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Russell Banks

ラッセル・バンクス

Rasselu Bankusu

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1940-03-28 （Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.）
Died
2023-01-08 （Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S.） age 82
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Newton, Massachusetts → Barnstead, New Hampshire (raised) → Boston, Massachusetts → Keene, New York (Adirondacks) → Miami, Florida → Saratoga Springs, New York

Career

Occupations
novelist, poet, essayist, teacher (creative writing)
Active Years
1960-2023
Affiliations
International Parliament of Writers, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Fellow), American Academy of Arts and Letters, Princeton University (creative writing faculty), University of Maryland (Artist-in-Residence)
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Letters, International Parliament of Writers, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Fellow)
Influenced By
William Faulkner, Raymond Carver

Education

Colgate University
Period: 在籍したが中退（入学後数週間で退学）
Country: United States
Awarded a scholarship but dropped out after about six weeks and traveled south.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Degree: BA
Period: 1964–1967（在籍期間はおおむね）
Year of Graduation: 1967
Country: United States
Attended with support from his then-wife's family and graduated with a BA.

Awards

O. Henry Award
1975
Work: Collection Searching for Survivors (short stories)
Organization: O. Henry Awards
Result: 受賞
John Dos Passos Prize
1985
Organization: John Dos Passos Prize committee (Longwood University)
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
1986
Work: Continental Drift
Category: フィクション
Organization: Pulitzer Prize board
Result: ファイナリスト
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
1999
Work: Cloudsplitter
Category: フィクション
Organization: Pulitzer Prize board
Result: ファイナリスト
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
1998
Organization: Anisfield-Wolf Award committee
Result: 受賞
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
1996
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Result: 選出
New York State Author
2004
Category: 2004–2006（任期）
Organization: New York State Writers Institute
Result: 指名
Thornton Wilder Prize
2008
Organization: Thornton Wilder Society
Result: 受賞
Commonwealth Award for Literature
2011
Organization: Commonwealth Foundation
Result: 受賞
Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction (shortlist)
2012
Work: Lost Memory of Skin
Category: フィクション（ショートリスト）
Organization: Library Journal / Carnegie Medal
Result: 候補（ショートリスト）
Guggenheim Fellowship
1976
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Continental Drift

1985 Novel (social, contemporary)

Explores globalization and unrest (including themes relating to Haiti), following ordinary people affected by social and economic forces; examines moral conflicts and family struggles.

globalizationmigrationworking-class struggle

Affliction

1989 Novel (family, psychological)

A family novel about a destructive relationship with an abusive father; follows the struggles and moral choices of a working-class man in a small town.

family violencetoxic masculinitysocial and economic hardship
Adaptations
  • [Film] Affliction / Paul Schrader (1997)

The Sweet Hereafter

1991 Novel (community, tragedy)

An ensemble novel centered on a small-town bus accident; examines community tragedy, responsibility, grief, and the aftermath from multiple perspectives.

grief and recoverycommunity breakdownresponsibility
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Sweet Hereafter / Atom Egoyan (1997)

Rule of the Bone

1995 Novel (coming-of-age)

Follows a young American's wandering and survival; a coming-of-age story that portrays marginalization and resilience through a direct, forceful voice.

coming-of-agedeviance and redemptionmarginality

Cloudsplitter

1998 Historical novel

A historical novel focused on John Brown; a major work exploring redemption, justification of violence, and political-religious upheaval.

redemptionjustification of violencehistorical justice

The Darling

2004 Novel (international politics, race)

Set largely in Liberia; follows a white American narrator's racial and political experiences and their consequences.

racepolitical turmoilmoral choice

Lost Memory of Skin

2011 Novel (social issues)

Examines criminal records, marginalization, and issues of justice and rehabilitation in America through the lives of marginalized characters.

marginalizationcriminal justicerehabilitation and humanity

Foregone

2021 Novel (political, satirical)

A recent novel addressing American politics, memory, and morality; an adaptation (Oh, Canada) has been reported in development.

political satiregenerational conflictmemory and history

The Magic Kingdom

2022 Novel

A late-career novel. Detailed synopsis not provided here.

Bibliography

  • Family Life (1975)
  • Waiting to Freeze (poetry, 1969)
  • Searching for Survivors (short stories, 1975)
  • Hamilton Stark (1978)
  • The Book of Jamaica (1980)
  • Continental Drift (1985)
  • Affliction (1989)
  • The Sweet Hereafter (1991)
  • Rule of the Bone (1995)
  • Cloudsplitter (1998)
  • The Darling (2004)
  • The Reserve (2008)
  • Lost Memory of Skin (2011)
  • Foregone (2021)
  • The Magic Kingdom (2022)

Adaptations

  • The Sweet Hereafter (film, 1997, dir. Atom Egoyan)
  • Affliction (film, 1997, dir. Paul Schrader)
  • Foregone adaptation reported (Oh, Canada; writer-director Paul Schrader; Richard Gere attached)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realist, detailed descriptionempathic depiction of working-class lifeexploration of moral and ethical dilemmas
Recurring Motifs
broken familiessocioeconomic hardshiprace and politics

Health

  • cancer
    2022–2023（最終期）
    Cause of death. Likely affected late-life activities and writing.

Legacy

Russell Banks is highly regarded for his realist, empathetic portrayals of working-class and marginalized characters. He received and was shortlisted for major awards, had works translated and adapted to film, and is considered an important figure in contemporary American literature.

Museums

  • Russell Banks papers at the Harry Ransom Center Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Letters
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Fellow)

Archives

  • Russell Banks Papers at the Harry Ransom Center

In Popular Culture

  • Film adaptations of The Sweet Hereafter and Affliction brought his work into wider popular culture.

Quotes

  • After living in Jamaica and writing The Book of Jamaica, I accepted that I was obliged, for example, to have African-American friends. I was obliged to address, deliberately, the overlapping social and racial contexts of my life.
    Source: The Paris Review (interview, 1998) (1998)

Trivia

  • Grew up in relative poverty.
  • Dropped out of Colgate University early and traveled to the American South in his youth.
  • Won an O. Henry Award in 1975.
  • Married poet Chase Twichell in 1989; they remained married until his death in 2023.
  • Taught creative writing at Princeton University.