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Lorrie Moore

ローリー・ムーア

Lorrie Moore

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1957-01-13 (Glens Falls, New York, U.S.)
Nationality
United States
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
Writer, Critic, Essayist, Professor
Active Years
1985-
Affiliations
University of Wisconsin–Madison (Professor), Vanderbilt University (Professor), Cornell University (Instructor/Visiting), Baruch College (Writer-in-Residence), University of Michigan (MFA visiting faculty), Princeton University (Lecturer), New York University (Lecturer)
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Letters, Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters (Fellow)

Education

St. Lawrence University
Country: United States
Cornell University
M.F.A. (Creative Writing) / Creative Writing
Degree: MFA
Period: 1980–1983
Year of Graduation: 1983
Country: United States
Studied under Alison Lurie and others

Awards

O. Henry Award
1998
Work: People Like That Are the Only People Here
Organization: O. Henry Award
Result: 受賞
Irish Times International Fiction Prize
1999
Work: Birds of America
Organization: The Irish Times
Result: 受賞
Rea Award for the Short Story
2004
Organization: Rea Award
Result: 受賞(功労賞)
Election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters
2006
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result: 選出(会員)
PEN/Faulkner Award (finalist)
2010
Work: A Gate at the Stairs
Organization: PEN/Faulkner
Result: 候補(最終候補)
Women's Prize for Fiction (Orange Prize) (finalist)
2010
Work: A Gate at the Stairs
Organization: Women's Prize for Fiction
Result: 候補(最終候補)
Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award (shortlisted)
2014
Work: Bark
Organization: Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award
Result: ショートリスト
The Story Prize (finalist)
2014
Work: Bark
Organization: The Story Prize
Result: 候補(最終候補)
National Book Critics Circle Award (Fiction)
2023
Work: I Am Homeless if This Is Not My Home
Category: フィクション
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: 受賞
James Merrill Invited Fellow
2016
Organization: James Merrill House
Result: フェロー

Awards & Nominations

O. Henry Award 2 appearances
  1. Work: Face Time

    A story about connection at a distance and the limits of digital presence.

    A story about connection at a distance and the limits of digital presence.

    short storyrelationshipsmemory

Works

Major Works

Self-Help

1985 Short story collection

A collection based largely on her master's thesis at Cornell, containing stories that sharply observe young women and interpersonal relationships.

Coming of ageLonelinessInterpersonal relationships

Anagrams

1986 Novel (experimental)

An experimental novel whose unconventional form received mixed critical responses.

Experimental formMemoryLanguage

Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?

1994 Novel

A woman on vacation recalls an intense adolescent friendship; the novel contrasts memories of youth with present life.

FriendshipReminiscenceMaturity

Birds of America

1998 Short story collection

A New York Times bestseller collection of short stories portraying varied characters and pivotal moments in life.

Slices of lifeLossHumor and pathos

The Forgotten Helper

1987 Children's book

A children's tale about an elf left behind by Santa who must help a badly behaved child become good before next Christmas.

Children's literatureRedemptionHoliday

A Gate at the Stairs

2009 Novel

A coming-of-age novel set in post-9/11 America following a 20-year-old Midwestern woman's personal growth and relationships.

Coming of ageIdentityHistorical context

Bark

2014 Short story collection

A collection of stories about disappointments and fraught relationships; it was shortlisted for several awards.

DisappointmentRelational frictionIrony

I Am Homeless if This Is Not My Home

2023 Novel

A recent novel praised for its distinctive voice and intense, affecting prose.

LoveLossExistential loneliness

Bibliography

  • Self-Help (1985)
  • Anagrams (1986)
  • The Forgotten Helper (1987)
  • Like Life (1990)
  • Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? (1994)
  • Birds of America (1998)
  • The Collected Stories (2008)
  • A Gate at the Stairs (2009)
  • Bark (2014)
  • See What Can Be Done (2018)
  • Collected Stories (2020)
  • I Am Homeless if This Is Not My Home (2023)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Witty narrative voiceIrony and humor blended into proseConversational and precise description
Recurring Motifs
LonelinessFamily and relationshipsLoss and reminiscence

Legacy

Lorrie Moore is regarded as a major figure in contemporary short fiction, celebrated for a voice that blends wit and pathos. Her collections and novels have had sustained influence on American literature.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Letters

Archives

  • Possible archival material at University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • Possible materials at Vanderbilt University

Quotes

  • "Validation is for parking tickets."
    Source: The New Yorker (interview) (2020)

Trivia

  • Full name is Marie Lorena Moore.
  • At 19 she won Seventeen magazine's fiction contest.
  • Her story "Raspberries" was published in January 1977.