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Tracy Kidder

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Tracy Kidder
Tracy Kidder at the College of Wooster, 2009
Tracy Kidder at theCollege of Wooster,2009
Born(1945-11-12)November 12, 1945(age 78)
New York City
Alma materHarvard University
University of Iowa
GenreNon-fiction
Literary movementLiterary journalism
Notable worksThe Soul of a New Machine
Mountains Beyond Mountains
Notable awardsPulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction
1982The Soul of a New Machine
SpouseFrances[1]
ChildrenNathaniel T. Kidder, Alice Bukhman

John Tracy Kidder(born November 12, 1945) is an American writer of nonfiction books. He received thePulitzer Prizefor hisThe Soul of a New Machine(1981), about the creation of a new computer atData General Corporation.He has received praise and awards for other works, including his biography ofPaul Farmer,a physician and anthropologist, titledMountains Beyond Mountains(2003).

Kidder is considered aliterary journalistbecause of the strong story line and personal voice in his writing.[2]: 5 He has cited as his writing influencesJohn McPhee,A. J. Liebling,andGeorge Orwell.[3]: 127–128 In a 1984 interview he said, "McPhee has been my model. He's the most elegant of all the journalists writing today, I think."[2]: 7 

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."[4]

Early life and education[edit]

John Tracy Kidder was born November 12, 1945, in New York City.[5]: 263  He graduated fromPhillips Academyin 1963.[6] He attendedHarvard College,originally majoring inpolitical science,but switching to English after taking a course in creative writing fromRobert Fitzgerald.[7]He received an AB degree from Harvard in 1967.[5]: 263 

Kidder served in theUnited States Armyas afirst lieutenant,Military Intelligence,Vietnam, from 1967 to 1969.[5]: 263 After returning from Vietnam, he wrote for some time and was admitted to theIowa Writers' Workshop.[3]: 128 He received anMFAdegree from theUniversity of Iowain 1974.[5]: 263 

Career[edit]

Kidder wrote his first book,The Road to Yuba City: a Journey into theJuan CoronaMurders,while at theUniversity of Iowa.The Atlantic Monthlycommissioned the work, and he continued writing as a freelancer for the magazine during the 1970s.[3]: 128 The Road to Yuba Citywas a critical failure,[3]: 128, 137 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 wantThe Road to Yuba Cityto see the light of day again.[3]: 129 

Kidder has 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."[3]: 128 His works forThe Atlantic Monthlyinclude 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."[3]: 128 

Kidder's second book,The Soul of a New Machine(1981), was much more successful than his first. His account of the complex community and environment of programming and computer development won thePulitzer Prize for General Nonfictionin 1982. He has continued to write nonfiction books and articles, and these have been well received by the critics.[3]: 127 Kidder's 2009 book,Strength in What Remains,is a portrait of a man who survived the genocide inBurundi.

He has explored a wide range of topics through his books:House(1985), a "biography" of a couple having their first house built, and the people involved in the project;Among Schoolchildren(1989), set in an elementary-school classroom inHolyoke, Massachusetts,and reflecting on US education through the lives of these 20 children and their teacher (these two books were both bestsellers); andOld Friends(1993), which explored the daily lives and personal growth of a pair of elderly men in a nursing home. His books have made "Notable" annual lists ofThe New York Timesand received positive praise from critics, in addition to awards.

In fall 2010 Kidder was selected as the first A. M. Rosenthal Writer-in-Residence at theHarvard Kennedy School'sShorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy.At the center, he worked with his onetime editor atThe Atlantic,Richard Todd, on a book about writing, titledGood Prose: The Art of Nonfiction.[8]He lectured to students and did research to identify his next narrative subject.

