Wikipedia

Annie Proulx

Edna Ann Proulx(/pruː/PROO;born August 22, 1935) is an American novelist, short story writer, and journalist. She has written most frequently asAnnie Proulxbut has also used the namesE. Annie ProulxandE.A. Proulx.[1]

Annie Proulx
Proulx at the 2018 U.S. National Book Festival
Proulx at the 2018 U.S.National Book Festival
BornEdna Ann Proulx
(1935-08-22)August 22, 1935(age 89)
Norwich, Connecticut,U.S.
Pen nameE. Annie Proulx, E.A. Proulx
OccupationNovelist
EducationColby College
University of Vermont(BA)
Sir George Williams University(MA)
Notable awardsPulitzer Prize for Fiction
1994The Shipping News
Children4

She won thePEN/Faulkner Award for Fictionfor her first novel,Postcards,making her the first woman to receive the prize.[2]Her second novel,The Shipping News(1993), won both thePulitzer Prize for Fiction[3]and the U.S.National Book Award for Fiction[4]and wasadapted as a2001 film of the same name.Her short story "Brokeback Mountain"was adapted as anAcademy Award,BAFTAandGolden Globe Award-winningmotion picturereleased in 2005.

Personal life and education

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Proulx was born Edna Ann Proulx inNorwich, Connecticut,to Lois Nellie (néeGill) and Georges-Napoléon Proulx.[5]Her first name honored one of her mother's aunts. She is of English andFrench-Canadianancestry.[6][7]Her maternal forebears came to America in 1635, 15 years after theMayflowerarrived.[8]

Proulx lived in multiple states along the East Coast during her childhood as her father worked his way up through the textile industry.[9][10][11]She wrote her first story at the age of 10, while sick with chicken pox.[9]She graduated fromDeering High SchoolinPortland, Maine.[12]She briefly attendedColby College,where she met her first husband, H. Ridgely Bullock, Jr., and dropped out to marry him in 1955.[10]She later returned to college, studying at theUniversity of Vermontfrom 1966 to 1969, and graduatedcum laudeandPhi Beta Kappawith aB.A.in History in 1969. She earned herM.A.in history from Sir George Williams University (nowConcordia University) inMontreal,Quebecin 1973.[13]Proulx pursued aPhDat Concordia and passed her oral examinations in 1975, but abandoned her dissertation before completing the degree. In 1999, Concordia awarded her an honorary doctorate.[14]

Proulx lived for more than 30 years inVermont,has married and divorced three times, and has three sons and a daughter (Jonathan, Gillis, Morgan, and Sylvia). In 1994, she moved to Bird Cloud, a ranch inSaratoga, Wyoming,spending part of the year in northernNewfoundlandon a small cove adjacent toL'Anse aux Meadows.As of 2019, Proulx lived inPort Townsend, Washington.[15]

Writing career and recognition

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Starting as a journalist, her first published work of fiction was "The Customs Lounge",a science fiction story published in the September 1963 issue ofIf,under the byline "E.A. Proulx".[16]

A year later, her science fiction story "All the Pretty Little Horses"appeared in the teen magazineSeventeenin June 1964. She subsequently published stories inEsquiremagazine andGray's Sporting Journalin the late 1970s, as well as how-to manuals for cooking and gardening.[17][18]Proulx published her first short-story collection,Heart Songs,in 1988 and her first novel,Postcards,in 1992.[11]She was the first woman to receive the PEN/Faulkner Award, which was awarded toPostcards.[19]She was awarded aNEAfellowship and aGuggenheimfellowship in 1992.[20][2]Her 1993 novelThe Shipping Newswas adapted fora 2001 film.Set in Newfoundland yet written by someone "from away"[21](not from Newfoundland), the novel stresses the vicarious quality of Proulx' writing.

