William Melvin Kelley
Encyclopedia
William Melvin Kelley is a prominent African American
novel
ist and short-story writer. He is known for the novel A Different Drummer. He has won, among other things, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in 2008 for Lifetime Achievement. Kelley has been a writer in residence at the State University of New York at Geneseo
and has taught at the New School for Social Research. He currently teaches at Sarah Lawrence College
.
Kelley was born in New York City
and was educated at the Fieldston School in New York and later attended Harvard University
(class of 1960), where he won the Dana Reed Prize for creative writing.
According to Robert E. Fleming,
"From the beginning of his career in 1962, William Melvin Kelley has employed his distinctive form of Black comedy to examine the absurdities surrounding American racial attitudes."
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist and short-story writer. He is known for the novel A Different Drummer. He has won, among other things, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in 2008 for Lifetime Achievement. Kelley has been a writer in residence at the State University of New York at Geneseo
State University of New York at Geneseo
The State University of New York at Geneseo—also known as SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo State, or, colloquially, Geneseo—is located in Geneseo, Livingston County, New York, United States. It is a University College of the State University of New York...
and has taught at the New School for Social Research. He currently teaches at Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
.
Kelley was born in New York City
New 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...
and was educated at the Fieldston School in New York and later 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...
(class of 1960), where he won the Dana Reed Prize for creative writing.
According to Robert E. Fleming,
"From the beginning of his career in 1962, William Melvin Kelley has employed his distinctive form of Black comedy to examine the absurdities surrounding American racial attitudes."