Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize
2 appearances
-
Edition 4 (1978) Winner
-
Edition 7 (1981) Winner
Mary Gordon
メアリー・キャサリン・ゴードン
Mary Catherine Gordon
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1949-12-08 （Far Rockaway, New York, U.S.）
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- Catholicism
- Residence History
- Queens (Far Rockaway), New York → Valley Stream, New York → New Paltz, New York → New York City (Barnard College) → Hope Valley, Rhode Island
Career
- Occupations
- Writer, Professor of English
- Active Years
- 1978-2025
- Affiliations
- Barnard College (faculty), New York Writers Hall of Fame, American Academy of Arts and Letters
- Memberships
- New York Writers Hall of Fame (inductee), Guggenheim Fellows (fellow)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnard College | — | English | A.B. | 1967–1971 | United States |
| Syracuse University | — | English | M.A. | 1971–1973 | United States |
Barnard College
English
Degree:
A.B.
Period:
1967–1971
Year of Graduation:
1971
Country:
United States
Attended on scholarship; first graduate from her high school to attend an Ivy League college.
Syracuse University
English
Degree:
M.A.
Period:
1971–1973
Year of Graduation:
1973
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize | Final Payments | — | Awarding committee (Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize) | 受賞 |
| 1981 | Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize | The Company of Women | — | Awarding committee (Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize) | 受賞 |
| 1993 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞 |
| — | Lila Wallace–Reader's Digest Writers' Award | — | — | Lila Wallace–Reader's Digest | 受賞 |
| — | O. Henry Award | — | — | O. Henry Award organization | 受賞 |
| — | Academy Award for Literature (American Academy of Arts and Letters) | — | — | American Academy of Arts and Letters | 受賞 |
| 2007 | The Story Prize | The Stories of Mary Gordon | — | The Story Prize | 受賞 |
| 2008 | Official State Author of New York | — | — | State of New York (governor's office) | 任命 |
| 2008 | Edith Wharton Citation of Merit for Fiction | — | — | State of New York (governor's office) | 受賞 |
| 2010 | New York Writers Hall of Fame (induction) | — | — | New York Writers Hall of Fame | 殿堂入り |
Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize
1978
Work:
Final Payments
Organization:
Awarding committee (Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize)
Result:
受賞
Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize
1981
Work:
The Company of Women
Organization:
Awarding committee (Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize)
Result:
受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
1993
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞
Lila Wallace–Reader's Digest Writers' Award
Organization:
Lila Wallace–Reader's Digest
Result:
受賞
O. Henry Award
Organization:
O. Henry Award organization
Result:
受賞
Academy Award for Literature (American Academy of Arts and Letters)
Organization:
American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result:
受賞
The Story Prize
2007
Work:
The Stories of Mary Gordon
Organization:
The Story Prize
Result:
受賞
Official State Author of New York
2008
Organization:
State of New York (governor's office)
Result:
任命
Edith Wharton Citation of Merit for Fiction
2008
Organization:
State of New York (governor's office)
Result:
受賞
New York Writers Hall of Fame (induction)
2010
Organization:
New York Writers Hall of Fame
Result:
殿堂入り
Awards & Nominations
O. Henry Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 77 (1997) Winner
The Story Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 3 (2006) Winner
Works
Major Works
Final Payments
1978 Novel (fiction)Debut novel exploring family, memory, and coming of age.
familymemorycoming of age
The Company of Women
1981 Novel (fiction)A novel about relationships among women and identity.
womenidentityfriendship
The Shadow Man: A Daughter's Search for Her Father
1996 Memoir (non-fiction)A memoir in which the author searches for and reassesses her father's past, including discoveries about his Jewish origins.
memoryfamily secretsidentity
Pearl
2005 Novel (fiction)A story centered on family history and the effects of the past.
familythe pastatonement
Bibliography
- Final Payments (1978)
- The Company of Women (1981)
- Men and Angels (1985)
- The Other Side (1989)
- The Shadow Man: A Daughter's Search for Her Father (1996)
- The Rest of Life: Three Novellas (1994)
- The Stories of Mary Gordon (2006)
- Pearl (2005)
- The Love of My Youth (2011)
- There Your Heart Lies (2017)
- Payback (2020)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- lyrical and psychologically detailedsubtle reflections on religion and morality
- Recurring Motifs
- Catholic faith and doubtfamily and memoryfather-daughter relationships
Legacy
An important American woman writer from the late 20th to early 21st century. Known for works centered on Catholic background and family memory, she has been highly regarded and influential as an educator.
Academic Societies
- New York Writers Hall of Fame
Trivia
- Her father was born in Lithuania as Israel and later converted to Catholicism; Gordon discovered aspects of his background later in life, which became the subject of her memoir The Shadow Man.
- She was the first graduate from her high school to attend an Ivy League college (Barnard).
- Named Official State Author of New York in 2008.