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Jill Ciment

ジル・シメント

Jiru Shimento

Pen Names: A.J. Rich（Pen name used for a co-authored work with Amy Hempel）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Nationality
Canada, United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism (family background)
Residence History
Montreal (birthplace) → Los Angeles (family emigrated and settled) → Gainesville, Florida (University of Florida faculty)

Career

Occupations
memoirist, novelist, professor
Active Years
1986-
Affiliations
University of Florida, Department of English (Emeritus Professor)
Influenced By
Arnold Mesches (partner, painter), John Baldessari (mentor, artist)

Education

California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
School of Art / Art
Degree: BFA
Period: 1971–1975
Year of Graduation: 1975
Country: United States
Studied under John Baldessari
University of California, Irvine
Humanities / Arts / Creative Writing (MFA)
Degree: MFA
Period: 1979–1981
Year of Graduation: 1981
Country: United States
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

Awards

New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship
1996
Organization: New York Foundation for the Arts
Result: 受賞
New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship
2002
Organization: New York Foundation for the Arts
Result: 受賞
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
2005
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Foundation Grant
2006
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 助成
Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize
2005
Work: The Tattoo Artist
Organization: College of Arts and Sciences, University of Rochester (awarding body)
Result: 受賞
NEA Japan Fellowship Prize
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts (related)
Result: 受賞
Oprah's Book Club selection
2009
Work: Heroic Measures
Organization: Oprah Winfrey / Oprah's Book Club
Result: 選定
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (finalist)
2010
Work: Heroic Measures
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: ファイナリスト

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Law of Falling Bodies

1993 Novel

An early novel exploring family dynamics and embodiment through young protagonists.

familycoming-of-ageembodiment

Teeth of the Dog

1998 Novel

A novel about complex human relationships and the effects of the past.

relationshipslegacy of the past

The Tattoo Artist

2005 Novel

A novel that deals with memory, identity, and marks on the body.

memoryidentitythe body

Heroic Measures

2009 Novel

A novel about an aging couple, medicine, and the nature of love. Selected for Oprah's Book Club and adapted into a film.

agingcarelove
Adaptations
  • [film] 5 Flights Up / Richard Loncraine (2015)

Act of God

2015 Novel

A novel addressing natural disaster, fate, and personal choice.

fatechoicedisaster

The Hand That Feeds You (as A.J. Rich, with Amy Hempel)

2015 Novel

A suspense-tinged novel co-authored with Amy Hempel under the A.J. Rich pseudonym.

collaborationsuspense

The Body in Question

2019 Novel

A novel centered on questions of the body and self-perception.

embodimentperception

Half a Life

1996 Memoir

A memoir reflecting on her relationship with Arnold Mesches.

memoryrelationshipsart

Consent

2024 Memoir

A 2024 memoir reevaluating her decades-long marriage in light of the Me Too movement.

consentreappraisal of relationshipsMe Too

Small Claims

1986 Short story collection

An early collection of short stories including "Astronomy."

short fictioncharacter study
Adaptations
  • [short film] Astronomy / Susan Rogers (1998)

Bibliography

  • Small Claims (1986)
  • Half a Life (1996)
  • The Law of Falling Bodies (1993)
  • Teeth of the Dog (1998)
  • The Tattoo Artist (2005)
  • Heroic Measures (2009)
  • Act of God (2015)
  • The Hand That Feeds You (2015, as A.J. Rich, with Amy Hempel)
  • The Body in Question (2019)
  • Consent (2024)

Adaptations

  • 5 Flights Up (2015, dir. Richard Loncraine) — film adaptation of the novel Heroic Measures
  • Astronomy (1998, dir. Susan Rogers) — short film based on the short story "Astronomy"

Style & Themes

Literary Style
delicate psychological detailmemoiristic / personal narrationvisual imagery influenced by an art background
Recurring Motifs
memory and the pastembodimentrelationships and careart and creation

Legacy

Jill Ciment is known for both memoir and fiction, sensitively portraying aging, the body, and relationships. Her work has received broad attention through Oprah selection and film adaptation; she has also been a longtime educator.

Academic Societies

  • University of Florida, Department of English (affiliation)

Archives

  • Possible holdings in university or public archives (details unknown)

In Popular Culture

  • Oprah's Book Club selection (2009) increased general readership recognition

Trivia

  • At 17 she began a relationship with her art teacher Arnold Mesches; they later married. Mesches died in 2016.
  • Her 1996 memoir Half a Life reflected on that relationship; in 2024 she re-examined it in Consent in light of the Me Too movement.
  • Heroic Measures (2009) was selected for Oprah's Book Club and adapted into the film 5 Flights Up (2015).
  • She used the pen name A.J. Rich for a co-authored novel with Amy Hempel.