Whiting Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 4 (1988) Winner
Gerald Lyn Early
ジェラルド・リン・アーリー
Jerarudo Rin Ērī
Aliases:
Gerald L. Early / Gerald Early
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1952-04-21 （Philadelphia, Pennsylvania）
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania → St. Louis, Missouri
Career
- Occupations
- Professor, Author, Essayist, Cultural Critic
- Active Years
- 1974-2024
- Affiliations
- Washington University in St. Louis
- Memberships
- American Philosophical Society
- Influenced By
- Amiri Baraka
- Nominations
- Grammy Award for Best Album Notes (2001, Yes I Can! The Sammy Davis Jr. Story), Grammy Award for Best Album Notes (2002, Rhapsodies in Black: Music and Words From The Harlem Renaissance)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Pennsylvania | — | — | BA | — | United States |
| Cornell University | — | English literature | PhD | — | United States |
University of Pennsylvania
Degree:
BA
Year of Graduation:
1974
Country:
United States
cum laude
Cornell University
English literature
Degree:
PhD
Year of Graduation:
1982
Country:
United States
MA and PhD obtained
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Whiting Award | creative nonfiction | — | Whiting Foundation | Won |
| 1994 | National Book Critics Circle Award | The Culture of Bruising: Essays on Prizefighting, Literature, and Modern American Culture | Criticism | National Book Critics Circle | Won |
| 2013 | St. Louis Walk of Fame | — | — | — | Inducted |
Whiting Award
1988
Work:
creative nonfiction
Organization:
Whiting Foundation
Result:
Won
National Book Critics Circle Award
1994
Work:
The Culture of Bruising: Essays on Prizefighting, Literature, and Modern American Culture
Category:
Criticism
Organization:
National Book Critics Circle
Result:
Won
St. Louis Walk of Fame
2013
Result:
Inducted
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Culture of Bruising: Essays on Prizefighting, Literature, and Modern American Culture
1994 EssaysEssays on prizefighting, literature, and modern American culture. Winner of National Book Critics Circle Award.
PrizefightingAmerican CultureLiterary Criticism
Tuxedo Junction: Essays on American Culture
1989 EssaysCollection of essays on American culture.
American Culture
One Nation Under a Groove: Motown & American Culture
1994 Music HistoryExplores Motown Records and American culture.
MotownAfrican-American Culture
Bibliography
- Tuxedo Junction: Essays on American Culture
- Life with Daughters: Watching the Miss America Pageant
- The Culture of Bruising: Essays on Prizefighting, Literature, and Modern American Culture
- Daughters: On Family and Fatherhood
- One Nation Under a Groove: Motown & American Culture
- How the War in the Streets Is Won: Poems on the Quest of Love and Faith
- Yes I Can! The Sammy Davis Jr. Story
- Rhapsodies in Black: Music and Words From The Harlem Renaissance
- Play Harder: The Triumph of Black Baseball in America
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Prose essay styleCultural and social criticism
- Recurring Motifs
- African-American culturePrizefightingJazzBaseballMotownMuhammad Ali
Legacy
Critic and essayist specializing in American literature, African-American culture, sports, and music. Known as consultant for Ken Burns documentaries and NPR commentator. Professor at Washington University in St. Louis.
Academic Societies
- American Philosophical Society
In Popular Culture
- Consultant for Ken Burns documentaries including Baseball, Jazz, Unforgivable Blackness.
- Regular commentator on NPR's Fresh Air.
- In 2022, Early Street in Park Forest, Illinois, was renamed in his honor.
Trivia
- Father Henry Early (a baker) died when he was nine months old; raised by mother Florence Fernandez Oglesby.
- Grew up in poor Philadelphia neighborhood, befriended members of Fifth and South Street gangs but focused on scholarship.
- Married Ida Haynes on August 27, 1977; two children.
- Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters in English, African studies, African-American studies, American culture studies at Washington University in St. Louis.