Barbara Kingsolver '77 to Be Inducted Into Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Barbara Kingsolver '77 to be Inducted Into Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame January 9, 2017 Barbara Kingsolver, award-winning and best-selling author and 1977 graduate of DePauw University, is among five acclaimed authors who will be inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place February 2 at 7 p.m. at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning in Lexington. "Kingsolver, 61, was born in Maryland to a family with roots in Nicholas County, where she spent much of her childhood," notes the Lexington Herald-Leader. "She earned biology and ecology degrees from DePauw University and the University of Arizona. Her books explore themes of feminism, social justice and environmentalism. Many of Kingsolver’s 14 books have been national best-sellers, and she has won numerous awards, including the National Humanities Medal. Writer’s Digest named her one of the most important writers of the 20th century." The paper adds, "Kingsolver, who grew up in Carlisle and lives in southwest Virginia, plans to attend and speak at the ceremony." More details are available at the newspaper's website. The author of The Poisonwood Bible; The Bean Trees; Flight Behavior; The Lacuna; Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life; and The Bean Trees, among other books, Kingsolver received the National Humanities Medal in 2000 and the 2010 Orange Prize. (at left: Kingsolver speaking at DePauw on April 16, 1991) She said in a PBS documentary, "I wanted to go somewhere far away and exotic, so I went to DePauw University in Indiana. All the scales fell from my eyes; it was wonderful." Kingsolver delivered the 1994 commencement address at her alma mater, "As Little Advice as Possible." You can see and hear the speech below. .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

The Butterfly Phenomena: a Study of Climate Change on Barbara Kingsolver’S Flight Behaviour
© 2018 JETIR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 10 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) The Butterfly phenomena: A Study of Climate Change on Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behaviour. Rejani G.S Research Scholar (Ph.D) (Reg.No.18113154012020) S.T Hindu College ,Nagercoil Affiliated to Manonmanium Sundaranar University, Abhishekapatti.Tirunelveli. Abstract Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behaviour is a clarion call for the forestalled eco-apocalypse, climate change or global warming .Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, Maggie Gees The Ice People, Jeanette Winterson’s The Stone Gods and many other novels in the same vein are futuristic. Even though there is always imagination in fiction, Flight Behaviour does not focus on the aftermath of any global disaster. Rather it reflects the actuality of climate change and Monarch butterfly migration. It also focuses on the story of a young woman trying to change her life, and a deeply humane account of working people responding to the local effects of the global climate crisis. Kingsolver has carved a career from examining social issues in her novels, from economic inequality to environmentalism. Flight Behaviour portrays the inducement and consequences of climate change that forms the butterfly effect. The paper throws light on the enormous consequence of climate change and the ignorance of reality. Keywords - Climate change, Butterfly phenomenon , Futuristic, Global Warming and Environmentalism. Climate change is the defining challenge of our age. The science is clear, climate change is happening, the impact is real. The time to act is now. -Ban Ki-Moon Climate novel is an emerging literary genre that has caught much attention and popularity in recent years.
[Show full text]
Reading Group Discussion Questions—The Lacuna the Word “Lacuna” Means Many Things: a Missing Piece of a Manuscript, A
Reading Group Discussion Questions—The Lacuna The word “lacuna” means many things: a missing piece of a manuscript, a gap in history or knowledge, a tunnel or passage leading from one place to another. What are some of the lacunae in this novel? Several characters repeat the phrase: “The most important part of a story is the piece of it you don’t know.” What does this mean to you, in terms of both public and private life? Are you likely to give this consideration more weight, since reading the novel? Given the unusual presentation of the novel, as diary entries written by a person who does not want to be known, how did you come to know Harrison Shepherd? Which of his passions or dreads evoked a connection for you? The opening paragraph of the novel promises: “In the beginning were the howlers,” and suggests they will always be with us. As you read, did you find yourself thinking of modern occasions of media “howlers” purveying gossip, fear, and injurious misquotes? Why does this industry persist? Has an increasingly rapid news cycle changed its power? Did any historical revelations in this novel surprise you? How has our national character changed from earlier times? How would we now respond, for example, to the universal rationing imposed during World War II? Or to the later events aimed at containing “un-American activities?” What elements shape these responses? What is the value, in your opinion, of the historical novel as a genre? What places or sensory events in the novel appealed to you most? Are you a more visual, auditory, or olfactory sort of person? What sensory impressions stayed with you after you had finished the book? The two important women in Harrison Shepherd’s life, Violet Brown and Frida Kahlo, seem to be opposites at first glance.
