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Grace Paley

グレイス・パーリー

Gureisu Pārī

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1922-12-11 （Bronx, New York City, US）
Died
2007-08-22 （Thetford, Vermont, US） age 84
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Jewish (cultural/background)
Residence History
Greenwich Village, New York City → Thetford, Vermont

Career

Occupations
Writer, Poet, Teacher, Political activist
Active Years
1959-2007
Affiliations
Sarah Lawrence College (faculty), City College of New York (faculty), Columbia University (lecturer/visiting), Syracuse University (faculty), PEN America (vice president / board)
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Letters (member), PEN America, War Resisters League
Influenced By
W. H. Auden (teacher/influence), Donald Barthelme (friend/encourager), Yiddish and Jewish oral rhythms
Influenced
Many contemporary short-story writers (influence on conversational rhythm and urban women's perspectives), George Saunders (has written about/acknowledged Paley)
Nominations
The Collected Stories (1994) - Pulitzer Prize finalist, The Collected Stories (1994) - National Book Award finalist

Education

Hunter College
Period: 1938-1939
Country: United States
Attended for a year; did not earn a degree
The New School for Social Research
Period: 短期間（17歳頃）
Country: United States
Studied briefly with W. H. Auden; did not earn a degree

Awards

Guggenheim Fellowship (Fiction)
1961
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
O. Henry Award
1969
Work: "Distance"
Organization: O. Henry Prize Stories
Result: 受賞
Elected member, American Academy of Arts and Letters
1980
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result: 選出
Rea Award for the Short Story
1993
Organization: Rea Award for the Short Story
Result: 受賞
PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction
1994
Organization: PEN America / PEN/Malamud
Result: 受賞
New York State Author (official)
1986
Organization: New York State
Result: 任命
Poet Laureate of Vermont
2003
Organization: State of Vermont
Result: 任命
Honorary degree, Dartmouth College
1998
Organization: Dartmouth College
Result: 授与（名誉学位）
F. Scott Fitzgerald Award for Achievement in American Literature
2004
Organization: F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Little Disturbances of Man

1959 Short story collection

A collection of short stories focused on everyday life in New York, family and women's experiences. Early landmark collection including stories widely anthologized.

urban lifewomen's everyday experiencesJewish identityclass and personal relationships

Enormous Changes at the Last Minute

1974 Short story collection

A collection containing previously published stories and recurring characters. Characterized by conversational voice and fragmented plots addressing race, gender and class.

racegenderclasscommunity
Adaptations
  • [Film (three-part drama)] Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (film) (1983)

Later the Same Day

1985 Short story collection

Continues characters from Enormous Changes, expanding perspectives to include more diverse voices (Black and lesbian characters) and depicting urban life.

diverse voicescommunityeveryday conflicts

The Collected Stories

1994 Short story collection (collected)

A collected volume of her short stories, published in 1994; was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

women's experiencescity lifehumor and pathos

Leaning Forward

1985 Poetry

A poetry collection later set to music by composer Christian Wolff and regarded as an important part of her poetic output.

personal memorypolitical awareness

Fidelity

2008 Poetry (posthumous)

A posthumous poetry collection gathering work from late in her life.

reflectionethics and love

Bibliography

  • The Little Disturbances of Man (1959)
  • A Subject of Childhood (1969)
  • Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1974)
  • Later the Same Day (1985)
  • Leaning Forward (1985, poetry)
  • Long Walks and Intimate Talks (1991)
  • New and Collected Poems (1992)
  • The Collected Stories (1994)
  • Just As I Thought (1998)
  • Begin Again: Collected Poems (2000)
  • Fidelity (2008, posthumous)

Adaptations

  • Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1983 three-part film)
  • Goodbye and Good Luck (adapted as musical/staged readings)
  • Grace Paley: Collected Shorts (2009 documentary)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
conversational, rhythmic prosefragmented/episodic plotsblend of humor and poignancy
Recurring Motifs
domestic urban lifeJewish roots and oral rhythmsfeminism and peace activismcommunity and neighbor relations

Health

  • Breast cancer
    晩年（治療を受けていた）
    Underwent treatment for some time in later years; died in 2007

Legacy

Grace Paley is regarded as a major American short-story writer of the late 20th century; her conversational prose and Jewish/urban perspective influenced many writers. She is also noted for feminist and antiwar activism, and a literary prize bears her name.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Letters

Archives

  • Grace Paley Papers (held at university/research institutions)

In Popular Culture

  • Documentary 'Grace Paley: Collected Shorts' (2009)
  • Staged readings / musical adaptation attempts of 'Goodbye and Good Luck'

Quotes

  • "somewhat combative pacifist and cooperative anarchist."
    Source: Interview / biographical accounts
  • "I couldn't help the fact that I had not gone to war, and I had not done the male things. I had lived a woman's life and that's what I wrote about."
    Source: Interview (e.g. The Paris Review)

Trivia

  • Attended Hunter College and The New School but did not earn degrees.
  • Did not learn to drive until age 55.
  • Active in antiwar and feminist movements from the 1950s; the FBI maintained a file on her for decades.
  • The Grace Paley Prize was established by the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP).