Best known for his portrayals of gay american life in both fiction and nonfiction, whites body of work spans subject and genre, including a biography of french writer jean genet, for which he won the national book critics circle award. Distinguished contribution to american letters medal, 2014. Click here for a compiled list of national hotlines and local hotlines that are critical during these uncertain times. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts is maxine hong kingstons first and most famous book. Two writers reflect on war and peace library foundation. The book was an immediate critical success, winning the 1976 national book critics circle award for nonfiction. Kingston was awarded the 1997 national humanities medal by president of the united states bill clinton. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts, won the national book critics circle award for nonfiction and was named one of the top ten nonfiction works of the decade by time magazine. The contributors to this volume are part of this community of writers working together to heal the trauma of war through art.
She taught school in california and hawaii for a number of years after earning her teaching certificate in 1965. Maxine hong kingston was born to chinese immigrant parents in stockton, california in 1940 and graduated from the. Winner of the national book critics circle award for nonfiction, and then you. Nbf to present lifetime achievement award to pioneering. The awards were founded in 1950 by the american book publishers council, american booksellers association, and book manufacturers institute. Its a patchwork of fiction, nonfiction, myths and legends, and historical artifacts that helped.
Maxine hong kingston is the author of memoirs and fiction, including the fifth book of peace, the woman warrior, china men, tripmaster monkey, i love a broad margin to my life, and hawaii one summer. In both books maxine hong kingston mines her familys past and her cultures stories, weaving myth and memory to fashion works of enormous revelatory power. She is the author most recently of the fifth book of peace, and won the. Maxine hong kingston received her bachelors degree from the university of california at berkeley in 1962 and married earll kingston soon thereafter. Maxine hong kingston is senior lecturer for creative writing at the university of california, berkeley. Part of the woman warriors outsized influence hinges on history. Reading by yusef komunyakaa, david treuer, and maxine hong. She is the eldest of six children born in the united states to her father, a scholar, and her mother, a midwife, who emigrated from china. The national book foundation announced kingstons award in september. In my own generation, maxine hong kingston is revered as a groundbreaker and yet is sometimes more admired than actually read. Maxine hong kingston was born to chinese immigrant parents in stockton, california in 1940 and graduated from the university of california, berkeley. Kingston is the author of the booklength poem i love a broad margin to my life 2011. Maxine hong kingston nea national endowment for the arts.
National book awards, annual awards given to books of the highest quality written by americans and published by american publishers. As author julia alvarez has said, i think maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior really was a moment in which the mainstream culture said this is beautiful. A longtime member of the berkeley faculty, she is currently senior lecturer for creative writing. The woman warrior, which won the national book critics circle award in 1976, traces the development of hong kingstons identity with respect to her mother, questions a historic devaluation of women in china, and exposes pressures to be americanfeminine. Maxine hong kingston biography book summaries, test. Maxine hong kingston, an eminent memoirist and a celebrated chineseamerican autobiographer, is best known for the woman warrior. Kingstons china men won the 1981 american book award, and tripmaster. The daughter of chinese immigrants, maxine hong kingston grew up in california. Kingston insists on the audiotape maxine hong kingston. Maxine hong kingstons memoirs and fiction have earned numerous awards, among them the national book award, the national book critics circle award for.
Buck award is given to women who exemplify the ideals, values, and commitments of buck, a member of the class of. China men hardcover general nonfiction, maxine hong kingston. Winners of the national book award for fiction are listed in the table. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts 1976 and its companion volume, china men 1980. The national book foundation, presenter of the national book awards, announced that it will award edmund white with the 2019 medal for distinguished contribution to american letters dcal. Still today, both books are widely taught in literature and other classes. Her second book, china men, earned the national book award. Kingston is the author of the book length poem i love a broad margin to my life 2011. Maxine hong kingston wins national medal of arts berkeley news. Distinguished and celebrated author maxine hong kingston was officially recognized as the sixth recipient of randolph colleges prestigious pearl s. Maxine hong kingston, american writer, much of whose work is rooted in her experiences as a firstgeneration chinese american. Her lifelong efforts on this theme often touched on the vietnam war, from china men to the fifth book of peace.
