American Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 29 (2008) Lifetime Achievement Award
J. J. Phillips
ジェーン・J・フィリップス
Jane J. Phillips
Pen Names:
J. J. Phillips（Pen name used for publication）
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1944-04-02
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- None / Atheist (family described as atheist)
- Residence History
- Los Angeles (grew up) → Berkeley (worked at Bancroft Library)
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Novelist, Civil rights activist, Editor
- Active Years
- 1962-
- Affiliations
- National Student Association (student activism), Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Bancroft Library (University of California, Berkeley; manuscript division work)
- Memberships
- National Student Association, Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
- Influenced By
- Lightnin' Hopkins (blues musician), Marcel Camus (film Black Orpheus), Henry Miller, Jean Genet, Jean-Paul Sartre, Richard Wright, Samuel Charters (blues scholarship)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immaculate Heart College | — | — | — | 1962–1963（在籍中に退学） | United States |
Immaculate Heart College
Period:
1962–1963（在籍中に退学）
Country:
United States
Expelled in January 1963 while a freshman
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | American Book Award (Lifetime Achievement) | — | — | Before Columbus Foundation | 受賞 |
American Book Award (Lifetime Achievement)
2008
Organization:
Before Columbus Foundation
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Mojo Hand
1966 Novel (literary / blues-influenced fiction)The story of Eunice Pride, a light-skinned, upper-class young woman from San Francisco who, after hearing a record by bluesman Blacksnake Brown, seeks him out and becomes involved in an ultimately tragic relationship. The novel blends Orphic myth, blues music and a protagonist's passage from a non-racialized upbringing into a racialized world.
BluesOrpheus mythRace and identityComing-of-ageMusic and sexuality
The Passion of Joan Paul II: A Pasquinade
1996 Satirical novel / proseA satirical work; detailed synopsis is limited in available sources.
SatireReligious motifs (as suggested by title)
Bibliography
- Mojo Hand (Trident Press, 1966; revised as Mojo Hand: An Orphic Tale, City Miner Books 1985; Serpent's Tail 1987)
- The Passion of Joan Paul II: A Pasquinade (Ishmael Reed Publishing Company, 1996)
- Poem 'Nigga in the Woodpile' (KONCH, Vol.1 No.2, 1990; revised and republished online in 2008)
- Poem 'Brautigan's Brains' (2002; later published online in Exquisite Corpse)
- Co-editor: The Before Columbus Foundation Poetry Anthology: Selections from the American Book Awards, 1980-1990 (W. W. Norton & Company, 1992)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Lyrical, myth-inflected prose shaped by the bluesBold, candid depiction of sexuality and moral ambiguity
- Recurring Motifs
- Snake (blacksnake) motifMusic, especially the bluesOrphic descent/questRacialization and assimilationComing-of-age and loss
Legacy
Mojo Hand has maintained a cult following since its publication and is regarded as an influential, ahead-of-its-time work among Black women's fiction. The novel has been periodically rediscovered and reassessed; Phillips received an American Book Award Lifetime Achievement in 2008. Her papers are archived at Emory University.
Museums
- Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (Emory University) Atlanta, Georgia, United States (Emory University)
Archives
- J.J. Phillips family papers (1900–2001), Emory University Rose Library
In Popular Culture
- Mojo Hand has a cult readership and has been featured in anthologies and retrospective articles since the 1990s and 2010s.
Quotes
-
My immediate family was assimilated, atheist, and were for all intents and purposes indistinguishable from Caucasians in visage and speech.
Source: Interview in Alan Govenar, Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life and Blues (chapter including interview with J. J. Phillips) (2010) -
"This is a love letter to music, and specifically the blues." (on Mojo Hand)
Source: Sadie Stein, The New York Times (2024 retrospective) (2024)
Trivia
- Expelled from Immaculate Heart College in January 1963.
- 'Brautigan's Brains' was inspired by her experience handling Richard Brautigan's papers at the Bancroft Library.
- She participated in civil rights sit-ins, was arrested and spent 30 days in the county jail.
- Her family papers are held at Emory University.