Claudia Emerson English 336 Contemporary British Toni Morrisons

Claudia Emerson English 336: Contemporary British & Toni Morrison’s A Mercy Cormac Mc. Carthy’s The Road Jim Crace’s The Pesthouse

Claudia Emerson • Born in 1957. • BA—English from U of Virginia in 1979. • Came home, married, and managed a used bookstore. • Began to write constantly during work. • MA—Poetry from UNC at Greensboro in 1991.

Career • Has written three books of poetry. • Professor of poetry at University of Mary Washington. • Pinion, An Elgy nominated for Pulitzer. • 19 year-old marriage failed after coming to UMA.

Pulitzer Prize Winner • Won Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 2006 for Late Wife. • Dual focus between divorce and healing with previous husband current husband. • Late Wife has three parts: ▫ “Divorce Epistles”—chronicles dissolution Emerson with new husband, Kent Ippolito, on whom many of her poems from Late Wife are based. of first marriage. ▫ “Breaking Up the House”—explores solitude and healing. ▫ “Late Wife: Letters to Kent”—Sonnets written to husband Kent, whose first wife died of cancer.

Claudia Emerson PBS Interview

Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison • Born Chloe Anthony Wofford • February 18, 1931 • Lorain, Ohio • B. A. English, Howard University, 1949 • M. A. English, Cornell University, 1955

Toni Morrison • Taught English at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas • Taught English at Howard University • Editor for Random House

Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison’s A Mercy

Cormac Mc. Carthy

Biography • Born in Rhode Island in 1933. • Originally named Charles; changed name to “Cormac” after an Irish king. • Attended the University of Tennessee in Liberal Arts in spurts but never graduated. • Worked in Chicago as an auto mechanic while writing first novel. • Wrote several novels—The Orchard Keeper, Outer Dark, and Child of God—and received several fellowships during early career. • After living in several places and two divorces, he moved to El Paso, Texas.

• Received Mac. Arthur Fellowship and used the money to live while writing. • Published Blood Meridian in 1985—turning point in his work. • Blood Meridian is based on actual events; Mc. Carthy learned Spanish in order to research and write more effectively. • Border Trilogy began with All the Pretty Horses in 1992. Continued with The Crossing and Cities of the Plain.

• Married wife Jennifer around 1998; they live in Santa Fe, New Mexico. • Published No Country for Old Men 2005. The film won four Academy Awards in 2007, including Best Picture. • The Road published in 2006. Won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2007. • Very private life. Only one interview to New York Time and first television interview was with Oprah on June 5, 2007. Oprah Interview • Endured outright poverty at times in his career.