[Show full text]
“Charged with Resistance”: an Ecocritical Reading of Barbara Kingsolver’S Prodigal Summer and Flight Behavior
“CHARGED WITH RESISTANCE”: AN ECOCRITICAL READING OF BARBARA KINGSOLVER’S PRODIGAL SUMMER AND FLIGHT BEHAVIOR A Thesis by BRENDAN T. HAWKINS Submitted to the Graduate School at Appalachian State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS August 2015 Department of English “CHARGED WITH RESISTANCE”: AN ECOCRITICAL READING OF BARBARA KINGSOLVER’S PRODIGAL SUMMER AND FLIGHT BEHAVIOR A Thesis by BRENDAN T. HAWKINS August 2015 APPROVED BY: Dr. Kathryn Kirkpatrick Chairperson, Thesis Committee Dr. Sandra Ballard Member, Thesis Committee Dr. Holly Martin Member, Thesis Committee Dr. Carl Eby Chairperson, Department of English Max C. Poole, Ph.D. Dean, Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies Copyright by Brendan T. Hawkins 2015 All Rights Reserved Abstract “CHARGED WITH RESISTANCE”: AN ECOCRITICAL READING OF BARBARA KINGSOLVER’S PRODIGAL SUMMER AND FLIGHT BEHAVIOR Brendan Hawkins B.A., Milligan College M.A., Appalachian State University Chairperson: Dr. Kathryn Kirkpatrick This thesis analyzes Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer and Flight Behavior through an ecofeminist lens. The women in these novels understand that human and nonhuman lives, including plants and animals, intersect in real and meaningful ways. This realization allows the female characters to move past the dualistic or hegemonic culture they inhabit. iv Acknowledgments I would like to thank Dr. Kirkpatrick, Dr. Ballard, and Dr. Martin for their support, advice, and expertise. Thank you to all of my family and friends for their help and support in this endeavor. Your encouragement always means so much to me. I would also like to thank my cohort for their unwavering support of me and my project.
[Show full text]
Barbara Kingsolver... Grize¨ Ll a Zar-Luxton Provides Insight Into This Author,Cum Archeologist,Cum Copy Editor
BOOKWORLD CONTENTS / INHOUD Barbara Kingsolver... Grize¨ ll A zar-Luxton provides insight into this author,cum archeologist,cum copy editor... Barbara Kingsolver... the list is endless 18 The poisonwood Bible A discussion by Franschhoek Reading Circle's archaeologist, copy editor, Marion Marsh 20 x-ray technician, housecleaner, Realms of ice and snow. Some books about biological researcher very cold places An unusual discussion of a wintery topic by and translator of medical documents Margaret Iskander 22 Realms of ice and snowbooklist Margaret Iskander provides a detailed Compiled by booklist 24 GRIZEè LL AZAR-LUXTON Aanbevole prenteboeke vir babas en peuters Lona Gericke se nuttige leeslys 25 arbara Kingsolver was born on Kingsolver has always been a story- April 8,1955. She grewup`in the teller:`I used to beg my mother to let me tell B middle of an alfalfa field', in the part her a bedtime story.'As a child, she wrote biologicalresearcher and translator of of eastern Kentucky thatlies betweenthe stories and essays and, beginning atthe age medicaldocuments. Aftergraduate school, opulent horse farms and the impoverished of eight, kept a journalreligiously. Still, it a position as a science writer for the Uni- coal fields. never occurred to Kingsolver that she versityof Arizona soonled herinto feature Kingsolver was a little girl of seven when could become a professional writer. writing forjournals and newspapers. Her she and her familylefttheir Kentucky home Growing up in a rural area, where work articles have appearedin dozens of news- tospendtwoyearsintheCongo.Whenshe centered mainly on survival, writing didn't papers and magazinesin North America returned, the world looked totally different seemto be a practical career choice.
