Wideman, John Edgar, 1941

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John Edgar Wideman (born June 14, 1941) is an American novelist, short story writer, memoirist, and essayist. He was the first person to win the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction twice. His writing is known for experimental techniques and a focus on the African-American experience.

Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wideman excelled as a student athlete at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1963, he became the second African American to win a Rhodes Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford. In addition to his work as a writer, Wideman has had a career in academia as a literature and creative writing professor at both public and Ivy League universities.

In his writing, Wideman has explored the complexities of race, family, trauma, storytelling, and justice in the United States. His personal experience, including the incarceration of his brother, has played a significant role in his work.

He is a professor emeritus at Brown University and lives in New York City and France.

(Wikipedia contributors, "John Edgar Wideman," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Edgar_Wideman&oldid=992745497 (accessed December 19, 2020).)
Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Wideman, John Edgar. Office files, of The American Poetry Review, 1976-1977. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Haydn, Hiram Collins, 1907-1973,. Creative writing questionnaires for writing class at University of Pennsylvania, 1970-1972. Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
referencedIn New Yorker records New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Alice Childress papers, 1937-1997 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Archives Section
creatorOf Childress, Alice. Alice Childress papers, 1937-1997. New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Wideman, John Edgar. John Edgar Wideman papers, circa 1960-1998 (MS Am 3356): Guide Houghton Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Baldwin, James, 1924-1987 person
associatedWith Childress, Alice. person
associatedWith Davis, Ossie person
associatedWith Haydn, Hiram Collins, 1907-1973, person
correspondedWith New Yorker Magazine, Inc corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Republic of France 00 FR
Pittsburgh PA US
New York City NY US
Philadelphia PA US
Amherst MA US
Providence RI US
Laramie WY US
Washington, D. C. DC US
Subject
Occupation
Novelists
Professor
Writer
Activity

Person

Birth 1941-06-14

Male

Americans

English

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