John Dos Passos Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 34 (2015) Winner
Paul Beatty
ポール・ビーティ
Pōru Bīti
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1962-06-09 （Los Angeles, California, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Los Angeles, California, U.S. (born/raised) → Berlin, Germany (lived) → New York City, New York, U.S. (Columbia University faculty)
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, poet, university professor, writing professor
- Active Years
- 1990-
- Affiliations
- Columbia University (Professor of Writing)
- Influenced By
- Richard Pryor, Joseph Heller, Kurt Vonnegut
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston University | — | Psychology | MA | — | United States |
| Brooklyn College | — | Creative Writing | MFA | — | United States |
Boston University
Psychology
Degree:
MA
Year of Graduation:
1987
Country:
United States
Attended undergraduate and graduate programs; earned an MA in Psychology.
Brooklyn College
Creative Writing
Degree:
MFA
Country:
United States
Received an MFA in creative writing (exact graduation year unknown).
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Creative Capital Award | Slumberland | — | Creative Capital | Winner |
| 2015 | National Book Critics Circle Award (Fiction) | The Sellout | Fiction | National Book Critics Circle | Winner |
| 2016 | Man Booker Prize | The Sellout | — | Man Booker Prize | Winner |
| 2017 | International Dublin Literary Award (Long-list) | The Sellout | — | International Dublin Literary Award | Long-listed |
Creative Capital Award
2009
Work:
Slumberland
Organization:
Creative Capital
Result:
Winner
National Book Critics Circle Award (Fiction)
2015
Work:
The Sellout
Category:
Fiction
Organization:
National Book Critics Circle
Result:
Winner
Man Booker Prize
2016
Work:
The Sellout
Organization:
Man Booker Prize
Result:
Winner
International Dublin Literary Award (Long-list)
2017
Work:
The Sellout
Organization:
International Dublin Literary Award
Result:
Long-listed
Awards & Nominations
Booker Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 48 (2016) Winner
Works
Major Works
The White Boy Shuffle
1996 Novel (Fiction)A satirical coming-of-age novel following a young black man, exploring identity, urban culture, and self-perception.
identityraceurban lifesatire
Tuff
2000 Novel (Fiction)Set in the neighborhood, it depicts struggle and survival in a rap-like narrative voice.
street culturesurvivalcommunity
Slumberland
2008 Novel (Fiction)A novel about an American DJ in Berlin, exploring American experience and music culture.
migrationmusiccultural friction
The Sellout
2015 Novel (Satire)Set in a fictional Los Angeles neighborhood, it follows an urban farmer who attempts to revive slavery and segregation as a satirical provocation about race, justice, and identity.
racesatirejusticeidentity
Bibliography
- Big Bank Take Little Bank (poetry, 1991)
- Joker, Joker, Deuce (poetry, 1994)
- The White Boy Shuffle (novel, 1996)
- Tuff (novel, 2000)
- Slumberland (novel, 2008)
- Hokum: An Anthology of African-American Humor (editor, 2006)
- The Sellout (novel, 2015)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- satiricalblack humorcolloquial, strong narrative voiceuses humor to illuminate political and social themes
- Recurring Motifs
- race and identityurban life and communitysocial satirereferences to media and pop culture
Legacy
Paul Beatty is an important contemporary American writer who uses sharp satire and black humor to explore race and urban culture. Internationally he is notable for becoming the first U.S. writer to win the Man Booker Prize for 'The Sellout' in 2016.
Trivia
- In 2016, he won the Man Booker Prize for 'The Sellout', becoming the first U.S. writer to win the prize.
- In 1990 he was crowned the first Grand Poetry Slam Champion at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.
- 'The Sellout' reportedly took more than five years to complete.