Dayton Literary Peace Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 2 (2007) Winner
Brad Kessler
ブラッド・ケスラー
Brad Kessler
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1963-01-01
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Sandgate, Vermont → Coney Island, New York → Burlington area, Vermont
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Non-fiction writer, Journalist, Editor, Teacher, Shepherd, Cheesemaker
- Active Years
- 1990-
- Affiliations
- Antioch University Los Angeles (MFA program, faculty)
- Influenced By
- Annie Dillard
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wesleyan University | — | — | — | — | United States |
| Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma (training) | — | — | — | — | United States |
Wesleyan University
Country:
United States
Studied with writer Annie Dillard.
Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma (training)
Country:
United States
Completed training in refugee trauma.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Fiction) | Birds in Fall | — | Dayton Literary Peace Prize | 受賞 |
| 2006 | Whiting Award | — | — | The Whiting Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2006 | National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship | — | — | National Endowment for the Arts | 受賞 |
| 2006 | Rome Prize (American Academy of Arts and Letters) | — | — | American Academy of Arts and Letters | 受賞 |
| 2002 | Lange-Taylor Prize | The Garden of Eden (photography-text collaboration) | — | The Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University | 受賞 |
Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Fiction)
2007
Work:
Birds in Fall
Organization:
Dayton Literary Peace Prize
Result:
受賞
Whiting Award
2006
Organization:
The Whiting Foundation
Result:
受賞
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
2006
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts
Result:
受賞
Rome Prize (American Academy of Arts and Letters)
2006
Organization:
American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result:
受賞
Lange-Taylor Prize
2002
Work:
The Garden of Eden (photography-text collaboration)
Organization:
The Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Whiting Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 23 (2007) Winner
Works
Major Works
Lick Creek
2001 NovelKessler's first novel set in 1920s West Virginia, depicting small-town life and individual struggles.
communitylandmemory
Birds in Fall
2006 NovelSet on a remote island off Nova Scotia, the novel uses the crash of Swissair Flight 111 to explore grief and recovery, following an ornithologist and an international cast; a retelling inspired by the Halcyon days myth.
lossrecoverynature/birdsmythic elements
Goat Song: A Seasonal Life, A Short History of Herding, and the Art of Making Cheese
2009 Memoir/EssayA memoir in mixed-essay form chronicling Kessler's initiation into herding goats and cheesemaking, and exploring pastoral roots of Western culture.
pastoralismliving with naturecultural history
North
2021 NovelSet in a Vermont monastery, the novel follows the encounter between a Catholic monk and a Somali refugee denied asylum, exploring faith, refugee issues, and forgiveness.
faithrefugees/immigrationforgiveness
Bibliography
- Lick Creek
- Birds in Fall
- Goat Song
- North
- The Garden of Eden (photography-text collaboration)
- A Woodcutter's Christmas (co-authored)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- lyrical natural descriptiondetailed observation-based prosehybrid essay-narrative form
- Recurring Motifs
- birdsgoats and pastoralismland and agricultureloss and recoveryreligious/spiritual inquiry
Legacy
Kessler has contributed to contemporary American literature by foregrounding nature and pastoral themes, bridging literature and lived farming practice; his awards and teaching reinforce his reputation as a writer who connects art and agricultural life.
Archives
- MacDowell artist profile (related materials)
Trivia
- Birds in Fall won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Fiction) in 2007.
- Married to photographer-activist Dona Ann McAdams and has collaborated with her on projects.
- Lives in Sandgate, Vermont, where he and his wife raised dairy goats and made cheese.
- The Garden of Eden won the Lange-Taylor Prize in 2002.
- Wrote scripts for Rabbit Ears Productions that were recorded by actors including Denzel Washington and Ben Kingsley.