Wikipedia

Joanna Scott

Joanna Scott (born June 22, 1960) is an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. Her award-winning fiction is known for its wide-ranging subject matter and its incorporation of historical figures into imagined narratives.

Joanna Scott
Born (1960-06-22) June 22, 1960 (age 63)
Darien, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation
  • author
  • professor
Education
Period1987–present
Notable awardsMacArthur Fellowship (1992)
SpouseJames Longenbach
Children2

A native of Darien, Connecticut, Scott graduated from Trinity College in Hartford and earned a master's degree from Brown University. In addition to her work as an author, she has had a career in academia, teaching at the University of Maryland and the University of Rochester, where she has been a member of the faculty since 1988. As of 2023 Scott is the Roswell Smith Burrows Professor of English at the University of Rochester.

Early life and education edit

Joanna Scott was born on June 22, 1960, the youngest child of Walter Lee and Yvonne Scott. She was raised in Darien, Connecticut, with her three older brothers.[1] Her father worked in advertising, and her mother was a psychologist for the school system in Stamford, Connecticut.[2] Scott has described her childhood as one of extraordinary freedom but also isolation, both of which nurtured her imagination.[1] As a student at Darien High School, she encountered the novels of William Faulkner, which she has described as an "unsettling" experience that prompted her first attempts at writing fiction.[3]

After taking a bus trip across the United States,[4] Scott enrolled at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where she majored in English and studied under the author Stephen Minot. She spent one semester in Rome and one academic year at Barnard College before graduating in 1983. She then spent a year as an assistant at a literary agency in New York City before enrolling in the Creative Writing Program at Brown University, where she studied with the authors Susan Sontag, Robert Coover, and John Hawkes. After earning her master's degree in 1985, she stayed at Brown for a year as a teaching fellow.[5]

Writing career edit

Scott began writing her first novel, Fading, My Parmacheene Belle, while at Brown University.[6] It was published in 1987. Writing in The New York Times, Nancy Ramsey called it a "remarkably inventive first novel" that was moving and wise.[7] In a separate review in The New York Times, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt criticized the novel's plot, but praised the "mad eloquence" of its prose.[8]

In 1988, Scott's second novel, The Closest Possible Union, was published. Narrated by a teenaged boy, it tells the story of the violent voyage of a slave ship. Publishers Weekly declared that the "Kafkaesque" story "demonstrates conclusively that modern literature has a major new voice".[9] However, the author Robert Houston found the novel disappointing, writing in The New York Times that it suffered from a disconnect between its language and its material.[10]

Scott's third novel, Arrogance, appeared in 1990 to mixed reviews. A fragmented, fictional account inspired by the life of Austrian artist Egon Schiele, it was criticized in Publishers Weekly as reading like "an innovative treatise".[11] Writing in The New York Times, the author Scott Bradfield also classified the work as "more…a treatise than a novel", although he praised its "vivid" use of "sensuous, provocative" material.[12] However, Entertainment Weekly gave the novel an 'A' grade,[13] and, writing in The Washington Post, J. D. McClatchy called it "a convincing portrait of tortured artistic genius and a dazzling literary performance".[14]

In 1994, Scott released a collection of stories, Various Antidotes. This was followed by another novel, The Manikin (1996), a gothic story set in western New York. In the Los Angeles Times, Anna Mundow praised the novel's "feverish, hermetically sealed atmosphere", although she criticized its portrayal of its characters.[15] Calling it "richly atmospheric", Kirkus Reviews declared that the novel "splendidly reinforces Scott's reputation as an original and imaginative writer".[16] In The New York Times, Peter Prescott compared Scott's prose to the Metamorphoses of Ovid.[17] The novel went on to be a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1997.[18]

In 2000, Scott published her fifth novel, Make Believe. She then took a sabbatical to live in Florence, Italy, where she conducted research and began work on novels set in Italy.[19] These were Tourmaline (2002) and Liberation (2005). Another collection of short stories, Everybody Loves Somebody, was published in 2006.

Scott's eighth novel, Follow Me, appeared in 2009. Kirkus Reviews praised its "luminous prose" and "mythic" main character,[20] while Publishers Weekly admired its "retelling of the archetypal American journey from a female perspective".[21] It was followed by another novel, De Potter's Grand Tour (2014), which was inspired by the story of Scott's great-grandfather, Armand de Potter, and includes photos and other materials from Scott's family archives.[22] In Library Journal, Neil Hollands called it "a fascinating tale of the dark side of the rags-to-riches story".[23]

Scott's tenth novel, Careers for Women, appeared in 2017. A story collection, Excuse Me While I Disappear, appeared in 2021.

