PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (1981) Winner
Walter Abish
ウォルター・アビッシュ
Worutā Abisshu
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1931-12-24 （Vienna, Austria）
- Died
- 2022-05-28 （Manhattan, New York, U.S.） age 90
- Nationality
- Austria, United States
- Languages
- English, German, Hebrew
- Religion
- Judaism
- Residence History
- Vienna (birth) → Italy, Nice (in exile) → Shanghai (1940–1949) → Israel (1949–1957) → United States (1957–2022)
Career
- Occupations
- Author, Novelist, Short story writer, Essayist, Educator
- Active Years
- 1970-2022
- Affiliations
- Empire State College, Wheaton College (Massachusetts), University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Columbia University, Brown University, Yale University, Cooper Union, International PEN (board member), New York Foundation for the Arts (board of governors), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Fellow)
- Memberships
- International PEN (board member 1982–1988), New York Foundation for the Arts (board of governors), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Fellow)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction | How German Is It | — | PEN/Faulkner Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1987 | MacArthur Fellowship | — | — | MacArthur Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1981 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1979 | National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship | — | — | National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) | 受賞 |
| 1985 | National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (second) | How German Is It | — | National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) | 受賞 |
| 1991 | American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award of Merit Medal for the Novel | — | — | American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters | 受賞 |
| 1992 | Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund fellowship | — | — | Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund | 受賞 |
| 1972 | Fellow of New Jersey State Council on the Arts | — | — | New Jersey State Council on the Arts | 受賞 |
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
1981
Work:
How German Is It
Organization:
PEN/Faulkner Foundation
Result:
受賞
MacArthur Fellowship
1987
Organization:
MacArthur Foundation
Result:
受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
1981
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞
National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship
1979
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
Result:
受賞
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (second)
1985
Work:
How German Is It
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
Result:
受賞
American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award of Merit Medal for the Novel
1991
Organization:
American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters
Result:
受賞
Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund fellowship
1992
Organization:
Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund
Result:
受賞
Fellow of New Jersey State Council on the Arts
1972
Organization:
New Jersey State Council on the Arts
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Duel Site
1970 PoetryAn early poetry collection with experimental language-play elements.
language experimentationself-expression
Alphabetical Africa
1974 Novel (experimental)An experimental novel notable for chapters constrained to words beginning with specific letters (e.g., first and last chapters using only words starting with 'A').
constraints of languageexperimental expression
Minds Meet
1975 Short storiesA collection of short stories including pieces that evoke figures such as Marcel Proust in unexpected settings.
memoryliterary allusion
In the Future Perfect
1977 Short stories (experimental)A short-story collection using unusual word patterns and alphanumeric games, prioritizing language play over conventional narrative.
languageformal experimentation
How German Is It
1980 NovelHis most celebrated novel, dealing with memory and identity in postwar Germany, noted for its sharp handling of language and historical consciousness.
memoryGermannessexamining history
99: The New Meaning
1990 Short stories (limited edition)A limited-edition collection of five collagist short stories.
collagefragmentation
Eclipse Fever
1993 NovelA 1993 novel met with mixed reviews; through portraits and fragmentary narration it questions the vitality of literary fiction.
cultural portraiturefragmentary narration
Double Vision: A Self-Portrait
2004 MemoirA memoir reflecting on his life and literary career.
autobiographymemory and identity
Bibliography
- Duel Site (1970, poetry)
- Alphabetical Africa (1974, novel)
- Minds Meet (1975, stories)
- In the Future Perfect (1977, stories)
- How German Is It (1980, novel)
- 99: The New Meaning (1990, stories)
- Eclipse Fever (1993, novel)
- Double Vision: A Self-Portrait (2004, memoir)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- language-experimentalformalistfragmentary/collagist techniques
- Recurring Motifs
- constraints and play of languagememory and identityGerman history and culturemigration and exile
Legacy
Walter Abish is known for combining linguistic experimentation with historical consciousness. His novel How German Is It is highly regarded and an important example of formal experimentation in American literature.
Academic Societies
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Quotes
-
It helps keep the American novel alive in its time. The prose of this novel is as cold as snow in a storm and as driven.
Source: PEN/Faulkner Award judges (1981) (1981) -
Daring writer who pondered Germany
Source: The New York Times (obituary headline) (2022)
Trivia
- Born in Vienna in 1931; fled the Nazis at age seven with his family.
- Lived in Shanghai from 1940 to 1949 among many European Jewish refugees.
- Moved to Israel in 1949, settled in the United States in 1957, and became a U.S. citizen around 1960.
- Married Cecile Gelb (photographer and sculptor) in 1953; remained married until his death and had no children.
- Known for works such as Alphabetical Africa (1974) and How German Is It (1980).