Author Biographical Info

What does Joyce Carol Oates focus on in her works?

The spiritual, sexual, and intellectual decline of modern American society

Joyce Carol Oates birthdate

1938

What was Joyce Carol Oates’ childhood like?

Grew up on a farm with 2 siblings

Why was Joyce Carol Oates’ first book rejected?

Her topic, rehab of drug addict, deemed too depressing

Joyce Carol Oates’ education

Masters degree

Joyce Carol Oates’ occupations

writer and teacher

Why did Joyce Carol Oates release a novel under a pseudonym?

She wanted to escape from her own name

Common themes: Joyce Carol Oates

race, violence

Alice Walker occupations

author, social worker, activist

What term did Alice Walker coin?

womanism (Black feminism)

What genres has Alice Walker wrote?

novels, short stories, poetry

Who is the first black woman to win a Nobel Prize

Toni Morrison

What did Toni Morrison win the Nobel Prize for?

Beloved

Genres Morrison wrote in

librettos for plays, novels, literary criticism, 1 short story

What race was rarely featured in Toni Morrison’s works?

white

What movement did Leslie Marmon Silko shape?

Native American Rennaisance

Amy Tan birthdate

1952

What did Amy Tan write about?

Chinese-American women, the immigrant experience, and relationship between Chinese immigrant mothers and their American-born daughters

Who were Amy Tan’s parents?

Chinese immigrants

Where did Amy Tan grow up?

Switzerland and California

Amy Tan’s education

university-level

Who is John Updike often compared to?

William Dean Howwells

What is John Updike’s influence?

most significant “middle-ness” writer in post-modernism

What genre is Raymond Carver the head of?

Post-alcoholic blue-collar minimalist hyperrealism (dirty realism)

What was Raymond Carver’s biggest struggle in life?

recovering alcoholic

What jobs did Carver have?

writer, janitor, sawmill hand, delivery person, sales representative

Carver’s education

university-level

What genre did Carver revitalize?

Realism

Who was Carver compared to?

Hemingway (sparse prose style, “zero” endings)

Why was Carver hospitalized in the 70s?

Alcholism

Carver’s married life

Married and had kids straight out of high school

Carver’s death

died early due to ill health (alcoholism)