Selected awards[edit]

Books[edit]

  • Kidder, Tracy (1974).The Road to Yuba City: A Journey into theJuan CoronaMurders.Garden City: Doubleday.ISBN978-0-385-02865-3.
  • Kidder, Tracy (1981).The Soul of a New Machine.Boston: Little, Brown.ISBN978-0-316-49170-9.
  • Kidder, Tracy (1985).House.Boston: Houghton Mifflin.ISBN0-618-00191-3.
  • Kidder, Tracy (1990) [1989].Among Schoolchildren.New York: Avon Books.ISBN0-380-71089-7.
  • Kidder, Tracy (1993).Old Friends.Boston: Houghton Mifflin.ISBN978-0-395-71088-3.
  • Kidder, Tracy (2000) [1999].Home Town.New York: Washington Square Press.ISBN0-671-78521-4.
  • Kidder, Tracy (2003).Mountains Beyond Mountains.New York: Random House.ISBN0-375-50616-0.
  • Kidder, Tracy (2005).My Detachment: A Memoir.New York: Random House.ISBN0-375-50615-2.
  • Kidder, Tracy (2009).Strength in What Remains.New York: Random House.ISBN978-1-4000-6621-6.
  • Kidder, Tracy; Todd, Richard (2013).Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction.New York: Random House.ISBN978-1-4000-6975-0.
  • Kidder, Tracy (2016).A Truck Full of Money: One Man's Quest to Recover from Great Success.Random House.ISBN978-0-8129-9524-4.
  • Kidder, Tracy (2023).Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O'Connell's Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People.Random House.ISBN978-1-9848-0143-2.[16]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ This was the award forhardcover "General Nonfiction".
    From 1980 to 1983 inNational Book Awards historythere were several nonfiction subcategories, including General Nonfiction, with dual hardcover and paperback awards in most categories.

References[edit]

  1. ^"On Main Street With Tracy Kidder".partners.nytimes.RetrievedDecember 19,2017.
  2. ^ab Sims, Norman (1984). Sims, Norman (ed.).The Literary Journalists.Ballantine Books. pp.3–25.ISBN978-0-345-31081-1.
  3. ^abcdefghBennett, David (1997)."Tracy Kidder".Dictionary of Literary Biography.Vol. 185. Gale Research. pp.127–137.ISBN0-7876-1119-0.
  4. ^ Kidder, Tracy (February 1994). "Facts and the nonfiction writer".The Writer.107(2): 14–16.ISSN0043-9517.
  5. ^abcdDaniel Jones; John D. Jorgenson, eds. (1998). "Kidder, Trina 1945–".Contemporary Authors: New Revision Series.Vol. 61. Gale Research. pp.263–267.ISBN0-7876-2004-1.
  6. ^"Phillips Academy – Notable Alumni – Literature, Publishing & Journalism".Phillips Academy. 2009. Archived fromthe originalon June 20, 2009.RetrievedJune 10,2009.
  7. ^Kidder, Tracy (Fall 1996). "Courting the approval of the dead".TriQuarterly(97): 43–59.ISSN0041-3097.
  8. ^"Random House website".July 27, 2023.
  9. ^"The Pulitzer Prizes: General Nonfiction".Columbia University. June 5, 2009.RetrievedJune 8,2009.
  10. ^ "National Book Awards – 1982".National Book Foundation.Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  11. ^"10th Annual RFK Book Award".Robert F. Kennedy Memorial. Archived fromthe originalon June 20, 2009.RetrievedJune 8,2009.
  12. ^"Past Winners 1986–2002".English-Speaking Union of the United States. January 11, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon August 20, 2008.RetrievedJune 8,2009.
  13. ^"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement".achievement.org.American Academy of Achievement.
  14. ^"Marvin Minsky Biography and Interview".Awards Council member Marvin Minsky presents the Academy's Golden Plate Award to the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder during the 2001 Academy of Achievement Summit in San Antonio, Texas.
  15. ^"Lettre Ulysses Award: Winners 2004".Lettre International.RetrievedJune 9,2009.
  16. ^Briefly reviewed in theJanuary 2023 issueofHarper's Magazine,pp.71–73.

External links[edit]

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