World Literary Awards

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Phil Klay

フィル・クレイ

Firu Kurei

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1983-01-01 （Westchester, New York, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Catholic

Career

Occupations
Writer, Novelist, Short story writer, Essayist, University instructor
Active Years
2009-
Affiliations
Fairfield University (MFA program faculty), United States Marine Corps (former)
Influenced By
Colum McCann, Tom Sleigh, Flannery O'Connor, Graham Greene, François Mauriac

Education

Dartmouth College
English / Literature
Period: 2001-2005
Year of Graduation: 2005
Country: United States
Hunter College
Creative Writing (MFA)
Degree: MFA
Period: 2009-2011
Year of Graduation: 2011
Country: United States
MFA in Creative Writing (including Hertog Fellowship)

Awards

National Book Award for Fiction
2014
Work: Redeployment
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞
John Leonard Award (National Book Critics Circle)
2014
Work: Redeployment
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: 受賞
James Webb Award (marine-related fiction)
2015
Work: Redeployment
Organization: Marine Corps Heritage Foundation
Result: 受賞
W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction
2015
Work: Redeployment
Organization: American Library Association
Result: 受賞
5 Under 35 (National Book Foundation)
2014
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 選出
George W. Hunt, S.J., Prize (Cultural & Historical Criticism)
2018
Category: 文化・歴史批評
Organization: America (magazine)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Redeployment

2014 Short story collection / War literature 224 pages

A linked collection of short stories exploring the Iraq War and its aftermath through multiple perspectives—Marines, chaplains, lawyers and civilians—examining memory, moral ambiguity, and the difficulties of returning home.

WarVeterans and returnMemoryMoral ambiguityIdentity

Missionaries

2020 Novel 320 pages

A novel interrogating faith, violence, and the ethics of intervention against the backdrop of America's cultural and political divides, told through multiple perspectives reflecting on contemporary U.S. foreign involvement.

FaithViolenceCultural clashEthics of intervention

Uncertain Ground: Citizenship in an Age of Endless, Invisible War

2022 Nonfiction / Essays 256 pages

A nonfiction examination of how prolonged, often invisible wars affect citizenship, politics, and individual responsibility—an ethical and historical consideration of war's relationship to society.

CitizenshipWar ethicsPublic responsibility

Bibliography

  • Redeployment (2014)
  • Missionaries (2020)
  • Uncertain Ground: Citizenship in an Age of Endless, Invisible War (2022)
  • Various essays and criticism (New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, etc.)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Realist, precise descriptionStyle that raises moral questionsClose-limited perspectives on characters
Recurring Motifs
Memory of combatReturn home and alienationFaith and doubtCycle of violence

Legacy

Phil Klay received acclaim for his vivid short story collection Redeployment, contributing an important voice to war literature and veterans' narratives. He stimulated conversation about contemporary wars among a younger generation of writers and helped reexamine representations of war in modern American literature.

Quotes

  • War's too strange to be processed alone.
    Source: National Book Award acceptance speech (Redeployment) (2014)

Trivia

  • Served as a U.S. Marine Corps officer from 2005 to 2009.
  • Won the 2014 National Book Award for Fiction for Redeployment.
  • Married Jessica Alvarez in 2014; they have three sons.
  • Missionaries (2020) was listed among Barack Obama's favorite books of the year.
  • Official website: http://philklay.com/