O. Henry Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 65 (1985) Winner
Jane Smiley
ジェーン・スマイリー
Jeen Sumairii
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1949-09-26 （Los Angeles, California, United States）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Webster Groves, Missouri (raised) → Iowa (education and academic career) → California (resident since 1996)
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, short story writer, essayist, professor of English
- Active Years
- 1979-
- Affiliations
- Iowa State University (Professor of English, 1981–1996), University of California, Riverside (creative writing faculty, returned 2015)
- Memberships
- American Academy of Arts and Letters
- Influenced By
- William Shakespeare, E. M. Forster, Murasaki Shikibu
- Influenced
- Jonathan Franzen (has cited her work)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vassar College | College of Arts and Sciences | Literature | AB | 1967–1971 | United States |
| University of Iowa | Graduate School | Creative Writing / Literature | MA, MFA, PhD | 1973–1978 | United States |
Vassar College
College of Arts and Sciences
/ Literature
Degree:
AB
Period:
1967–1971
Year of Graduation:
1971
Country:
United States
Bachelor of Arts in Literature
University of Iowa
Graduate School
/ Creative Writing / Literature
Degree:
MA, MFA, PhD
Period:
1973–1978
Year of Graduation:
1978
Country:
United States
Included a year in Iceland as a Fulbright Scholar. MA (1975), MFA (1976), PhD (1978).
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Pulitzer Prize for Fiction | A Thousand Acres | — | The Pulitzer Prizes | winner |
| 1985 | O. Henry Award | Short story "Lily" | — | O. Henry Awards | winner |
| 2006 | PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award | — | — | PEN Center USA | winner |
| 2006 | Fitzgerald Award for Achievement in American Literature | — | — | F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival | recipient |
| 2001 | Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters | — | — | The American Academy of Arts and Letters | member |
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
1992
Work:
A Thousand Acres
Organization:
The Pulitzer Prizes
Result:
winner
O. Henry Award
1985
Work:
Short story "Lily"
Organization:
O. Henry Awards
Result:
winner
PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award
2006
Organization:
PEN Center USA
Result:
winner
Fitzgerald Award for Achievement in American Literature
2006
Organization:
F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival
Result:
recipient
Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters
2001
Organization:
The American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result:
member
Awards & Nominations
Ambassador Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 7 (1992) Winner
Pulitzer Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 76 (1992) Winner
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (1992) Winner
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 44 (2023) Winner
Works
Major Works
Barn Blind
1980 NovelOne of Smiley's early novels, exploring rural life and interpersonal relationships.
familyrural lifeinterpersonal relationships
The Greenlanders
1988 Historical novelA historical novel set in 11th-century Greenland, regarded by some critics as an underappreciated contemporary work.
historysocietysurvival
A Thousand Acres
1991 Contemporary novel / Family sagaA family saga loosely based on Shakespeare's King Lear, dealing with land, inheritance, and family secrets.
family breakdownland and inheritancesex and violence
Adaptations
- [Film] A Thousand Acres (film) / アンドリュー・デイヴィス (1997)
Moo
1995 Satirical novelA satirical ensemble set on a university campus, examining academic institutions and personal dynamics.
academiasatirepower
Horse Heaven
2000 Family novel / Sports (horse racing)A multi-perspective novel set in the horse-racing world, exploring relationships between humans and horses.
horse racingeconomicshuman drama
Bibliography
- Barn Blind (1980)
- At Paradise Gate (1981)
- Duplicate Keys (1984)
- The Greenlanders (1988)
- A Thousand Acres (1991)
- Moo (1995)
- The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton (1998)
- Horse Heaven (2000)
- Good Faith (2003)
- Ten Days in the Hills (2007)
- Private Life (2010)
- Some Luck (2014)
- Early Warning (2015)
- Golden Age (2015)
- Perestroika in Paris (2020)
- A Dangerous Business (2022)
- Lucky (2024)
- Short stories: The Age of Grief (1987)
- Short stories: Ordinary Love & Good Will (1989)
- Non-fiction: Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel (2005)
Adaptations
- A Thousand Acres (film adaptation, 1997)
- The Age of Grief → The Secret Lives of Dentists (film, 2002)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- realist proseclear, direct narrationensemble/cross-cutting perspectives
- Recurring Motifs
- family relationshipsland and inheritancefemale perspectiveshorses and animals
Legacy
Jane Smiley is recognized for her family sagas and portrayals of contemporary American life; she won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize and has received numerous honors. Her academic work, literary output, and adaptations have influenced a broad readership.
Academic Societies
- American Academy of Arts and Letters
Archives
- Iowa State University Special Collections (possible holding of related materials)
In Popular Culture
- Film adaptation of A Thousand Acres (1997)
Trivia
- Studied in Iceland for a year as a Fulbright Scholar while at the University of Iowa.
- Won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for A Thousand Acres.
- Chaired the judges' panel for the Man Booker International Prize in 2009.