Ambassador Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 5 (1990) Winner
Allan Gurganus
アラン・ガーガナス
Allan Gurganus
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1947-06-11 （Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Rocky Mount (birthplace) → New York City (long-term residence) → North Carolina (returned residence)
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Short story writer, Essayist, Professor
- Active Years
- 1970-
- Affiliations
- Sarah Lawrence College (faculty), Iowa Writers' Workshop (faculty), Stanford University (visiting faculty), Duke University (faculty)
- Influenced By
- Grace Paley, John Cheever, John Irving, Stanley Elkin
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Pennsylvania | — | Fine Arts (Painting) | — | — | United States |
| Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts | — | Fine Arts (Painting) | — | — | United States |
| Sarah Lawrence College | — | Literature | — | — | United States |
| University of Iowa (Iowa Writers' Workshop) | — | Creative Writing | — | — | United States |
University of Pennsylvania
Fine Arts (Painting)
Country:
United States
Studied painting
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
Fine Arts (Painting)
Country:
United States
Studied at art academy
Sarah Lawrence College
Literature
Country:
United States
Studied with Grace Paley
University of Iowa (Iowa Writers' Workshop)
Creative Writing
Country:
United States
Studied with John Cheever, John Irving and Stanley Elkin
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction | Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All | — | The American Academy of Arts and Letters | 受賞 |
| 2001 | Lambda Literary Award (Gay Men's Fiction) | The Practical Heart | ゲイ男性フィクション | Lambda Literary Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2006 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞 |
| — | Ingram Merrill Award | — | — | Ingram Merrill Foundation | 受賞 |
Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction
Work:
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
Organization:
The American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result:
受賞
Lambda Literary Award (Gay Men's Fiction)
2001
Work:
The Practical Heart
Category:
ゲイ男性フィクション
Organization:
Lambda Literary Foundation
Result:
受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
2006
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞
Ingram Merrill Award
Organization:
Ingram Merrill Foundation
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 12 (1991) Winner
Works
Major Works
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
1989 NovelA debut novel set in North Carolina that blends humor and satire to explore Southern history, memory and interpersonal relations; it became a New York Times bestseller.
The SouthMemoryRaceIdentity
Adaptations
- [Television film] Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
- [Stage (one-woman show)] Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (one-woman play) (2003)
Plays Well with Others
1997 NovelA novel depicting Southern communities and interpersonal dynamics.
CommunityRelationships
White People
1991 Short story and novella collectionA collection of short stories and novellas examining characters' interiors and social contexts.
IdentityRaceMorality
The Practical Heart
1993 Novella/short story collectionA collection of four novellas; trade edition published in 2001 and won a Lambda Literary Award.
LoveReturnSexuality
Local Souls
2013 Short story collectionA short story collection rooted in community life, many stories set in his native North Carolina.
CommunityHomeMemory
Blessed Assurance: A Moral Tale
1990 NovellaA novella dealing with moral dilemmas and human relationships.
MoralityChoices
The Wish for a Good Young Country Doctor
2020 Short storyA short story published in The New Yorker focusing on rural healthcare and community hopes.
Rural healthcareCommunity
Bibliography
- Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1989)
- Plays Well with Others (1997)
- White People (1991)
- Blessed Assurance: A Moral Tale (1990)
- The Practical Heart (1993 / 2001)
- Local Souls (2013)
- The Uncollected Stories of Allan Gurganus (2021)
- The Wish for a Good Young Country Doctor (2020)
Adaptations
- Television and stage adaptations of Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
- Appearance as himself in the documentary Dear Jesse
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Southern Gothic elementsDialogue-driven narrationHumor and satire
- Recurring Motifs
- Memory and the pastSouthern societyRace and identitySexuality
Legacy
Allan Gurganus is a writer known for his portrayals of Southern life, blending humor and incisive character work. His debut became a bestseller and was adapted for screen and stage. He is respected for his short fiction and has influenced contemporary Southern and LGBT literature.
In Popular Culture
- Appeared as himself in the documentary Dear Jesse
- Works adapted for television and stage (Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All)
Trivia
- Served three years in the U.S. Navy as a message decoder as punishment for draft evasion.
- His debut novel Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All became a New York Times bestseller and sold millions of copies.
- His short story 'Minor Heroism' was published in The New Yorker and was among the magazine's early stories centered on a gay character.
- Co-founded the political group Writers Against Jesse Helms.