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Toby Olson

トビー・オルソン

Toby Olson

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1937-01-01 （Chicago, Illinois, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
California (high school years) → Arizona (Navy service) → Texas (Navy service) → Philadelphia (resident) → North Truro, Cape Cod (resident)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Poet, Professor
Active Years
1975-
Affiliations
Aspen Writers' Workshop (co-founder, instructor), Long Island University (faculty), The New School (faculty), Temple University (faculty since 1975)

Education

Occidental College
Country: United States
Long Island University
Country: United States

Awards

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
1983
Work: Seaview
Organization: PEN/Faulkner
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
1985
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Henry Viscardi Achievement Award
2015
Organization: Henry Viscardi Foundation
Result: 受賞
Rockefeller Foundation (grant)
Organization: Rockefeller Foundation
Result: 受賞
National Endowment for the Arts (grant)
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Seaview

1982 Novel

A novel exploring the sea, family relationships, and individual interior life. Winner of the 1983 PEN/Faulkner Award.

seafamilysolitudeidentity

Changing Appearance

1975 Novel

Published in the 1970s; an experimental, shorter-length novel.

transformationself-awareness

The Life of Jesus

1976 Novel

A work addressing religious and moral themes.

religionmorality

Aesthetics

1978 Novel

An experimental work questioning aesthetics and expression.

aestheticsexpression

The Woman Who Escaped From Shame

1986 Novel

A story about escaping personal shame and confronting the past.

shameredemption

Dorit in Lesbos

1990 Novel

A work mixing classical motifs with contemporary perspectives.

classical vs contemporaryidentity

At Sea

1993 Novel

A work featuring stories or novellas set at sea.

seaboundaries

Write Letter to Billy

2000 Novel/Short fiction

A later work employing epistolary and fragmentary narration.

communicationmemory

The Blond Box

2004 Novel

A work characterized by experimental narration and form.

formal experimentationpersonal history

Tampico

Novel

Publication year not specified.

Bibliography

  • Changing Appearance (1975)
  • The Life of Jesus (1976)
  • Aesthetics (1978)
  • Seaview (1982)
  • The Woman Who Escaped From Shame (1986)
  • Dorit in Lesbos (1990)
  • At Sea (1993)
  • Write Letter to Billy (2000)
  • The Blond Box (2004)
  • Poetry collections including We are the fire

Adaptations

  • Opera 'Dorit' (collaboration with composer Paul Epstein; performed by Temple University Opera Theater)
  • Opera 'Chihuahua' (collaboration with composer Paul Epstein; performed by Temple University Opera Theater)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
contemporary proseexperimental stylepoetic expression
Recurring Motifs
seasolitudeidentitymemory

Legacy

Toby Olson is an American writer known for experimental and poetic prose. He is recognized for winning the 1983 PEN/Faulkner Award and has left a mark as an educator and collaborator in interdisciplinary projects such as opera.

Archives

  • Toby Olson letters to Carl Thayler collection (held by Special Collections, University of Delaware Library)

Trivia

  • He served four years in the U.S. Navy as a surgical technician before pursuing his literary career.
  • Co-founded the Aspen Writers' Workshop and taught at multiple institutions including Long Island University, The New School, and Temple University.
  • Collaborated with composer Paul Epstein on chamber music, songs, and two chamber operas.
  • Resides in Philadelphia and North Truro, Cape Cod.