Kiriyama Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 3 (1998) Winner
Ruth Ozeki
ルース・オゼキ
Rūsu Ozeki
Pen Names:
Ozeki (pen name)（Chosen pen name (taken from a former boyfriend's surname) to better represent her mixed ethnic heritage）
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1956-03-12 （New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.）
- Nationality
- American, Canadian
- Languages
- English, Japanese
- Religion
- Sōtō Zen Buddhism
- Residence History
- Northampton, Massachusetts → New York, New York → Cortes Island, British Columbia
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, filmmaker, professor, Zen Buddhist priest (Sōtō), screenwriter
- Active Years
- 1980-
- Affiliations
- Smith College, Department of English Language and Literature (Grace Jarcho Ross 1933 Professor of Humanities)
- Influenced By
- Her father Floyd Lounsbury (linguist/anthropologist) and the influence of both American and Japanese cultures
- Influenced
- Influenced contemporary cross-cultural writers and environmental literature
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith College | — | English and Asian Studies | B.A. | 1976–1980 | United States |
| Nara Women's University (graduate fellowship) | — | — | — | 1980–1981 | Japan |
Smith College
English and Asian Studies
Degree:
B.A.
Period:
1976–1980
Year of Graduation:
1980
Country:
United States
B.A. in English and Asian Studies
Nara Women's University (graduate fellowship)
Period:
1980–1981
Country:
Japan
Graduate work supported by a Monbukagakusho (Japanese Ministry of Education) fellowship (completion details unclear)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | International Documentary Association Distinguished Achievement Award | Halving the Bones | — | International Documentary Association | winner |
| 1994 | Kodak Award for Creative Use of Cinematography | Halving the Bones | — | Kodak | winner |
| 1994 | San Francisco Film & Video Festival New Visions Award | Body of Correspondence | — | San Francisco Film & Video Festival | winner |
| 1998 | Kiriyama Prize | My Year of Meats | — | Kiriyama Prize | winner |
| 1998 | Imus/Barnes & Noble American Book Award | My Year of Meats | — | Imus / Barnes & Noble | winner |
| 2003 | WILLA Literary Award for Contemporary Fiction | All Over Creation | Contemporary Fiction | WILLA Literary Award | winner |
| 2004 | American Book Award | All Over Creation | — | Before Columbus Foundation | winner |
| 2013 | Man Booker Prize | A Tale for the Time Being | — | Man Booker Prize | shortlist |
| 2013 | Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Fiction) | A Tale for the Time Being | Fiction | Los Angeles Times | winner |
| 2013 | Kitschies Red Tentacle Prize | A Tale for the Time Being | — | The Kitschies | winner |
| 2014 | Canada-Japan Literary Award | A Tale for the Time Being | — | Canada-Japan Literary Award | winner |
| 2014 | Dos Passos Prize | A Tale for the Time Being | — | Dos Passos Prize | winner |
| 2014 | Medici Book Club Prize | A Tale for the Time Being | — | Medici Book Club | winner |
| 2014 | National Book Critics Circle Award (shortlist) | A Tale for the Time Being | Fiction | National Book Critics Circle | shortlist |
| 2014 | Sunburst Award | A Tale for the Time Being | — | Sunburst Award Society | winner |
| 2015 | Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award | A Tale for the Time Being | — | Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award (Leo Tolstoy Museum & Samsung) | winner |
| 2022 | Women's Prize for Fiction | The Book of Form and Emptiness | — | Women's Prize | winner |
International Documentary Association Distinguished Achievement Award
1994
Work:
Halving the Bones
Organization:
International Documentary Association
Result:
winner
Kodak Award for Creative Use of Cinematography
1994
Work:
Halving the Bones
Organization:
Kodak
Result:
winner
San Francisco Film & Video Festival New Visions Award
1994
Work:
Body of Correspondence
Organization:
San Francisco Film & Video Festival
Result:
winner
Kiriyama Prize
1998
Work:
My Year of Meats
Organization:
Kiriyama Prize
Result:
winner
Imus/Barnes & Noble American Book Award
1998
Work:
My Year of Meats
Organization:
Imus / Barnes & Noble
Result:
winner
WILLA Literary Award for Contemporary Fiction
2003
Work:
All Over Creation
Category:
Contemporary Fiction
Organization:
WILLA Literary Award
Result:
winner
American Book Award
2004
Work:
All Over Creation
Organization:
Before Columbus Foundation
Result:
winner
Man Booker Prize
2013
Work:
A Tale for the Time Being
Organization:
Man Booker Prize
Result:
shortlist