[Show full text]
Taylor's Search for Self-Identity in the Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
A Self-discovery Voyage: Taylor’s Search for Self-Identity in The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver Amaia Ochoa Herrera Degree in English Studies Department of English and German Philology and Translation and Interpretation Tutor: David Río Raigadas Academic year: 2017/2018 Abstract Western literature has conventionally been concerned with male characters and their lonely journeys, however, Barbara Kingsolver has escaped the constraints of the genre. Hence, the aim of this paper is to analyze the main character’s self-identity search in The Bean Trees. In order to accomplish this, first, some background information about Barbara Kingsolver is introduced as well as a general explanation about the ecofeminist theory and its influence in the author. The paper deals with the building process of Taylor’s identity regarding four principal themes: gender, community, ethnicity, and nature. In each section, secondary sources and close reading are combined in order to analyze the role of the main characters of this novel. Lastly, the conclusion rounds up how the previously mentioned themes have influenced Taylor’s self-identity and addresses her development throughout her journey. Key words: self-identity, ecofeminism, The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver 2 Table of Contents 1) Introduction.................................................................................................................4 2) Author: Barbara Kingsolver........................................................................................6 3) Ecofeminist Theory.....................................................................................................8
[Show full text]
Author Barbara Kingsolver Writes About Global Climate Change and Hope
Author Barbara Kingsolver Writes About Global Climate Change and Hope By Laurie McAndish King “The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. The most you can do is live inside that hope, running down its hallways, touching the walls on both sides.” —from Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver understands the importance of hope. And, for the benefit of her readers, Kingsolver does run down hope’s hallways. She does touch the walls on both sides—and the floors and ceilings and doors and windows, too. I heard Kingsolver recently at Book Passage in Marin County, California, where she read from her new novel, Flight Behavior, which is currently number one on IndieBound, the prestigious list of best-sellers at independent bookstores across America. I loved Animal Dreams and several of Kingsolver’s other novels, so I couldn’t wait to hear her read from her latest book. Since the author believes there’s a special place in Hell for people who give away the endings of books—or even important plot points— I’m not about to disclose too much. But in Flight Behavior Kingsolver does, once again, what she does best. She looks at an issue from multiple points of view, empathizing with characters who disagree with each other, turning a question over and over like a pebble in a tumbler until the hard edges are worn away and the result is something you want to carry around in your pocket, to touch and turn and rub for days and weeks, until you know every part of it by heart.
[Show full text]
Increasing the Volume on Post-9/11 Literature
Increasing the Volume on Post-9/11 Literature By Clair King-Sheehan Thesis submitted for PhD Degree University of Limerick Supervisor of Research: Dr David Coughlan Submitted to the University of Limerick, September 2015 Table of Contents Abstract v Declaration vi Acknowledgements vii List of Appendices viii List of Abbreviations ix Introduction 1 The Twin Towers 1 Role of Overtly Political Fiction in the U.S. 11 Reds Under the Beds: A Twentieth Century Crisis 26 Theoretical Relationship between Politics and Literature 29 Changes in Approach 35 The Novels 40 Chapter 1: “What the?” 44 Why the Question? 52 Foer’s Vision 54 The Falling Man 58 Foer’s Metaphor for America 63 Nothing to Declare 66 Competing Political Ideologies 73 Unreliability or Miscommunication? 83 In Safe Company 87 Comparisons on a sensitive subject 94 ii Chapter 2: Faint Echoes of DeLillo – The Fiction of Politics 102 The Power of Images 119 A Grief Observed 126 Falling Man 132 Bill Lawton – the enemy 134 Ernst Hechinger – the European Perspective 138 David Janiak – The Muted Spectacle 143 Hammad – the three Positions of the “Other” 145 “On Marienstrasse” 146 “In Nokomis” 148 “In the Hudson Corridor” 148 Point Omega 150 The Fall: DeLillo’s Post-9/11 opus 161 Chapter 3: Updike’s Reluctant American 165 Terrorist (2006) 183 Terrorist vs. Terrorist 188 The Troublesome Other 195 A Questionable Jewish Persona 204 Enter the Woman 209 The Schizophrenic Other 216 Chapter 4: Kingsolver’s Hidden Intention 222 September 2001 – 224 Now versus Then 231 The Gap 244 The Lacuna 249 iii BACK HOME 265 “In the beginning were the howlers” 275 Conclusion 278 Appendix A 285 Bibliography 288 iv Abstract: “Increasing the Volume on Post-9/11 Literature” By Clair King-Sheehan The intention of this study has been to engage directly with several major novels that appeared in the wake of the fall of the Twin Towers.
