Lannan Literary Awards
3 appearances
Lawrence Weschler
ローレンス・ウェシュラー
Rōrensu Weshurā
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1952 （Van Nuys, California, U.S.）
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Van Nuys, California (birth) → New York City (long-term residence/work)
Career
- Occupations
- Writer, Journalist, Lecturer
- Active Years
- 1981-
- Affiliations
- NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute (Writer in Residence), New York Institute for the Humanities, Chicago Humanities Festival (artistic director emeritus), The New Yorker (former staff writer)
- Memberships
- New York Institute for the Humanities, Chicago Humanities Festival, Sundance Documentary Film Fund (former chair)
- Influenced By
- Robert Irwin, David Hockney
- Influenced
- Subsequent writers of creative nonfiction (general)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell College, University of California, Santa Cruz | — | — | — | 1970–1974 | United States |
Cowell College, University of California, Santa Cruz
Period:
1970–1974
Year of Graduation:
1974
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | George Polk Award (Cultural Reporting) | — | 文化報道 | Long Island University (George Polk Awards) | 受賞 |
| 1992 | George Polk Award (Magazine Reporting) | — | 雑誌報道 | Long Island University (George Polk Awards) | 受賞 |
| 1998 | Lannan Literary Award | — | — | Lannan Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2007 | National Book Critics Circle Award (Criticism) | Everything That Rises: A Book of Convergences | 批評 | National Book Critics Circle | 受賞 |
| 1996 | Pulitzer Prize (shortlisted) | Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder | — | Columbia University (Pulitzer Prize) | 候補（ショートリスト） |
George Polk Award (Cultural Reporting)
1988
Category:
文化報道
Organization:
Long Island University (George Polk Awards)
Result:
受賞
George Polk Award (Magazine Reporting)
1992
Category:
雑誌報道
Organization:
Long Island University (George Polk Awards)
Result:
受賞
Lannan Literary Award
1998
Organization:
Lannan Foundation
Result:
受賞
National Book Critics Circle Award (Criticism)
2007
Work:
Everything That Rises: A Book of Convergences
Category:
批評
Organization:
National Book Critics Circle
Result:
受賞
Pulitzer Prize (shortlisted)
1996
Work:
Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder
Organization:
Columbia University (Pulitzer Prize)
Result:
候補（ショートリスト）
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees: A Life of Contemporary Artist Robert Irwin
1982 Creative nonfiction / Art biographyA biographical essay based on conversations with contemporary artist Robert Irwin that explores perception, vision, and experience; detailing Irwin's artistic ideas and practice.
perceptionvisionart theory
Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder
1995 Creative nonfiction / Cultural historyAn essayistic exploration of curiosity cabinets and the people who assemble them, tracing the cultural history of collecting and wonder.
wondercollectingcultural history
Everything That Rises: A Book of Convergences
2006 Essays / CriticismA collection of essays that examines convergences across photography, art, and cultural events, treating surprising coincidences and intersections.
convergencescultural observationart criticism
The Passion of Poland: From Solidarity through the State of War
1984 Reporting / Political reportageA reportage based on field reporting about the Solidarity movement in Poland and the period of martial law, portraying political upheaval and everyday life.
politicshuman rightson-the-ground reporting
Vermeer in Bosnia
2004 Essay / Cultural reportingAn exploration of cultural encounters and the clash of images during the Bosnian conflict, discussed through references to art and history.
war and cultureimage theorymemory
Bibliography
- Solidarity: Poland in the Season of its Passion (1982)
- Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees: A Life of Contemporary Artist Robert Irwin (1982)
- The Passion of Poland: From Solidarity through the State of War (1984)
- A Miracle, a Universe: Settling Accounts with Torturers (1990)
- Shapinsky’s Karma, Boggs’s Bills, and Other True-life Tales (1990)
- Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder (1995)
- A Wanderer in the Perfect City: Selected Passion Pieces (1998)
- Calamities of Exile: Three Nonfiction Novellas (1998)
- Boggs: A Comedy of Values (1999)
- Vermeer in Bosnia (2004)
- Everything That Rises: A Book of Convergences (2006)
- True To Life: Twenty-Five Years of Conversations with David Hockney (2008)
- Uncanny Valley: Adventures in the Narrative (2011)
- Domestic Scenes: The Art of Ramiro Gomez (2016)
- Waves Passing in the Night (2017)
- And How Are You, Dr. Sacks?: A Biographical Memoir of Oliver Sacks (2019)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Creative nonfiction blending journalistic reporting with literary expressionEssayistic style that combines art criticism and cultural commentary
- Recurring Motifs
- issues of vision and perceptionstudies of art and artistscollecting and curiosity
Legacy
Weschler is regarded for merging creative nonfiction with art criticism, earning multiple journalism and literary awards. He has influenced public cultural life through teaching and roles at NYU and the New York Institute for the Humanities.
Academic Societies
- New York Institute for the Humanities
Quotes
-
Seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees.
Source: Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees (1982)
Trivia
- Served as director of the New York Institute for the Humanities (2001–2013) and is now director emeritus.
- Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.