Discover book depositorys huge selection of maxine hong kingston books online. Her notable books included the memoirs the woman warrior, china men, and i love a broad margin to my life. Writer maxine hong kingston won a national book award for her book china men, a nonfiction work that largely focuses on her familys story, including its emigration from china. Maxine hong kingston, who received the 2008 medal for distinguished contribution to american letters at the national book awards ceremony on wednesday night, showed that even at 68 she could adapt to the changing publishing landscape. Maxine hong kingston is a chinese american author and professor emerita at the university of. Buck award during a ceremony in smith hall theatre wednesday evening. Maxine hong kingstons memoirs and fiction have earned numerous awards, among them the national book award, the national book critics circle award for nonfiction, the pen west award for fiction, an american academy of arts and letters award in literature, and a national humanities medal from the national endowment for the humanities. Maxine hong kingston takes pride in mixed heritage. For more than 15 years, national book awardwinning author maxine hong kingston has led writingandmeditation workshops for veterans and their families. China men by maxine hong kingston, general nonfiction hardcover, 1981. In 1976, when the book was published, society had reached an inflection point where racial equality and secondwave feminism commanded cultural attention. The free literary event returns to ucr in february 2018 with headliners maxine hong kingston, janet fitch, and roxane gay.
Five winners of the anisfieldwolf book award in fiction are standing up to. At the final national book awards ceremony every november, the national book foundation presents the national book awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors the national book awards were established in 1936 by the american booksellers association, abandoned during world war ii, and reestablished by three book. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts, which won the national book critics circle award, is kingston s disturbing and fiercely beautiful account of growing up chinese. Maxine hong kingston general nonfiction, hardcover, china men, soehne des. Battles, retreats, gains, losses, and ruins from a long war by gloria emerson. It was published in 1976 to great critical acclaim, winning the national book critics circle award for nonfiction. In celebration of its 80th anniversary, the program in creative writing kicks off the season with a reading by pulitzer prizewinning poet yusef komunyakaa, ojibwe novelist and nonfiction writer david treuer 92, and national book award winning writer maxine hong kingston as part of the althea ward clark w21 reading series princeton students are invited to an informal tea with guest. We are proud to bestow one of the colleges highest honors on maxine hong kingston, said bradley w.
The national book award winners list penguin random house. Her novels and nonfiction have examined how the past influences our present, and her voice has strengthened our understanding of asian american identity, helping shape our national conversation about culture, gender, and race. Kingstons earlier works include the groundbreaking autobiography and national book critics circle awardwinning the woman warrior. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts, and the followup, china men, which won the national book award. The woman warrior won the national book critics circle award and was named one of the top nonfiction books of the 1970s by time.
In celebration of its 80th anniversary, the program in creative writing kicks off the season with a reading by pulitzer prizewinning poet yusef komunyakaa, ojibwe novelist and nonfiction writer david treuer 92, and national book awardwinning writer maxine hong kingston as. It combines myth, family history, folktales, and memories of the experience of growing up within two conflicting cultures. Maxine hong kingston showed me my own life was worthy of examination, even exaltation, as it existed. Rediscover our fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young peoples literature award winners through the years. Maxine hong kingston takes pride in mixed heritage awardwinning author maxine hong kingston is the daughter of two illegal immigrants from china. She has written one novel, tripmaster monkey, a story depicting a character she was born as maxine ting ting hong to a laundry house owner in stockton, california.
