Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 59 (1994) Winner
Judith Ortiz Cofer
ジュディス・オルティス・コーファー
Judith Ortiz Cofer
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1952-02-24 （Hormigueros, Puerto Rico）
- Died
- 2016-12-30 （Louisville, Georgia, U.S.） age 64
- Nationality
- Puerto Rican
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Residence History
- Hormigueros, Puerto Rico → Paterson, New Jersey, U.S. → Augusta, Georgia, U.S. → Jefferson County, Georgia, U.S.
Career
- Occupations
- Writer, Professor
- Active Years
- 1974-2016
- Affiliations
- University of Georgia (Professor of English and Creative Writing), University of Miami (lecturer), Florida Atlantic University (faculty), Rutgers University (taught workshops)
- Influenced By
- Her grandmother (Puerto Rican oral storytelling tradition), Puerto Rican and Latino literary traditions
- Influenced
- Younger Latino/Latina writers, Creative nonfiction writers in the United States
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta College | — | English | BA | — | United States |
| Florida Atlantic University | — | English Literature | MA | — | United States |
Augusta College
English
Degree:
BA
Year of Graduation:
1973
Country:
United States
Florida Atlantic University
English Literature
Degree:
MA
Year of Graduation:
1975
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Riverstone International Chapbook Competition | Peregrina | — | Riverstone Press | 受賞 |
| 1990 | PEN/Martha Albrand Special Citation in Nonfiction | Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood | — | PEN | 受賞 |
| 1990 | Pushcart Prize | Essay "More Room" | — | Pushcart Press | 受賞 |
| 1994 | O. Henry Prize | Short story "The Latin Deli" | — | O. Henry Prize committee | 受賞 |
| 1996 | Pura Belpré Award | An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio | 児童・ヤングアダルト | Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) | 受賞（第1回受賞者） |
| 1999 | Franklin Professorship | — | — | University of Georgia | 任命 |
| 2006 | Regents Professor Recognition | — | — | University of Georgia | 受賞 |
| 2007 | Mentor Achievement Award | — | — | Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) | 受賞 |
| 2010 | Georgia Writers Hall of Fame (induction) | — | — | Georgia Writers Hall of Fame | 殿堂入り |
| 2011 | Georgia Governor's Award in the Humanities | — | — | State of Georgia | 受賞 |
| 2013 | Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award | — | — | Southeastern Conference (SEC) | 受賞 |
Riverstone International Chapbook Competition
1986
Work:
Peregrina
Organization:
Riverstone Press
Result:
受賞
PEN/Martha Albrand Special Citation in Nonfiction
1990
Work:
Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood
Organization:
PEN
Result:
受賞
Pushcart Prize
1990
Work:
Essay "More Room"
Organization:
Pushcart Press
Result:
受賞
O. Henry Prize
1994
Work:
Short story "The Latin Deli"
Organization:
O. Henry Prize committee
Result:
受賞
Pura Belpré Award
1996
Work:
An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio
Category:
児童・ヤングアダルト
Organization:
Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
Result:
受賞（第1回受賞者）
Franklin Professorship
1999
Organization:
University of Georgia
Result:
任命
Regents Professor Recognition
2006
Organization:
University of Georgia
Result:
受賞
Mentor Achievement Award
2007
Organization:
Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP)
Result:
受賞
Georgia Writers Hall of Fame (induction)
2010
Organization:
Georgia Writers Hall of Fame
Result:
殿堂入り
Georgia Governor's Award in the Humanities
2011
Organization:
State of Georgia
Result:
受賞
Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award
2013
Organization:
Southeastern Conference (SEC)
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Pura Belpré Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (1996) Winner
Works
Major Works
Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood
1990 Memoir / EssaysA collection of essays and poems recounting Ortiz Cofer's childhood memories, family stories, and the cultural tensions of moving between Puerto Rico and the United States.
memoryimmigrant experiencecultural identityfamily
The Latin Deli: Prose and Poetry
1993 Poetry, Essays, Short FictionA multi-genre collection focusing on Latino communities in the United States, exploring memory, language, and the everyday lives of immigrants.
language and identitycommunitymemory
An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio
1995 Young adult short story collectionTwelve short stories set in a New Jersey barrio following Puerto Rican teenage characters as they navigate growth, identity, family, and friendship.
coming of agecultural conflictfamily
The Line of the Sun
1989 NovelA novel chronicling a Puerto Rican family's life from the late 1930s to the 1960s and their migration to the United States, exploring cultural transition and family dynamics.
migrationfamily historycultural inheritance
Translations
- Spanish translation 'La Línea del Sol'
Bibliography
- Peregrina (1986)
- Terms of Survival (1987)
- The Line of the Sun (1989)
- Silent Dancing (1990)
- The Latin Deli (1993)
- An Island Like You (1995)
- Reaching for the Mainland and Selected New Poems (1995)
- Woman in Front of the Sun: On Becoming A Writer (2000)
- Call Me Maria (2004)
- If I Could Fly (2011)
Translations of Works
- La Línea del Sol (Spanish translation)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- lyrical, poetic proseblends memoir and personal narrativereflects bilingual cultural sensibilities (English and Spanish)
- Recurring Motifs
- memory and reenactmentsense of place through food and smellfamily stories and generational transmissionborders and movement
Health
-
Rare form of liver cancer2014–2016Diagnosed in 2014 shortly after retirement; illness progressed and she died at home in 2016.
Legacy
Celebrated for works that explore memory, language, and the crossroads of culture from a Puerto Rican American perspective. Honored with multiple awards and an influential teacher whose papers are preserved for study; had a lasting impact on Latino literature and creative nonfiction.
Academic Societies
- Georgia Writers Hall of Fame (inductee)
Archives
- Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia (holds her papers)
Quotes
-
“If anyone objected I assured them that it wasn't my intent to defame them or warp the truth, but to give my rendition of it. My intent was poetic rather than genealogical.”
Source: Interview / Memoir
Trivia
- She moved between Puerto Rico and New Jersey as a child; that experience deeply influenced her work.
- Worked as a bilingual teacher in Palm Beach County, Florida during the 1974–1975 school year.
- Her body of work spans multiple genres: poetry, short stories, essays, memoir, and young-adult fiction.