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第73回（2008年） Special Award
William Melvin Kelley
ウィリアム・メルヴィン・ケリー
William Melvin Kelley
プロフィール
- 性別
- 男性
- 生誕
- 1937-11-01 （Seaview Hospital, Staten Island, New York, U.S.）
- 死没
- 2017-02-01 （Manhattan, New York, U.S.） 79歳
- 国籍
- United States
- 言語
- English
- 宗教
- Judaism (later in life)
- 居住地歴
- The Bronx (childhood) → Rome (c.1963–1964) → Paris (late 1960s) → Jamaica (nearly a decade) → Harlem, New York (after return to the U.S.)
経歴
- 職業
- Writer, Educator, Novelist, Short-story writer
- 活動期間
- 1962年〜2017年
- 所属
- State University of New York at Geneseo (writer-in-residence, etc.), The New School (instructor), Sarah Lawrence College (instructor, from 1989)
- 影響を受けた人物
- John Hawkes, Archibald MacLeish, Richard Wright
- 影響を与えた人物
- Later African-American writers (influence on experimental and political fiction), Writers and critics in contemporary American fiction
学歴
| 学校 | 学部 | 学科 | 学位 | 期間 | 国 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fieldston School (Ethical Culture Fieldston School) | — | — | — | — | United States |
| Harvard University | — | Literature/Arts (changed majors multiple times) | — | 1956–1960（卒業はせずに1960年に中途退学） | United States |
Fieldston School (Ethical Culture Fieldston School)
国:
United States
Secondary education. Served as student-council president and track team captain.
Harvard University
Literature/Arts (changed majors multiple times)
期間:
1956–1960（卒業はせずに1960年に中途退学）
卒業年:
1960
国:
United States
Awarded the Dana Reed Prize for fiction while a student. Left school in 1960 six months before graduation to pursue writing.
受賞歴
| 年 | 賞名 | 対象作品 | 部門 | 主催 | 結果 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (Lifetime Achievement) | — | — | Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards | 受賞 |
| 1959 | Dana Reed Prize (creative writing) | Short story "The Poker Party" | — | Harvard University | 受賞 |
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (Lifetime Achievement)
2008
主催:
Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
結果:
受賞
Dana Reed Prize (creative writing)
1959
対象作品:
Short story "The Poker Party"
主催:
Harvard University
結果:
受賞
受賞・候補エディション
American Book Awards
1回登壇
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第42回（2021年） Winner
作品
代表作
A Different Drummer
1962年 NovelA debut novel portraying a black exodus from an unnamed Southern state, told entirely through white characters' perspectives; employs satire to examine racial attitudes.
RaceCommunityExodus and mobilitySocial satire
Dancers on the Shore
1964年 Short story collectionA 1964 collection of short stories featuring recurring characters and themes that continue from his early novels.
RaceIdentityUrban life
A Drop of Patience
1965年 NovelPublished in 1965; a second novel continuing his experimental narrative approach and recurring characters.
Experimental styleInterpersonal relationshipsRace
dem
1967年 NovelPublished in 1967 after Kelley moved abroad; continues his experimental narrative techniques.
MigrationCultural disjunctionIdentity
dunfords travels everywheres
1970年 NovelPublished in 1970; includes metafictional elements and develops themes that recur in his later and unpublished works.
MetafictionCommunity breakdownSocial issues
全著作
- A Different Drummer (Doubleday, 1962)
- Dancers on the Shore (Doubleday, 1964)
- A Drop of Patience (Doubleday, 1965)
- dem (Doubleday, 1967)
- dunfords travels everywheres (Doubleday, 1970)
翻案
- Excavating Harlem in 2290 (wrote, produced, starred)
- The Beauty That I Saw (contributed to a film assembled from Kelley's video diaries)
作風・主題
- 文体
- Black comedyExperimental narrativeMultiple perspectives
- 頻出モチーフ
- Absurdities of racial attitudesCommunity and migrationMetafiction
健康
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Kidney failure晩年（死因となる）Contributed to his death on February 1, 2017
評価・遺産
An experimental novelist prominent in the 1960s who has undergone renewed critical attention; described by some as a "lost giant" of American literature. Credited with the first printed use of the term "woke" in a 1962 NYT op-ed.
資料所蔵先
- Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University (William Melvin Kelley family papers)
大衆文化への影響
- His 1962 piece "If You're Woke, You Dig It" has been cited in discussions of the word's history and referenced by sources such as the OED and BBC.
- Featured in a 2018 New Yorker piece that reappraised his work and described him as a "lost giant."
引用
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If You're Woke, You Dig It
出典: The New York Times (op-ed, 1962) (1962年)
豆知識
- Debuted with A Different Drummer in 1962.
- Often credited with the first printed use of the word "woke" in a 1962 NYT op-ed titled "If You're Woke, You Dig It."
- Won the Dana Reed Prize while at Harvard but left school in 1960 six months before graduation to pursue writing.
- Lived abroad for periods (including Paris and Jamaica) before returning to Harlem.
- Mentioned in 2012 interviews that he had completed additional unpublished novels.
- Died in 2017 from complications of kidney failure.