American Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 29 (2008) Winner
Frank B. Wilderson III
フランク・ビー・ワイルダーソン・ザ・サード
Furanku B. Wairudāson III
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1956-04-11 （New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- Catholic
- Residence History
- New Orleans, Louisiana → Ann Arbor, Michigan → Minneapolis, Minnesota → Berkeley, California → Johannesburg, South Africa → Irvine, California
Career
- Occupations
- writer, dramatist, filmmaker, critic, professor
- Active Years
- 1978-2025
- Affiliations
- University of California, Irvine, University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg), Vista University (South Africa), Khanya College (South Africa)
- Memberships
- African National Congress (ANC), Umkhonto we Sizwe
- Influenced By
- Frantz Fanon, W. E. B. Du Bois, Antonio Gramsci
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dartmouth College | BA (Government and Philosophy) | — | BA | 1974–1978 | United States |
| Columbia University | MFA (Creative Writing) | — | MFA | — | United States |
| University of California, Berkeley | MA/PhD (Rhetoric and Film Studies) | Rhetoric Department, Film Studies Program | PhD | — | United States |
Dartmouth College
BA (Government and Philosophy)
Degree:
BA
Period:
1974–1978
Year of Graduation:
1978
Country:
United States
Studied European philosophy and comparative government
Columbia University
MFA (Creative Writing)
Degree:
MFA
Country:
United States
MFA in creative writing (year unknown)
University of California, Berkeley
MA/PhD (Rhetoric and Film Studies)
/ Rhetoric Department, Film Studies Program
Degree:
PhD
Country:
United States
PhD in rhetoric and film studies (year unknown)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | American Book Award | Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile & Apartheid | — | Before Columbus Foundation (US) | winner |
| 2008 | Hurston/Wright Legacy Award | Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile & Apartheid | Creative Non-Fiction | Hurston/Wright Foundation | winner |
| — | Eisner Prize for Creative Achievement of the Highest Order | — | — | — | winner |
| — | Judith Stronach Award for Poetry | — | — | — | winner |
| — | Crothers Short Prose Award | — | — | — | winner |
| — | Jerome Foundation Artists and Writers Award | — | — | Jerome Foundation | recipient |
| — | Loft-McKnight Award for Best Prose in the State of Minnesota | — | — | The Loft and McKnight Foundation | winner |
| — | Maya Angelou Award for Best Fiction Portraying the Black Experience | — | — | — | winner |
American Book Award
2008
Work:
Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile & Apartheid
Organization:
Before Columbus Foundation (US)
Result:
winner
Hurston/Wright Legacy Award
2008
Work:
Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile & Apartheid
Category:
Creative Non-Fiction
Organization:
Hurston/Wright Foundation
Result:
winner
Eisner Prize for Creative Achievement of the Highest Order
Result:
winner
Judith Stronach Award for Poetry
Result:
winner
Crothers Short Prose Award
Result:
winner
Jerome Foundation Artists and Writers Award
Organization:
Jerome Foundation
Result:
recipient
Loft-McKnight Award for Best Prose in the State of Minnesota
Organization:
The Loft and McKnight Foundation
Result:
winner
Maya Angelou Award for Best Fiction Portraying the Black Experience
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile & Apartheid
2007 memoir / political non-fictionA political memoir recounting Wilderson's time in South Africa, involvement with the ANC, and his return to the U.S. and graduate studies. It reflects on apartheid-era experiences and their impact on identity.
exileapartheidrace and violencepolitical activism
Red, White & Black: Cinema and the Structure of US Antagonisms
2010 film studies / criticismA collection of critical essays analyzing US antagonisms through cinema, addressing relations between race, nation, and violence.
film theoryrace theoryviolence
Afropessimism
2020 philosophy / critical theoryA theoretical work presenting the foundations and development of Afropessimism, discussing the structure of Black social 'death' and offering insights on sovereignty, discourse, and violence.
Afropessimismsocial deathpolitics of violence
Bibliography
- Incognegro: From Black Power to Apartheid and Back
- Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile & Apartheid
- Red, White & Black: Cinema and the Structure of US Antagonisms
- Afropessimism
- Various poems and short prose (contributions to anthologies)
Adaptations
- Reparations......Now (film)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- theoretical and essayisticpolitical and critical proseblend of memoir and theory
- Recurring Motifs
- social deathviolenceexile and returnquestions of nationhood and identity
Legacy
Wilderson is regarded as a key proponent of Afropessimism and has significantly influenced debates on race and violence across literature, film, and criticism. His works have shaped both academic and public discourse and made important contributions to contemporary race theory.
Academic Societies
- African American Studies Association
Archives
- UC Irvine faculty profile archive
In Popular Culture
- Influence through lectures and dialogues at film festivals and academic events
Quotes
-
No other place-names depend on such violence. No other nouns owe their integrity to this semiotics of death.
Source: Essay "Grammar and Ghosts: The Performative Limits of African Freedom" (2009)
Trivia
- Participated in civil rights and student activism in his youth.
- Was suspended from Dartmouth after involvement in protests.
- Lived and taught in Johannesburg in the 1990s and was elected to the ANC as an American resident.
- Directed the short film "Reparations......Now" (2005).