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Don DeLillo

ドン・デリーロ

Don DeLillo

Pen Names: Cleo Birdwell（Pseudonym used when publishing the novel Amazons）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1936-11-20 （New York City, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Catholicism
Residence History
The Bronx, New York City → Greece (period of residence and writing) → Bronxville, New York (suburb)

Career

Occupations
novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter, essayist
Active Years
1960-2025
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Letters
Influenced By
James Joyce, William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, Ernest Hemingway, William Gaddis, Jazz (e.g. Ornette Coleman), European cinema (Antonioni, Godard, etc.)
Influenced
Jennifer Egan, Jonathan Franzen, David Foster Wallace, Jonathan Lethem, Zadie Smith

Education

Cardinal Hayes High School
Period: 1950s
Year of Graduation: 1954
Country: United States
Fordham University
Communication Arts
Degree: BA
Period: 1954–1958
Year of Graduation: 1958
Country: United States
Bachelor's degree in Communication Arts

Awards

Guggenheim Fellowship
1978
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
National Book Award (Fiction)
1985
Work: White Noise
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞
PEN/Faulkner Award
1992
Work: Mao II
Organization: PEN/Faulkner Foundation
Result: 受賞
American Book Award
1998
Work: Underworld
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: 受賞
William Dean Howells Medal
2000
Work: Underworld
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters / American Academy
Result: 受賞
Jerusalem Prize
1999
Organization: Jerusalem Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction
2010
Organization: PEN America
Result: 受賞
Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction
2013
Organization: Library of Congress
Result: 受賞（初代受賞者）
Carl Sandburg Literary Award
2012
Organization: Chicago Public Library Foundation
Result: 受賞
St. Louis Literary Award
2010
Organization: Saint Louis University Library Associates
Result: 受賞
National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
2015
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞（功労賞）
American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Fiction
2025
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

White Noise

1985 Postmodern novel / Black comedy 326 pages

Follows a suburban family in a media-saturated, consumerist society; examines death anxiety and cultural saturation with black humor.

consumerismmedia saturationfear of death
Adaptations
  • [Film] White Noise / Noah Baumbach (2022)
Translations
  • White Noise (Japanese translation)

Underworld

1997 Epic novel / Historical novel 800 pages

An epic spanning from the Cold War to the dawn of the Internet; intertwines many characters and episodes to portray American culture and memory.

memorythe Cold WarAmerican culture
Translations
  • Underworld (Japanese translation)

Libra

1988 Historical fiction 448 pages

A fictionalized reconstruction of Lee Harvey Oswald's life leading up to the JFK assassination; built on extensive research to explore facets of the event.

conspiracyreimagining historyAmerican fate
Translations
  • Libra (Japanese translation)

Mao II

1991 Contemporary novel 256 pages

Explores the relationship between writers, terrorism, and the media; questions the public role of the writer and crowd psychology.

role of the writerterrorism and mediaindividual vs. crowd
Translations
  • Mao II (Japanese translation)

Zero K

2016 Philosophical fiction 240 pages

A meditation on death and immortality set around a high-tech preservation facility; examines love and the fragility of life.

death and dyingtechnology and ethicsfamily
Translations
  • Zero K (Japanese translation)

Bibliography

  • Americana (1971)
  • End Zone (1972)
  • Great Jones Street (1973)
  • Ratner's Star (1976)
  • Players (1977)
  • Running Dog (1978)
  • Amazons (1980, as Cleo Birdwell)
  • The Names (1982)
  • White Noise (1985)
  • Libra (1988)
  • Mao II (1991)
  • Underworld (1997)
  • The Body Artist (2001)
  • Cosmopolis (2003)
  • Falling Man (2007)
  • Point Omega (2010)
  • Zero K (2016)
  • The Silence (2020)

Adaptations

  • Cosmopolis (film, 2012, dir. David Cronenberg)
  • White Noise (film adaptation, 2022, dir. Noah Baumbach)
  • Game 6 (screenplay, film released 2005)

Translations of Works

  • Many works have been translated into multiple languages, including Japanese

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Modernist/postmodern prose with careful, cool observationShifts between abstract concepts and mundane detailFrequent use of rhythmic dialogue and fragmentary sections
Recurring Motifs
media and imagescrowd psychology/terrorismconsumer societydeath and memory

Legacy

A major voice in contemporary American literature. Acute portrayals of postwar culture, media, and consumerism; has influenced numerous later writers.

Museums

  • Harry Ransom Center (Don DeLillo Papers) Austin, Texas, U.S. Opened in 2004

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Letters

Archives

  • Don DeLillo Papers at the Harry Ransom Center

In Popular Culture

  • Band name The Airborne Toxic Event taken from the chemical leak in White Noise
  • Frequently referenced in films, music, and other writers' works

Quotes

  • I have described my themes as 'living in dangerous times' and 'the inner life of the culture.'
    Source: Interviews and essays (various) (2005)
  • Writers must oppose systems. It's important to write against power, corporations, the state, and the whole system of consumption.
    Source: 2005 interview (2005)

Trivia

  • The novel Amazons was published under the pseudonym Cleo Birdwell.
  • Early in his career he worked as an advertising copywriter; that experience influenced later work.
  • His papers and drafts were acquired by the Harry Ransom Center.