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Fiction)
2013
Work:
A Tale for the Time Being
Category:
Fiction
Organization:
Los Angeles Times
Result:
winner
Kitschies Red Tentacle Prize
2013
Work:
A Tale for the Time Being
Organization:
The Kitschies
Result:
winner
Canada-Japan Literary Award
2014
Work:
A Tale for the Time Being
Organization:
Canada-Japan Literary Award
Result:
winner
Dos Passos Prize
2014
Work:
A Tale for the Time Being
Organization:
Dos Passos Prize
Result:
winner
Medici Book Club Prize
2014
Work:
A Tale for the Time Being
Organization:
Medici Book Club
Result:
winner
National Book Critics Circle Award (shortlist)
2014
Work:
A Tale for the Time Being
Category:
Fiction
Organization:
National Book Critics Circle
Result:
shortlist
Sunburst Award
2014
Work:
A Tale for the Time Being
Organization:
Sunburst Award Society
Result:
winner
Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award
2015
Work:
A Tale for the Time Being
Organization:
Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award (Leo Tolstoy Museum & Samsung)
Result:
winner
Women's Prize for Fiction
2022
Work:
The Book of Form and Emptiness
Organization:
Women's Prize
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
American Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 25 (2004) Winner
Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature
1 appearances
-
Edition 0 (2013) Winner
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 34 (2013) Winner
Kitschies
1 appearances
-
Edition 5 (2013) Winner
John Dos Passos Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 33 (2014) Winner
Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic
1 appearances
-
Edition 20 (2014) Winner
Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 13 (2015) Winner
Women's Prize for Fiction
1 appearances
-
Edition 27 (2022) WinnerWork: The Book of Form and Emptiness
A novel that weaves together grief, loss, growing up, climate change, jazz, and attachment to material possessions. Through the idea that objects may be semi-sentient, it reflects on the power of books, stories, and listening closely to the world.
Works
Major Works
My Year of Meats
1998 Fiction (social novel)Based on her work in Japanese television, the novel follows two women on opposite sides of the Pacific whose lives become connected through a TV cooking show.
mediafood cultureidentityUS–Japan relations
All Over Creation
2003 Fiction (environmental, agricultural)Focuses on an Idaho potato-farming family and environmental activists opposing GMOs, exploring environment, technology and family dynamics.
environmental politicsagricultureGMOsfamily
A Tale for the Time Being
2013 Fiction (metafiction with historical and philosophical elements)After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, a novelist finds a diary washed ashore and becomes obsessed with the fate of the Japanese schoolgirl who wrote it. The novel explores time, memory and identity.
timememoryidentitydisaster and trauma
The Book of Form and Emptiness
2021 Fiction (contemporary with elements of magical realism)About a 14-year-old boy who begins to hear voices from objects in his house following his father's death; explores grief, recovery, and relationships between people and things.
losshealingmaterialityvoice and narrative
The Face: A Time Code
2016 Nonfiction (observational)A personal nonfiction work based on a three-hour experiment observing her own reflection and logging arising thoughts.
self-observationconsciousnesstime
Bibliography
- My Year of Meats (1998)
- All Over Creation (2003)
- A Tale for the Time Being (2013)
- The Face: A Time Code (2016)
- The Book of Form and Emptiness (2021)
- Body of Correspondence (film, 1994)
- Halving the Bones (documentary film, 1995)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- integration of personal narrative and social issuesuse of metafictional techniquesmix of humor and philosophical reflection
- Recurring Motifs
- food and cookingvoices of objectstime and memorycross-cultural (US–Japan) identity
Legacy
Ruth Ozeki is internationally recognized for works that blend cross-cultural identity, environmental politics, technology and religion. Her dual role as a practicing Zen priest and novelist marks a distinctive contribution.
Trivia
- Legal name: Ruth Diana Lounsbury.
- The pen name 'Ozeki' was taken from a former boyfriend's surname to better represent her mixed heritage.
- Her novels have been translated into more than thirty languages.
- When shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize she was the first practicing Zen Buddhist priest to reach the shortlist.