Form edit

External videos
  In this video from 2017, Scott reads from her novel, Careers for Women. (3 mins)

Scott has published fiction (both novels and short stories) and nonfiction (essays and book reviews). She is best known for fiction of lyrical prose that explores a wide range of subjects and employs a variety of literary techniques. The scholar Anne-Laure Tissut has characterized Scott's writing as displaying "a fascination for the diversity of the world and an awareness of the wealth of literary devices".[24] Among the devices Scott has employed are magical realism[25] and unreliable narration,[26] and she is noted for her contributions to what the scholar Michael Lackey has called "biofiction", or biographical fiction, a form of literature that "names its protagonist after an actual historical figure" without being bound to the scholarly conventions of history or biography.[27] Scott has done this by crafting fictions centered on historical figures ranging from Antonie van Leeuwenhoek to Egon Schiele to her own ancestors.

Themes edit

Scott's work is thematically diverse. Some scholarly attention has been paid to the feminist perspective in Scott's novels and their portrayal of women who navigate male-dominated arenas.[28] Critics have also focused on Scott's preoccupation with all facets of creativity, including the psychology of artists, most obviously explored in Arrogance,[14] and the choices made in the process of realizing a personal vision.[26]

Influences edit

In interviews, Scott has pointed to the influence of William Faulkner, Samuel Beckett, Maureen Howard, and John Hawkes on her work.[6][4]

Academia edit

In 1987, the time of her first novel's publication, Scott was an instructor at the University of Rochester. She then joined the faculty, as an assistant professor, at the University of Maryland, College Park, for the 1987-88 academic year. In 1988, she rejoined the faculty of the University of Rochester as an assistant professor in the English department.[29]

In 1999, Scott was appointed the Roswell Smith Burrows Professor of English at the University of Rochester.[29]

As of 2023 Scott is the Roswell Smith Burrows Professor of English at the University of Rochester, and Director, Literary Arts Programs.[30]

Honors edit

Scott has received numerous honors for her work. Below are honors she has received for both her body of work and individual works.

Honors for body of work edit

Honors for individual works edit

In addition, Arrogance and Various Antidotes were both finalists for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction;[45] The Manikin was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction,[18] and Tourmaline was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.[46]

Scott's work has been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories,[47] The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories,[48] and elsewhere. She has been a visiting professor at Princeton University.[29] She has also been an invited speaker at numerous institutions.

Personal life edit

Scott was married to the poet and scholar James Longenbach until his death in 2022. They have two children.[49]

Selected bibliography edit

Novels edit

  • Fading, My Parmacheene Belle. Ticknor & Fields, 1987. ISBN 978-0899194516
  • The Closest Possible Union. Ticknor & Fields, 1988. ISBN 978-0899196626
  • Arrogance. Linden Press/Simon & Schuster, 1990. ISBN 978-0671695477
  • The Manikin. Henry Holt, 1996. ISBN 978-0805055917
  • Make Believe. Little, Brown & Co., 2000. ISBN 978-0316776165
  • Tourmaline. Little, Brown & Co., 2002. ISBN 978-0316776189
  • Liberation. Little, Brown & Co., 2005. ISBN 978-0316010535
  • Follow Me. Little, Brown & Co., 2009. ISBN 978-0316051651
  • De Potter's Grand Tour. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014. ISBN 978-0-374-16233-7
  • Careers for Women. Little, Brown & Co., 2017. ISBN 978-0316363839

