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Joyce Carol Oates
June 16, 1938
Lockport, New York, US
88 Years Old
Gemini
Who Is Joyce Carol Oates?
Joyce Carol Oates is an American author known for her prolific output and incisive exploration of societal complexities. Her work often delves into themes of violence, class, and the human condition, making her a formidable voice in contemporary literature.
She first gained widespread recognition when her novel them won the National Book Award in 1970, marking her as a significant literary force. Oates has continued to publish extensively, cementing her reputation as a master storyteller.
Early Life and Education
Born and raised in Lockport, New York, Joyce Carol Oates was the eldest of three children to Frederic James Oates, a tool-and-die designer, and Carolina Bush Oates, a homemaker. Her paternal grandmother, Blanche Woodside, greatly encouraged her early literary interests, providing her with a typewriter at age fourteen.
She graduated valedictorian from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1960 and earned her Master of Arts from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1961. Oates briefly pursued a PhD at Rice University before dedicating herself to full-time writing.
Notable Relationships
A string of long-term relationships has marked Joyce Carol Oates's personal life. She married Raymond J. Smith, a fellow graduate student, in 1961, and their partnership lasted for 47 years until his death in 2008.
Oates later married Charles G. Gross, a Princeton professor, in 2009. They remained together until his passing in 2019, and Oates has no children.
Career Highlights
Joyce Carol Oates has authored more than 50 novels, alongside numerous collections of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction, demonstrating remarkable literary range. Her novel them earned the National Book Award in 1970, and several other works, including Black Water and Blonde, have been Pulitzer Prize finalists.
She co-founded The Ontario Review, a literary magazine, with her first husband in 1974, aiming to bridge American and Canadian artistic cultures. Oates also held a distinguished teaching career at Princeton University from 1978 to 2014, mentoring many young writers.
To date, she has collected the National Humanities Medal, two O. Henry Awards, and the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Art of the Short Story, cementing her as a fixture in modern American letters.
Signature Quote
“Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul.”