[Show full text]
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver ______
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver __________________________________________________________________________________________ About the author: Barbara Kingsolver was born in 1955, and grew up in rural Kentucky. She earned degrees in biology from DePauw University and the University of Arizona, and has worked as a freelance writer and author since 1985. At various times in her adult life she has lived in England, France, and the Canary Islands, and has worked in Europe, Africa, Asia, Mexico, and South America. She spent two decades in Tucson, Arizona, before moving to southwestern Virginia where she currently resides. Her books, in order of publication, are: The Bean Trees (1988), Homeland (1989), Holding the Line: Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike (1989), Animal Dreams (1990), Another America (1992), Pigs in Heaven (1993), High Tide in Tucson (1995), The Poisonwood Bible (1998), Prodigal Summer (2000), Small Wonder (2002), Last Stand: America’s Virgin Lands, with photographer Annie Griffiths Belt (2002), Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (2007), and The Lacuna (2009). She served as editor for Best American Short Stories 2001. Her books have been translated into more than two dozen languages, and have been adopted into the core literature curriculum in high schools and colleges throughout the nation. She has contributed to more than fifty literary anthologies, and her reviews and articles have appeared in most major U.S. newspapers and magazines. Kingsolver was named one the most important writers of the 20th Century by Writers Digest. In 2000, she received the National Humanities Medal, our country’s highest honor for service through the arts. Critical acclaim for her books includes multiple awards from the American Booksellers Association and the American Library Association, among many others.
[Show full text]
“As Wide As the World”: Examining and Overcoming American Neo-Imperialism in Three Novels Lindsey A
St. Catherine University SOPHIA Antonian Scholars Honors Program School of Humanities, Arts and Sciences 4-2012 “As Wide as the World”: Examining and Overcoming American Neo-Imperialism in Three Novels Lindsey A. Becker St. Catherine University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://sophia.stkate.edu/shas_honors Part of the American Literature Commons Recommended Citation Becker, Lindsey A., "“As Wide as the World”: Examining and Overcoming American Neo-Imperialism in Three Novels" (2012). Antonian Scholars Honors Program. 10. https://sophia.stkate.edu/shas_honors/10 This Senior Honors Project is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Humanities, Arts and Sciences at SOPHIA. It has been accepted for inclusion in Antonian Scholars Honors Program by an authorized administrator of SOPHIA. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “AS WIDE AS THE WORLD”: EXAMINING AND OVERCOMING AMERICAN NEO- IMPERIALISM IN THREE NOVELS by Lindsey Becker A Senior Project in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Honors Program ST. CATHERINE UNIVERSITY March 28, 2012 Becker 2 Acknowledgements A very heartfelt thank you goes to my Project Chairperson, Professor Gabrielle Civil, and my Project Committee Members, Professors Joanne Cavallaro and Maria Tzintzarova. I really appreciated your guidance, expertise, and feedback in this endeavor. Becker 3 1.1 Introduction “Literature’s freedom to explore endless or exquisite details, portray the thoughts of imaginary characters, and dramatize large themes through intricate plots brings it closest to the reality of ‘how the world really works’” (4). So says Charles Hill, an official in the US Foreign Service.
