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Joanna Scott

ジョアンナ・スコット

Joanna Scott

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1960-06-22 （Darien, Connecticut, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Darien, Connecticut → Hartford, Connecticut → Rome, Italy → Florence, Italy → Rochester, New York → New York City

Career

Occupations
novelist, short story writer, essayist, professor
Active Years
1987-
Affiliations
University of Rochester, University of Maryland, College Park, Princeton University (visiting)
Memberships
Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Influenced By
William Faulkner, Samuel Beckett, Maureen Howard, John Hawkes

Education

Trinity College (Connecticut)
English
Degree: BA
Period: 1980s
Year of Graduation: 1983
Country: United States
Spent one semester in Rome and one academic year at Barnard College
Brown University
Creative Writing Program
Degree: MFA
Period: 1984–1985
Year of Graduation: 1985
Country: United States
Studied with Susan Sontag, Robert Coover, and John Hawkes

Awards

Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts
1988
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
MacArthur Fellowship
1992
Organization: MacArthur Foundation
Result: 受賞
Lannan Literary Award for Fiction
1999
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: 受賞
Elected Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
2001
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Result: 受賞
Santa Maddalena Foundation Fellowship
2007
Organization: Santa Maddalena Foundation
Result: 受賞
Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship
2017
Organization: Bogliasco Foundation
Result: 受賞
William Peden Prize (The Missouri Review)
1987
Work: From The Closest Possible Union
Organization: The Missouri Review
Result: 受賞
Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award (American Academy of Arts and Letters)
1991
Work: Arrogance
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result: 受賞
Aga Khan Prize for Fiction (The Paris Review)
1992
Work: Short story "A Borderline Case"
Organization: The Paris Review
Result: 受賞
Ambassador Book Award (English-Speaking Union)
2006
Work: Liberation
Organization: English-Speaking Union
Result: 受賞
Pushcart Prize
1993
Work: Short story "Convicta et Combusta"
Organization: Pushcart Press
Result: 受賞
Pushcart Prize
2016
Work: Short story "The Knowledge Gallery"
Organization: Pushcart Press
Result: 受賞
Pushcart Prize
2020
Work: Short story "Infidels"
Organization: Pushcart Press
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Fading, My Parmacheene Belle

1987 Novel

Her first novel, noted for inventive and experimental prose.

memoryidentityimagination

The Closest Possible Union

1988 Novel

Narrated by a teenage boy, telling the violent voyage of a slave ship; noted for distinctive approach.

violencehistoryhuman relations

Arrogance

1990 Novel (biofiction)

Fragmented, fictional account inspired by Austrian artist Egon Schiele; praised for vivid prose.

psychology of artistscreative strugglebeauty and ruin

The Manikin

1996 Novel (Gothic)

A gothic story set in western New York with an eerie atmosphere and family-history elements.

family historygothic elementssecrets

Tourmaline

2002 Novel

A novel influenced by research conducted during her time in Italy, dealing with culture and memory.

memorycultural explorationmovement

Liberation

2005 Novel

Novel set partly in Italy; one of the award-winning works.

freedomhistoryfamily

Follow Me

2009 Novel

Features a mythic protagonist; praised for retelling the archetypal American journey from a female perspective.

journeyfemale perspectivemythic elements

De Potter's Grand Tour

2014 Novel (based on family history)

Inspired by Scott's great-grandfather Armand de Potter, incorporating photos and family archive materials.

family historyrags-to-richesboundary between fact and fiction

Careers for Women

2017 Novel

A novel about women's careers and lives, exploring choices within social contexts.

women's careerssocial expectationsself-realization

Excuse Me While I Disappear

2021 Story collection

Recent collection of short stories showcasing a variety of subjects and styles.

disappearanceidentitymemory

Bibliography

  • Fading, My Parmacheene Belle (1987)
  • The Closest Possible Union (1988)
  • Arrogance (1990)
  • Various Antidotes (1994)
  • The Manikin (1996)
  • Make Believe (2000)
  • Tourmaline (2002)
  • Liberation (2005)
  • Everybody Loves Somebody (2006)
  • Follow Me (2009)
  • De Potter's Grand Tour (2014)
  • Careers for Women (2017)
  • Excuse Me While I Disappear (2021)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical and experimental prosebiofiction (biographical fiction)use of magical realism and unreliable narrators
Recurring Motifs
creativity and the psychology of artistsmemory and personal historyfemale perspectives and gender

Legacy

Joanna Scott is known for lyrical, experimental fiction that spans diverse subjects; she has held academic posts for decades and received numerous fellowships and literary awards. Her contributions to biofiction and formal diversity are widely recognized.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Archives

  • University of Rochester archives (related materials)

Quotes

  • "a remarkably inventive first novel"
    Source: The New York Times (Nancy Ramsey) (1987)
  • "sensuous, provocative prose"
    Source: The New York Times (Scott Bradfield) (1990)

Trivia

  • Was married to poet and scholar James Longenbach until his death in 2022.
  • Holds the Roswell Smith Burrows Professorship of English at the University of Rochester (appointed 1999).
  • Took a sabbatical in Florence, which informed several Italy-set novels.