Jump to content

Jean Thompson (author)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jean Thompson
Born (1950-01-03) January 3, 1950 (age 74)
EducationUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Bowling Green State University (MFA)
OccupationWriter
AwardsNational Book Award (Finalist)

Guggenheim Fellowship

Pushcart Prize

Best American Short Stories
Websitejeanthompsononline.com

Jean Thompson (born January 3, 1950) is an American novelist, short story writer, and teacher of creative writing. She lives in Urbana, Illinois, where she has spent much of her career, and is a professor emerita at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, having also taught at San Francisco State University, Reed College, and Northwestern University.[1]

Early life, education, and career

[edit]

Jean Thompson was born in Chicago, Illinois, and during her childhood the family lived briefly in Louisville, Kentucky and Memphis, Tennessee. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and an MFA from Bowling Green State University.[2][3] Her first stories were published in little magazines while she was still in her early twenties, and not long after that she began to be published in more visible venues, such as Ploughshares and The New Yorker.[4] Her stories have appeared in The Best American Short Stories series, beginning with the 1979 edition.[5]

Literary themes and style

[edit]

Thompson "often writes about the difficulties and complexities of love," and her work "focuses on the lives of ordinary people, often women, living in the overlooked center" of the United States.[4]

Bibliography

[edit]

Novels

[edit]
  • My Wisdom: A Novel (1982), F. Watts (ISBN 978-0531098707)
  • Wide Blue Yonder (2001), Simon & Schuster (ISBN 978-0743205122)
  • City Boy (2004), Simon & Schuster (ISBN 978-0743242820)
  • The Year We Left Home (2011), Simon & Schuster (ISBN 978-1439175880)
  • The Humanity Project (2013), Blue Rider Press (ISBN 978-0399158711)
  • She Poured Out Her Heart (2016), Blue Rider Press (ISBN 978-0399573811)
  • A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl (2018), Simon & Schuster (ISBN 978-1501194368)[6][7]
  • The Poet's House (2022), Algonquin Books (ISBN 978-1643751566)[8][9]

Story collections

[edit]

Notable stories

[edit]

Other writing

[edit]

Awards and honors

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Jean Thompson: About the Author".
  2. ^ "Books By Graduates". Bowling Green State University. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  3. ^ Flick, Jim (May 8, 1979). "Alumni reap literary laurels". The BG News. 6 (271): 5.
  4. ^ a b "About Jean Thompson | Ploughshares". www.pshares.org. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  5. ^ "The Best American Short Stories 1979". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  6. ^ Miller, Bronwyn. "Review: A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl". www.bookreporter.com.
  7. ^ "A CLOUD IN THE SHAPE OF A GIRL | Kirkus Reviews". kirkusreviews.com.
  8. ^ "'The Poet's House' is a droll coming-of-age story — and an absolute keeper of a novel". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  9. ^ Akins, Ellen (2022-07-22). "'The Poet's House' is a novel with a joyful, hopeful spirit". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  10. ^ Egan, Jennifer (2007-06-17). "Woman Warriors". The New York Times.
  11. ^ Prose, Francine (2009-07-16). "Everyday Misdemeanors". The New York Times.
  12. ^ "The power of myth". BookPage.com.
  13. ^ "Literature Fellowships". www.arts.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  14. ^ "John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | Jean Thompson". Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  15. ^ "National Book Awards 1999". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  16. ^ "One Story - Awards". www.one-story.com. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
[edit]