Acclaimed author maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior broke new ground when it was first published 35 years ago, weaving autobiography, history, folklore, and fantasy in to a candid and revelatory story about the daughter of chinese immigrants in mid20th century california now in audio for the first time, the woman warrior is read by television and movie star mingna er, mulan in a. Maxine hong kingston is an author and professor emerita at the university of california, berkeley. In april, 2007, kingston was awarded the northern california book award special award in. This source set includes photographs and other items useful for exploring the books context, contents, and impact. Maxine hong kingston was born in stockton, california, on october 27, 1940. Walt whitman influenced her, and the poetic lines in the book shift between real and imagined time, tracing the writers. Maxine kingston biography list of works, study guides. The daughter of chinese immigrants, poet, memoirist, and fiction writer maxine hong kingston was born in stockton, california, and educated at the university of californiaberkeley. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts, which won the national book critics circle award, is kingstons disturbing and fiercely beautiful account of growing up chinese.
A classic, for a reason celeste ng via twitter in her awardwinning book the woman warrior, maxine hong kingston created an entirely new forman exhilarating blend of autobiography and mythology, of world and self, of hot rage and cool analysis. Kingston has written in several different genres, but she has said recently that she would like to return to. The woman warrior in all of us womens national book. Kingstons additional awards include the pen west award for fiction, the american. Talking story 1990 where she voices out loud and clear that had she been born in a middleclass suburb, her struggle to be a writer would have been harder. Kingstons greatest legacy, however, is her lasting impact on literature. Maxine hong kingston is the author of many works, including the woman warrior, her first book, which was published in 1976 and won the national book critics circle award, making her a literary celebrity at age thirtysix. Winter 2016 newsletter womens national book association. Visionary writer maxine hong kingston has been writing about war and peace since her landmark 1976 book the woman warrior. A former high school english teacher, kingston is currently a senior lecturer at the university of california, berkeley. Maxine hong kingston has also published two volumes of essays, hawaii one summer 1987, an appreciation of the islands where kingston lived and taught during the 1960s and 70s. Distinguished and celebrated author maxine hong kingston was officially.
Chinese american author maxine hong kingston laces childhood memories. The woman warrior, which won the national book critics circle award in 1976, traces. People maxine hong kingston the heyman center for the. The woman warrior won the national book critics circle award for nonfiction in 1976 and was rated as one of. Kingston has written three novels and several works of nonfiction about the experiences of chinese americans. These works influenced awardwinning novelist and critic viet thanh nguyen as he dealt with the war in both fiction the sympathizer and. China men received the national book award for nonfiction and the national endowment for the arts writers award. The narrative improvises upon the oral tradition of talkstory, a form of. The national book award has been one of the most celebrated prizes since 1950. Award winning writer maxine hong kingston is known for her works reflecting on chineseamerican culture and heritage. Among her works are the woman warrior 1976, awarded the national book critics circle award for nonfiction, and china men 1980, which was awarded the 1981 national book award. The woman warrior won the national book critics circle award in 1976 for nonfiction, and china men was awarded the 1980 american book award. Maxine hong kingston, china men maxine hong kingston is a great storyteller and this was like no other book ive ever read before.
National book awards american literary award britannica. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the national book award, the national book critics circle award for nonfiction, the pen west. In 1976 kingston published her first book, the woman warrior. Winner, national book awards 1981 for general nonfiction hardcover. Comments 1 local and national emergency hotline information.
The national book foundation announced kingston s award in september. For her memoirs and fiction, the fifth book of peace, the woman warrior, china men, tripmaster monkey, i love a broad margin to my life, and hawaii one summer, she has earned numerous awards, among them the national book award, the national book critics circle. A national treasure, maxine hong kingston has also earned the national book award, the national book critics circle award for nonfiction, the pen west award for fiction, an american academy of arts and letters award in literature, and a national humanities medal from. The woman warrior was a landmark book for an entire generation of chinese american women, who might have never before seen their own experience reflected back at them so accurately and beautifully. Maxine hong kingston is the author of the woman warrior, china men, and the fifth book of peace, among other works. Her first book, the woman warrior, blended fiction, memoir. Maxine hong kingston is recognized for her contributions as a writer. Maxine hong kingston, influential writer and an alumna and longtime lecturer at. Her nonfiction books include the woman warrior, which won the national book critics circle award for nonfiction, china men. Distinguished contribution to american letters national.
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