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Jeffery Renard Allen

ジェフェリー・リナード・アレン

Jeffery Renard Allen

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1962 （Chicago, Illinois, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Chicago (born and raised) → New York City (residence, teaching) → Charlottesville (faculty position)

Career

Occupations
poet, novelist, short story writer, essayist, professor
Active Years
1989-
Affiliations
Queens College, City University of New York, The New School (writing faculty), Fairleigh Dickinson University (low-residency MFA), Columbia University (teaching), Norman Mailer Center (Writers Colony, fiction director), Pan African Literary Forum (co-founder, president), University of Virginia (faculty position)
Memberships
Pan African Literary Forum (co-founder), Norman Mailer Center (association)

Education

University of Illinois at Chicago
PhD in English (Creative Writing) / Department of English (Creative Writing)
Degree: PhD
Country: United States
Holds a PhD in English (Creative Writing) from the University of Illinois at Chicago

Awards

P.E.N. Discovery Prize
1989
Organization: P.E.N.
Result: 受賞
Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Fiction
2000
Work: Rails Under My Back
Organization: Chicago Tribune
Result: 受賞
Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
Work: Holding Pattern
Organization: Ernest J. Gaines Award
Result: 受賞
Whiting Award
Organization: Whiting Foundation
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship (Fiction)
2015
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Creative Capital (Innovative Literature grant)
Organization: Creative Capital
Result: 助成
Chicago Public Library Twenty First Century Award
Organization: Chicago Public Library
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Harbors and Spirits

1999 poetry

A collection of poems exploring memory and sense of place.

memoryplacespirituality

Rails Under My Back

2000 novel

A novel set on Chicago's South Side that examines community, violence, and change.

urban lifeviolencecommunity

Stellar Places

2007 poetry

A lyrical poetry collection using vivid language to explore place and being.

imageryplace

Holding Pattern

2008 short story collection

A collection of short stories and novellas that examines urban life and personal struggles.

identityfamilyurban life

Song of the Shank

2014 historical fiction (experimental)

An experimental historical novel inspired by the life of Blind Tom, blending history and imaginative narrative.

historymusicslaveryidentity

Fat Time and Other Stories

2023 short story collection

A recent collection of stories that interweaves past and present to portray facets of Black experience with poetic and sometimes surreal tones.

history and memoryfamilythe uncanny

Bibliography

  • Harbors and Spirits (1999)
  • Rails Under My Back (2000)
  • Stellar Places (2007)
  • Holding Pattern (2008)
  • Song of the Shank (2014)
  • Fat Time and Other Stories (2023)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
experimental languagelyrical and poetic prosefusion of history and imagination
Recurring Motifs
African-American life and historymusicplace and belongingfamily

Health

  • malaria (serious, with complications)
    2008（西アフリカ滞在後）
    Required extended hospitalization after contracting malaria during travel in West Africa; noted as having impacted his life and work.

Legacy

Jeffery Renard Allen is regarded for exploring African-American experience through experimental language and historical themes. He has contributed as an educator and editor and supported literary development across the African continent.

Academic Societies

  • African American Literature and Culture Association (recognized)

Trivia

  • He became seriously ill with malaria after travel in Africa and required hospitalization.
  • Co-founded the Pan African Literary Forum and has worked to support writers across Africa.
  • Published new books in 2023, including co-authored memoir work.