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Tobias Jonathan Ansell Wolff

トビアス・ジョナサン・アンセル・ウルフ

Tobias Jonathan Ansell Wolff

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1945-06-19 （Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Catholic
Residence History
Birmingham, Alabama (birth) → Seattle, Washington (childhood/adolescence) → Newhalem, Washington (adolescence) → Oxford, England (study) → Syracuse, New York (faculty) → Stanford, California (residence/faculty)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Short story writer, Memoirist, Novelist, Professor (creative writing)
Active Years
1975-
Affiliations
Syracuse University (faculty), Stanford University (faculty)
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Letters (elected 2014)
Influenced By
Raymond Carver, Andre Dubus, American short-story tradition (e.g., Poe)
Influenced
Jay McInerney, Tom Perrotta, George Saunders, Alice Sebold

Education

Hertford College, Oxford
English
Degree: BA (First Class Honours)
Period: 1969–1972
Year of Graduation: 1972
Country: United Kingdom
First Class Honours in English
Stanford University
Creative Writing (Wallace Stegner Fellowship)
Degree: MA
Period: 1974–1975
Year of Graduation: 1975
Country: United States
Wallace Stegner Fellow

Awards

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
1985
Work: The Barracks Thief
Organization: PEN/Faulkner Foundation
Result: 受賞
Los Angeles Times Book Award (Biography)
1989
Work: This Boy's Life
Category: 伝記
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: 受賞
Rea Award for the Short Story
1989
Organization: Rea Award committee
Result: 受賞
Whiting Award
1989
Category: フィクション／ノンフィクション
Organization: Whiting Foundation
Result: 受賞
O. Henry Award
1981
Work: In the Garden of the North American Martyrs (short story)
Organization: O. Henry Prize
Result: 受賞
O. Henry Award
1982
Work: Next Door (short story)
Organization: O. Henry Prize
Result: 受賞
O. Henry Award
1985
Work: Sister (short story)
Organization: O. Henry Prize
Result: 受賞
PEN/Malamud Award
2006
Organization: PEN America
Result: 受賞（共同受賞）
The Story Prize
2008
Work: Our Story Begins
Organization: The Story Prize
Result: 受賞
Stone Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement
2014
Category: 生涯業績
Organization: Oregon State University
Result: 受賞
National Medal of Arts
2015
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
Result: 授与（大統領による）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

In the Garden of the North American Martyrs

1981 Short story collection

A collection of early short stories exploring gritty realism, moral ambiguity, and intimate human relationships.

realismmoral dilemmafamily relations

The Barracks Thief

1984 Novella / Military fiction

Set in a military barracks before deployment to Vietnam, it follows three recruits ostracized by their company as thefts and suspicion escalate.

alienationsuspicion and ethicsmilitary life

This Boy's Life

1989 Memoir

A memoir chronicling Wolff's unsettled adolescence, his turbulent relationship with a stepfather, and the search for identity.

parent-child relationshipsidentitycoming-of-age struggles
Adaptations
  • [Film] This Boy's Life / Michael Caton-Jones (1993)
Translations
  • This Boy's Life (Japanese translation)

In Pharaoh's Army

1994 Memoir (war)

A memoir of Wolff's service in Vietnam, reflecting on military training, memories of combat, and the lasting effects of war.

war memoryethicsmemory and truth

Old School

2003 Novel

A novel set at an elite boarding school, exploring literature, ambition, and students' desire for recognition.

ambitionliterary educationauthority and recognition

The Night in Question

1997 Short story collection

A collection of mature short stories dealing with memory, loss, and ethical dilemmas.

memorylossmoral choice
Adaptations
  • [Short film] Bullet in the Brain / David Von Ancken & CJ Follini (2001)

Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories

2008 Short story collection (new and selected)

A selection combining new stories with previously published work, showcasing Wolff's craft and recurring themes.

autobiographical elementsmoral quandarylanguage and memory

Bibliography

  • Ugly Rumours (1975)
  • In the Garden of the North American Martyrs (1981)
  • The Barracks Thief (1984)
  • Back in the World (1985)
  • This Boy's Life (1989)
  • In Pharaoh's Army (1994)
  • The Night in Question (1997)
  • Old School (2003)
  • Our Story Begins (2008)

Adaptations

  • This Boy's Life (1993 film)
  • Bullet in the Brain (2001 short film)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
spare, controlled proseblend of autobiographical elements and fictionrealistic psychological portraiture
Recurring Motifs
duplicity vs. honestyfather-child relationshipsmemory and truth

Legacy

An influential American writer of short stories and memoirs from the late 20th century onward. Praised for his treatment of ethical dilemmas and memory, and noted as a mentor who trained many contemporary writers.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Letters

In Popular Culture

  • The memoir This Boy's Life was adapted into a 1993 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.

Quotes

  • I have to be able, with a straight face, to tell myself that something is nonfiction if I say it's nonfiction.
    Source: Interview / BOMB Magazine (Fall 1996) (1996)

Trivia

  • As a youth he falsified transcripts for admission to The Hill School and was later expelled.
  • Served in the U.S. Army from 1964 to 1968, trained for Special Forces and served in Vietnam.
  • His older brother Geoffrey Wolff is also a writer.
  • He has won the O. Henry Award multiple times.