American Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 10 (1989) Winner
J. California Cooper (Joan Cooper)
ジェイ・カリフォルニア・クーパー
J. California Cooper
Pen Names:
California Cooper（Pen name used for much of her career, derived from her home state (California).）
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1931-11-10 （Berkeley, California, U.S.）
- Died
- 2014-09-20 （Seattle, Washington, U.S.） age 82
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- Christianity
- Residence History
- Berkeley, California → Oakland, California → Texas (including Marshall, father's hometown) → Seattle, Washington
Career
- Occupations
- playwright, author, dramatist
- Active Years
- 1970-2014
- Influenced By
- Alice Walker, Tennessee Williams (cited as an inspiration for pen name style)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical high school in California (name unknown) | — | — | — | 1930年代–1940年代 | United States |
| University of California, Berkeley (attended, later dropped out) | — | — | — | 在籍期間不明（中退） | United States |
Technical high school in California (name unknown)
Period:
1930年代–1940年代
Year of Graduation:
1949
Country:
United States
Recorded as graduating from a technical high school in California; details unknown.
University of California, Berkeley (attended, later dropped out)
Period:
在籍期間不明（中退）
Country:
United States
Attended briefly before dropping out.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Black Playwright of the Year | Strangers (play) | — | Unknown | winner |
| 1988 | James Baldwin Writing Award | — | — | Unknown | winner |
| 1988 | Literary Lion Award | — | — | American Library Association | winner |
| 1989 | American Book Award | Homemade Love | — | Before Columbus Foundation (U.S.) | winner |
Black Playwright of the Year
1978
Work:
Strangers (play)
Organization:
Unknown
Result:
winner
James Baldwin Writing Award
1988
Organization:
Unknown
Result:
winner
Literary Lion Award
1988
Organization:
American Library Association
Result:
winner
American Book Award
1989
Work:
Homemade Love
Organization:
Before Columbus Foundation (U.S.)
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
A Piece of Mine
1984 short story collectionHer first prose collection (not plays), containing twelve stories focused on the lives of women facing misogyny, alcoholism, abuse and other hardships.
women's strugglesdomestic violencepoverty and dignity
Homemade Love
1986 short story collectionA thirteen-story collection exploring everyday people searching for lost or overlooked sources of happiness. Includes the story 'Funny Valentines', later adapted for screen.
rediscoverylove and relationshipseveryday joys and pains
Adaptations
- [television film] Funny Valentines (film) (1999)
Family
1991 novel / neo-slave narrativeA neo-slave narrative depicting a slave family during the Civil War era. Through Clora's suicide and the narration of her child Always, the novel examines slavery and post-emancipation discrimination.
slaveryfamilypost-emancipation discrimination
The Wake of the Wind
1998 novelSet on a Texas plantation in the 1860s, it follows Lifee and her husband Mordecai as they seek a better life for their children amid post-Civil War discrimination.
post-emancipation liferacismfamily reconstruction
Bibliography
- A Piece of Mine (1984)
- Homemade Love (1986)
- Some Soul to Keep (1987)
- Family (1991)
- The Matter Is Life (1991)
- In Search of Satisfaction (1994)
- Some Love, Some Pain, Some Time: Stories (1996)
- The Wake of the Wind (1998)
- The Future Has a Past (2001)
- Age Ain't Nothing but a Number: Black Women Explore Midlife (contributor, 2003)
- Some People, Some Other Place (2004)
- Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns: Stories (2006)
- Life is Short but Wide (2009)
Adaptations
- Television film adaptation of the short story 'Funny Valentines' (1999)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- frequent first-person narrationgossipy, conversational tonemoral and religious-ethical elements
- Recurring Motifs
- rain and musical imagery (favored while writing)family and intergenerational storieslives and struggles of African-American women
Health
-
Heart failure2014年（死因）Died of heart failure on September 20, 2014. Continued creative activity until near death.
Legacy
J. California Cooper is known for short stories and novels focusing on the lives of African-American women and is regarded as an important voice in late-20th-century American literature. Her plays and prose, and her association with figures like Alice Walker, contributed to her recognition.
Archives
In Popular Culture
- Her short story 'Funny Valentines' was adapted into a television film in 1999.
Trivia
- Born Joan; long used the pen name J. California Cooper.
- Wrote 17 plays and won Black Playwright of the Year in 1978.
- Encouraged by Alice Walker to write short stories.
- Worked a variety of jobs (teamster, truck driver, manicurist, worked on Alaskan pipelines) before full literary recognition.
- Her daughter is Paris Williams; she lived with her daughter in Seattle near the end of her life.