Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 61 (1996) Lifetime Achievement Award
Dorothy West
ドロシー・ウェスト
Dorothy West
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1907-06-02 （Boston, Massachusetts, United States）
- Died
- 1998-08-16 （New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, United States） age 91
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Boston (birthplace, childhood) → Harlem (New York City) → Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts (Oak Bluffs)
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, short-story writer, columnist, editor, actress
- Active Years
- 1921-1998
- Affiliations
- Harlem Writers Guild, Federal Writers' Project, Challenge (founder/editor), Contributor to The New Yorker
- Influenced By
- Langston Hughes, Carl Van Vechten, Richard Wright, Helene Johnson (cousin)
- Influenced
- Later African-American women writers (e.g., Toni Morrison, Alice Walker), Writers and scholars who revived interest in Harlem Renaissance (e.g., Henry Louis Gates Jr. and others)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Girls' Latin School (now Boston Latin Academy) | — | — | — | ～1923 | United States |
| Boston University | — | — | — | — | United States |
| Columbia University School of Journalism | — | — | — | — | United States |
Girls' Latin School (now Boston Latin Academy)
Period:
～1923
Year of Graduation:
1923
Country:
United States
Graduated at age 16
Boston University
Country:
United States
Attended/ studied (degree information unknown)
Columbia University School of Journalism
Country:
United States
Studied (degree information unknown)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (Lifetime Achievement) | — | — | Anisfield-Wolf Foundation | 受賞 |
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (Lifetime Achievement)
1996
Organization:
Anisfield-Wolf Foundation
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Living Is Easy
1948 Novel (social satire)A satirical novel about an upper-class Black family in Boston and their attempts to climb the social ladder; explores class, race, and gender.
raceclassgendersatire of the bourgeoisie
The Wedding
1995 Novel (family saga / social novel)Set on Martha's Vineyard, the novel recounts the multigenerational history of an affluent Black family and examines race, class, and gender; adapted as a television miniseries in 1998.
family historyraceclassgendersocial status
Adaptations
- [TV miniseries] The Wedding (Oprah Winfrey production) (1998)
Bibliography
- The Living Is Easy (1948)
- The Wedding (1995)
- The Richer, The Poorer: Stories, Sketches, and Reminiscences (1995)
- The Dorothy West Martha's Vineyard: Stories, Essays and Reminiscences by Dorothy West Writing in the Vineyard Gazette (eds. 2001)
- Where the Wild Grape Grows: Selected Writings, 1930–1950 (2004)
- The Last Leaf of Harlem: Selected and Newly Discovered Fiction (2008)
Adaptations
- The Wedding (1998 TV miniseries, Oprah Winfrey production)
- Documentary 'As I Remember It: A Portrait of Dorothy West' (1991, directed by Salem Mekuria)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- satirical and laconic observationnaturalistic elementsclear, precise descriptive style
- Recurring Motifs
- class and social aspirationfamily historyinternal conflicts about skin color and status
Legacy
Dorothy West is regarded as a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance and a pioneer among Black women writers. Through incisive observations and satire on class, race, and gender, she has continued to influence subsequent generations of writers.
Archives
- James Weldon Johnson Collection (Yale University)
- Mugar Memorial Library (Boston University)
- Schlesinger Library (Harvard University) 'Papers of Dorothy West'
- Dorothy West Digital Collection (Schlesinger Library archive)
In Popular Culture
- Oprah Winfrey-produced TV miniseries 'The Wedding' (1998)
- Documentary 'As I Remember It: A Portrait of Dorothy West' (1991, Salem Mekuria)
Quotes
-
"That I hung in there. That I didn't say I can't."
Source: Interview / remark (source: recollection) (1998)
Trivia
- Her father Isaac Christopher West was a former slave who became a successful wholesale fruit businessman in Boston, nicknamed the 'Black Banana King'.
- Began publishing as a teenager; first published short story at age 14 in The Boston Post.
- Active in the Harlem Renaissance and founded the magazine Challenge.
- The Living Is Easy (1948) initially sold poorly but was reissued in 1982 and gained renewed attention.
- Published The Wedding at age 85 (1995); it was adapted for television in 1998.
- Known during her Harlem years by the nickname 'The Kid'.