February 23, 2006
Here's Some Nifty Literary News
Via K-Lo:
Tom Wolfe, noted American author and journalist, to deliver the 2006 Jefferson Lecture In The HumanitiesWASHINGTON—Tom Wolfe, the celebrated novelist and chronicler of American society, will deliver the 2006 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced today. The annual NEH-sponsored Jefferson Lecture is the most prestigious honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities.
“From his earliest days as a journalist through a long history of successful nonfiction books and novels, Tom Wolfe has entertained and enlightened readers with his meticulously researched commentary on the American scene,” said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. “His skill as a literary stylist has influenced our language. He has documented our culture, and, through his journalism and fiction, shaped the American identity.”
Wolfe will present the 35th Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities on Wednesday, May 10, 2006, at
7 p.m. at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. The lectureship carries a $10,000 honorarium.A pioneer of the “New Journalism” and an astute observer of American manners and mores, Wolfe has combined an energetic literary style with the rigor and detail of fine reporting. His most recent work of fiction, I Am Charlotte Simmons (2004), draws on the author’s extensive observation of college life in the United States during the fist decade of the 21st century.
His other novels include A Man in Full (1998) and The Bonfire of the Vanities (1987), which originally appeared in serial form in Rolling Stone.
Other major works include Hooking Up (2000), a collection of fiction and non-fiction concerning the turn of the new century; The Right Stuff (1979), Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers (1970), The Pump House Gang (1968), The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968), and The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby (1965). Wolfe’s provocative works on art and architecture have been published in The Painted Word (1972) and From Bauhaus to Our House (1981).
Wolfe’s professional writing career began in December 1956 when he took a job as a reporter on the Springfield (Mass.) Union. He spent most of his 10-year newspaper career as a general assignment reporter. For six months in 1960 he served as The Washington Post’s Latin American correspondent and won the Washington Newspaper Guild’s foreign news prize for his coverage of Cuba. Wolfe was born and raised in Richmond, Va., and was educated at Washington and Lee (B.A., 1951) and Yale (Ph.D., American studies, 1957) Universities. He lives in New York City with his wife, Sheila; his daughter, Alexandra; and his son, Tommy.
Good for him! Wolfe is a very active W&L alum and gave the commencement address when the LMC and I graduated from law school there. As I recall, it was a scathing rip on political correctness that had several of the more Left-leaning faculty squirming in their seats.
Frankly, I thought Wolfe's I Am Charlotte Simmons was a bit overblown and said so when I read it. However, A Man In Full is just excellent.
Posted by Robert at February 23, 2006 09:58 AM | TrackBackWolfe's commencement address was subtle but brutal. He illustrated his points with two fictional characters attending an exclusive private boarding school: the daughter of Chinese immigrants, "Multi-Culti," and her liberal roommate, "P.C." Multi-Culti wears Reeboks and wants the full immersion in American culture while her roommate keeps harping on themes along the lines of America is racist, bad, etc. The write-up in the local paper was entitled: "Wolfe bares his wit."
Posted by: LMC at February 23, 2006 11:39 AMI agree with your literary critique.
Posted by: Babs at February 23, 2006 12:32 PM