[Show full text]
Flight Behavior: a Novel
_____________________________________________________________________________________ Reading Guide Flight Behavior: A Novel Harper Perennial By Barbara Kingsolver ISBN: 9780062124272 Introduction The extraordinary New York Times bestselling author of The Lacuna (winner of the Orange Prize), The Poisonwood Bible (nominated for the Pulitzer Prize), and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver returns with a truly stunning and unforgettable work. Flight Behavior is a brilliant and suspenseful novel set in present day Appalachia; a breathtaking parable of catastrophe and denial that explores how the complexities we inevitably encounter in life lead us to believe in our particular chosen truths. Kingsolver's riveting story concerns a young wife and mother on a failing farm in rural Tennessee who experiences something she cannot explain, and how her discovery energizes various competing factions—religious leaders, climate scientists, environmentalists, politicians—trapping her in the center of the conflict and ultimately opening up her world. Flight Behavior is arguably Kingsolver's must thrilling and accessible novel to date, and like so many other of her acclaimed works, represents contemporary American fiction at its finest. Questions for Discussion 1. What is the significance of the novel's title? Talk about the imagery of flight. How is it represented throughout the story? 2. How do the chapter titles relate both to scientific concepts as well as the events that unfold within each chapter itself? 3. Describe Dellarobia. How is she of this mountain town in Tennessee and how is she different from it? How are she and her family connected to the land and to nature itself? How are they disconnected? How does this shape their viewpoints? How does she describe herself? Do you agree with her selfassessment? 4.
[Show full text]
The Bean Trees the Bean Trees
Prestwick House AP Literature SampleTeaching Unit™ Prestwick House Prestwick House * * AP Literature AP Literature Teaching Unit Teaching Unit * AP is a registered trademark of The College Board, * AP is a registered trademark of The College Board, which neither sponsors or endorses this product. which neither sponsors or endorses this product. ABarbara Kingsolver’sP ABarbara Kingsolver’sP The Bean Trees The Bean Trees Click here A P RESTWICK H OUSE P UBLIC A TION A P RESTWICKto learnH OUSE P UBLIC moreA TION Item No. 307248 about this Teaching Unit! Click here to find more Classroom Resources for this title! More from Prestwick House Literature Grammar and Writing Vocabulary Reading Literary Touchstone Classics College and Career Readiness: Writing Vocabulary Power Plus Reading Informational Texts Literature Teaching Units Grammar for Writing Vocabulary from Latin and Greek Roots Reading Literature Advanced Placement in English Literature and Composition Individual Learning Packet Teaching Unit The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver written by Priscilla Baker Item No. 307248 The Bean Trees ADVANCED PLACEMENT LITERATURE TEACHING UNIT The Bean Trees Objectives By the end of this Unit, the student will be able to: 1. explain the significance of the novel title,The Bean Trees, and of the chapter titles. 2. discuss the role of narrative voice and analyze Kingsolver’s use of point of view. 3. discuss the credibility of the narrator and how that is measured. 4. analyze the use of humor and sarcasm in the novel. 5. discuss the function of setting and the role of nature in the novel. 6. examine the impact of the social and political issues present in the novel on plot, character, and theme.
[Show full text]
'A Critical Literary Analysis of the Fiction of Barbara Kingsolver'
“The Things That Attach People”: A Critical Literary Analysis of the Fiction of Barbara Kingsolver Ceri Gorton, MA Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy JULY 2009 ABSTRACT This is the first full-length scholarly work dedicated to the fiction of Kentucky-raised feminist activist and trained biologist Barbara Kingsolver. Interrogating the political efficacy of the work of an author who proclaims that art “should be political” and that “literature should inform as well as enlighten”, this thesis explores the ways in which Kingsolver positions herself variously as an environmentalist, liberal, communitarian, feminist and agrarian. It unpacks the author’s issues-based approach to writing fiction and its effect on her commercial popularity and through close readings of her fiction provides an assessment of this popular and critically acclaimed contemporary American writer. This study maps the oeuvre of a writer who has achieved critical success in the form of Pulitzer nominations, American Booksellers Book of the Year awards, a National Medal for Arts, and commercial success in the form of bestselling novels and even non-fiction works – not to mention the populist accolade of being selected as an Oprah’s Book Club author. It analyses tropes, techniques and tensions in Kingsolver’s novels and short stories published between 1988 and 2001, namely The Bean Trees (1988), Homeland and Other Stories (1989), Animal Dreams (1990), Pigs in Heaven (1993), The Poisonwood Bible (1998), and Prodigal Summer (2001). Rather than act as an introductory survey, this assessment posits that there exists a difficult but fruitful tension between writing fiction for readers and writing to a political agenda.
[Show full text]