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Francine Prose

フランシーン・プローズ

Furanshīn Purōzu

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1947-04-01 （Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
New York City (born and resident) → Bard College (visiting professor)

Career

Occupations
novelist, short story writer, essayist, critic, professor
Active Years
1973-
Affiliations
Bard College (visiting professor), PEN American Center (board member; former president)
Memberships
PEN American Center, American Academy in Rome (fellow)
Nominations
National Book Award (finalist) - Blue Angel

Education

Radcliffe College
Degree: B.A.
Year of Graduation: 1968
Country: United States

Awards

PEN Translation Prize
1988
Organization: PEN America
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
1991
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Rome Prize
2006
Organization: American Academy in Rome
Result: 受賞
Washington University International Humanities Medal
2010
Organization: Washington University in St. Louis
Result: 受賞
Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Fiction)
2006
Work: A Changed Man
Category: フィクション
Organization: Dayton Literary Peace Prize
Result: 受賞
National Jewish Book Award
1974
Work: Judah the Pious
Organization: Jewish Book Council
Result: 受賞
National Jewish Book Award
1998
Work: You Never Know: A Legend of the Lamed-vavniks
Organization: Jewish Book Council
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Glorious Ones

1974 historical fiction

A novel about a troupe of performers in the Renaissance and their rise and fall; explores art, ambition, and betrayal.

artfamebetrayalperformance
Adaptations
  • [musical] The Glorious Ones (musical) (2007)

Household Saints

1981 novel / family drama

A story of an Italian-American family that examines faith, tradition, and generational conflict.

faithfamilyimmigrant experience
Adaptations
  • [film] Household Saints (film) / Nancy Savoca (1993)

Blue Angel

2000 novel / satire

A satirical novel set on a college campus dealing with power structures and sexual harassment.

powersexual harassmentacademic culture

Reading Like a Writer

2006 nonfiction / literary criticism

A guide to reading closely in order to learn craft from the work of great writers.

close readingstylecraft

Bibliography

  • Judah the Pious (1973)
  • The Glorious Ones (1974)
  • Household Saints (1981)
  • Blue Angel (2000)
  • A Changed Man (2005)
  • Reading Like a Writer (2006)
  • The Vixen (2021)

Adaptations

  • The Glorious Ones (adapted as a musical)
  • Household Saints (film adaptation directed by Nancy Savoca)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
detailed descriptive proseblend of humor and satirecritical viewpoint
Recurring Motifs
family and generational conflictart and expressionreligion and faithpower and morality

Legacy

Francine Prose is a prolific author of novels, short stories and nonfiction whose work and criticism have influenced American letters and literary education. Several works have been adapted for stage and screen; she has received multiple awards and played an active role in public debates about freedom of expression while serving in leadership at PEN America.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy in Rome

Archives

  • The New York Review of Books archive (contributions)
  • HarperCollins (author page)

In Popular Culture

  • Musical adaptation of The Glorious Ones
  • Film adaptation of Household Saints

Quotes

  • I admire Charlie Hebdo's courage. But it does not deserve a PEN award.
    Source: The Guardian (op-ed) (2015)

Trivia

  • Served as president of PEN American Center from 2007 to 2009.
  • The Glorious Ones was adapted as a musical and staged in 2007.
  • Won the 2006 Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Fiction) for A Changed Man.