book AwardAmbassador Book AwardThe Ambassador Book Award is awarded annually by the English Speaking Union. It recognizes important literary works that contribute to the understanding and interpretation of American life and culture. Winners of the award are considered literary ambassadors who provide, in the best contemporary...
in American Studies, 1990, for Among Schoolchildren - Lettre Ulysses AwardLettre Ulysses AwardThe Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage has been given annually since 2003 for the best texts in the genre of literary reportage, which must have been first published during the previous two years...
(2nd prize), 2004, for Mountains Beyond MountainsMountains Beyond MountainsMountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World is a non-fiction, biographical work by American writer Tracy Kidder. The story traces the life of physician and anthropologist Paul Farmer. The book was a New York Times Notable Book for 2003.-External links:*...
External links
- Kidder's web site
- Lyceum Agency
- 1985 audio interview of Tracy Kidder at Wired for Books.org by Don SwaimDon SwaimDon Swaim is an American journalist and broadcaster.Born in Kansas, Swaim earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Ohio University and worked as editor, writer, producer, reporter and anchor at WCBS in New York and CBS in Baltimore....