Story collections edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Lackey, Michael, ed. (2020). Conversations with Joanna Scott. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. pp. vii. ISBN 978-1-4968-2932-0. OCLC 1125129457.
  2. ^ Lackey, Michael, ed. (2020). Conversations with Joanna Scott. p. 4.
  3. ^ Lackey, Michael, ed. (2020). Conversations with Joanna Scott. pp. vii–viii.
  4. ^ a b Scott, Joanna (May 1, 2010). "A Conversation with Maureen Howard". Believer Magazine. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  5. ^ Lackey, Michael, ed. (2020). Conversations with Joanna Scott. pp. viii.
  6. ^ a b Morrow, Bradford. "An Interview with Joanna Scott". www.conjunctions.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  7. ^ Ramsey, Nancy (March 22, 1987). "IN SHORT: FICTION". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  8. ^ Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher (March 26, 1987). "BOOKS OF THE TIMES". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  9. ^ "Fiction Book Review: The Closest Possible Union by Joanna Scott". PublishersWeekly.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  10. ^ Houston, Robert (August 14, 1988). "MUTINY ON THE MIDDLE PASSAGE". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  11. ^ "Review of Arrogance by Joanna Scott". www.publishersweekly.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  12. ^ Bradfield, Scott (August 19, 1990). "Onan and Egon". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  13. ^ Donatich, John (November 22, 1991). "Arrogance". EW.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  14. ^ a b McClatchy, J. D. (July 22, 1990). "A TALENT TO DISTURB". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  15. ^ Mundow, Anna (March 10, 1996). "American Gothic : FICTION : THE MANIKIN, By Joanna Scott". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  16. ^ Review: THE MANIKIN. Kirkus Reviews. 1995. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  17. ^ Prescott, Peter (April 14, 1996). "Bleak House". archive.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  18. ^ a b "Joanna Scott". www.pulitzer.org. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  19. ^ "Island of Exile is Island of Dreams for Family in Joanna Scott's New Novel". www.rochester.edu. October 25, 2002. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  20. ^ Review: FOLLOW ME. Kirkus Reviews. 2009. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  21. ^ "Review of Follow Me by Joanna Scott". www.publishersweekly.com. February 16, 2009. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  22. ^ Vernon, John (September 12, 2014). "Facts, Lies and Artifacts". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  23. ^ Hollands, Neil (August 1, 2014). "De Potter's Grand Tour". Library Journal. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  24. ^ Tissut, Anne-Laure (2002). "Wonder-Working "Antidotes": The Storyteller's Paraphernalia". Revue Française d'études Américaines. 94 (4): 85–90. doi:10.3917/rfea.094.0085. ISSN 0397-7870. JSTOR 20874880. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  25. ^ Cohen, Leah Hager (April 17, 2009). "American Quilt". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  26. ^ a b Eugenides, Jeffrey (October 27, 2002). "The Philosopher's Stone". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  27. ^ Lackey, Michael, ed. (2020). Conversations with Joanna Scott. pp. ix.
  28. ^ Ebaugh, Ariel; Norwood, Kimberly (March 12, 2021). "Feminist Biofiction: A Conversation with Joanna Scott". A/B: Auto/Biography Studies. 36 (2): 451–466. doi:10.1080/08989575.2021.1888555. ISSN 0898-9575. S2CID 233642140.
  29. ^ a b c d Lackey, Michael (2018). "Joanna Scott". In Parker Anderson, George (ed.). Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twenty-First Century American Novelists. Farmington Hills: Gale. pp. 262–272. ISBN 978-1-4144-6255-4. OCLC 1020567202.
  30. ^ "Joanna Scott". School of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  31. ^ "John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | Joanna Scott". Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  32. ^ "Joanna Scott". www.macfound.org. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  33. ^ "Joanna Scott". Lannan Foundation. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  34. ^ "Joanna Scott". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  35. ^ "Santa Maddalena Foundation | The Fellows". Santa Maddalena Foundation. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  36. ^ "Trinity's 183rd Commencement". The Trinity Reporter. 40 (1): 2. Fall 2009. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2021 – via issuu.com.
  37. ^ "English professors are Bogliasco Fellows this spring". NewsCenter. March 9, 2017. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  38. ^ "Newsclips" (PDF). Rochester Review. 51 (2): 35. Winter 1988. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 17, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2021 – via www.lib.rochester.edu.
  39. ^ "Joanna Scott – American Academy of Arts and Letters". Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  40. ^ "Paris Review - Prizes". The Paris Review. Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  41. ^ Henderson, Bill, ed. (1993). The Pushcart Prize XVIII, 1993-1994: Best of the Small Presses. Wainscott: Pushcart Press. p. 129. ISBN 0-916366-89-8. OCLC 29344167. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  42. ^ "Joanna Scott Wins English-Speaking Union's Ambassador Book Award". www.rochester.edu. Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  43. ^ "Awards and Praise". www.conjunctions.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  44. ^ "2020 Pushcart Prize XLIV | Contents". www.richlandlibrary.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  45. ^ "PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners and finalists - Folgerpedia". folgerpedia.folger.edu. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  46. ^ "Joanna Scott's New Novel in Running for LA Times Book Award". www.rochester.edu. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  47. ^ Erdrich, Louise; Kenison, Katrina, eds. (1993). The Best American Short Stories 1993. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 217. ISBN 0-395-63628-0. OCLC 29290355. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  48. ^ Marcus, Ben, ed. (2004). The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories. New York: Anchor Books. p. 266. ISBN 1-4000-3482-5. OCLC 53992927. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  49. ^ "Writer's Block". Rochester Review. 69 (4). 2007. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021 – via www.rochester.edu.

Further reading edit

  • Lackey, Michael (editor), Conversations with Joanna Scott, Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2020, ISBN 978-1496829320

External links edit

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