She had the following comment on her celebrity status:

It's not good for one's view of human nature, that's for sure. You begin to see, when invitations are coming from festivals and colleges to come read (for an hour for a hefty sum of money), that the institutions are head-hunting for trophy writers. Most don't particularly care about your writing or what you're trying to say. You're there as a human object, one that has won a prize. It gives you a very odd, meat-rack kind of sensation.[22]

In 1997, Proulx was awarded theDos Passos Prize,a mid-career award for American writers.[23]Proulx has twice won theO. Henry Prizefor the year's best short story. In 1998, she won for "Brokeback Mountain",which had appeared inThe New Yorkeron October 13, 1997. Proulx won again the following year for "The Mud Below", which appeared inThe New YorkerJune 22 and 29, 1999. Both appear in her 1999 collection of short stories,Close Range: Wyoming Stories.The lead story in this collection, entitled "The Half-Skinned Steer", was selected by authorGarrison Keillorfor inclusion inThe Best American Short Stories1998,(Proulx herself edited the 1997 edition of this series) and later by novelistJohn Updikefor inclusion inThe Best American Short Stories of the Century(1999).[19]

In 2007, the composerCharles Wuorinenapproached Proulx with the idea of turning her short story "Brokeback Mountain" into anopera.Theopera of the same namewith alibrettoby Proulx herself premiered January 28, 2014, at theTeatro RealinMadrid.It was praised as an often brilliant adaptation that clearly conveyed the text of the libretto with music that is rich in imagination and variety.[24][25][26][27][28]Proulx published her first non-fiction book,Bird Cloud: A Memoir,largely based on her former Wyoming ranch of the same name.[18][29]In 2017, she received the Fitzgerald Award for that year for Achievement in American Literature.[30]

Bibliography

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Nonfiction

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  • Great grapes: grow the best ever.Pownal, Vermont: Storey Communications. 1980.ISBN9780882662282.
  • Proulx, Annie; Nichols, Lew (1980).Sweet & hard cider: making it, using it, & enjoying it.Charlotte, Vermont: Garden Way Publishing.
  • Making the Best Apple Cider.Storey Communications. 1983.ISBN9780882662220.
  • Plan and Make Your Own Fences & Gates, Walkways, Walls & Drives(1983),ISBN0-87857-452-2
  • The Fine Art of Salad Gardening.1985.ISBN0-87857-528-6
  • The Gourmet Gardener: Growing Choice Fruits and Vegetables with Spectacular Results(1987),ISBN0-449-90227-7
  • Cider: Making, Using & Enjoying Sweet and Hard Cider.Storey Communications. 2003.ISBN9781580175203.
  • Bird Cloud: A Memoir(2011),ISBN978-0-7432-8880-4
  • Foreword (2018) In: Wild Migrations: Atlas of Wyoming's Ungulates. Alethea Y. Steingisser, Emilene Ostlind, Hall Sawyer, James E. Meacham, Matthew J. Kauffman, and William J. Rudd (Eds.).ISBN978-0870719431
  • Fen, Bog & Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis(2022)[31]

Essay

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Novels

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Short fiction

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Collections

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Stories

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Title Year First published Reprinted/collected Notes
Rough deeds 2013 Proulx, Annie (June 10–17, 2013)."Rough deeds".The New Yorker.Vol. 89, no. 17. pp.56–61.
A resolute man 2016 Proulx, Annie (March 21, 2016)."A resolute man".The New Yorker.Vol. 92, no. 6. pp.76–85.
Annie Proulx receives the Prize for American Fiction fromCarla Haydenat the 2018National Book Festival.

Awards and recognition

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Adaptations

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References

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  1. ^"Library of Congress Name Authorities: Proulx, Annie".RetrievedFebruary 4,2013.
  2. ^abHartman, Steve (Fall 1999)."Annie Proulx's Close Range".New York State Writer's Institute.4(1).
  3. ^ab "Fiction".Past winners & finalists by category.The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
  4. ^ab "National Book Awards – 1993".National Book Foundation.Retrieved 2012-03-28.
    (With acceptance speech by Proulx and essays by Bob Shacochis and Mark Sarvas from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.)
  5. ^NNDB
  6. ^Hennessy, D. M. (2007). Annie Proulx. In R. E. Lee & P. Meanor (Eds.),Dictionary of Literary Biography:Vol. 335. American Short-Story Writers Since World War II. Detroit: Gale.
  7. ^Annie Proulx. (2013). In J. W. Hunter (Ed.), Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 331). Detroit: Gale.
  8. ^Jukka Petäjä, Maisema on ihmisen kehys ja varjo,Helsingin Sanomat,October 26, 2011, pg. C4.(in Finnish)
  9. ^abcdRimer, Sara (June 23, 1994)."At Home With: E. Annie Proulx; At Midlife, a Novelist Is Born".The New York Times.RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  10. ^abMcCarthy, Megan (April 1, 2013)."The Friction Between Past and Present: The American Dream Landscape and Identity in the Novels of Annie Proulx"(PDF).Georgetown Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  11. ^abcCox, Christopher (2009)."Annie Proulx, The Art of Fiction No. 199".The Paris Review.Vol. Spring 2009, no. 188.ISSN0031-2037.RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  12. ^"Annie Proulx to receive honorary National Book Award".The Portland Press Herald.September 21, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  13. ^"Annie Proulx".www.concordia.ca.Archived fromthe originalon January 30, 2016.RetrievedJanuary 25,2016.
  14. ^"Honorary Degree Citation - Annie Proulx | Concordia University Archives".archives.concordia.ca.RetrievedMarch 9,2016.
  15. ^Paz, Diane Urbani de la (April 30, 2019)."From witches to marijuana, Jefferson County authors cover the gamut".Peninsula Daily News.
  16. ^"The Customs Lounge in If, Volume 13 No 4, September 1963 – E. Annie Proulx".RetrievedMarch 18,2007.
  17. ^Simonds, Merilyn (August 4, 2016)."Annie Proulx's Canadian connections".The Kingston Whig Standard.RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  18. ^abRock, Lucy (June 5, 2016)."Annie Proulx: 'I've had a life. I see how slippery things can be'".The Observer.ISSN0029-7712.RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  19. ^abcGlossbrenner, Alfred; Glossbrenner, Emily (2000).About the author: the passionate reader's guide to the authors you love, including things you never knew, juicy bits you'll want to know, and hundreds of ideas for what to read next.San Diego: Harcourt. pp.182–183.ISBN9780156013024.
  20. ^"Annie Proulx".Dev John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation...RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  21. ^"DCHP-3 | away, def. (1)".dchp.arts.ubc.ca.RetrievedSeptember 19,2024.
  22. ^"Facts & Fiction – 97.11.12".(subscription only)The Atlantic Monthly.November 12, 1997.
  23. ^abLongwood University."Past Recipients and Select Works".www.longwood.edu.RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  24. ^Wise, Brian (January 30, 2014)."'Brokeback Mountain' Opera: The Critics Weigh In ".wqxr.org.RetrievedMarch 25,2018.
  25. ^William Jeffery, "Brokeback Mountain Opera Receives World Premiere",Limelight Magazine(January 30, 2014).
  26. ^Westphal, Matthew (September 27, 2007)."'Gay 12-Tone Cowboys' - Composer Charles Wuorinen Plans Opera Version of Brokeback Mountain".Playbill.Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  27. ^"Opera: BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, Teatro Real;".Teatro-Real.com. October 2, 2013.RetrievedOctober 2,2013.
  28. ^Anthony Tommasini (January 29, 2014)."Operatic Cowboys in Love, Onstage".New York Times.RetrievedJanuary 30,2014.
  29. ^Wyndham, Susan (March 4, 2011)."This is the house that Annie built".The Sydney Morning Herald.RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  30. ^F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival;accessed March 24, 2022.
  31. ^Depenbrock, Julie (October 11, 2022)."In 'Fen, Bog & Swamp,' Annie Proulx pens a history of wetland destruction".NPR(interview).RetrievedOctober 12,2022.
  32. ^"Heart songs / E. Annie Proulx".Catalogue.National Library of Australia.
  33. ^"Orange Prizes".Women & Children First.February 4, 2010.RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  34. ^"Annie Proulx Wins National Book Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award".Association of Writers & Writing Programs.September 25, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  35. ^"The Annie Proulx Papers: 1935-2010 (bulk 1980-2007)".The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts.RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  36. ^abCheveresan, Christina (2007)."Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain Or" This Ain't No Little Thing ""(PDF).British and American Studies Journal.13:41–50.
  37. ^"The WILLA Literary Award – Women Writing the West".RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  38. ^"Prizes".The Paris Review.RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  39. ^United States Artists Official Website
  40. ^Flood, Alison (September 22, 2017)."Annie Proulx wins high honour for writing on 'the beauty of rural America'".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  41. ^"Annie Proulx wins Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction".The Washington Post.May 3, 2018.RetrievedMay 3,2018.

Further reading

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