Anne Lamott
Anne Lamott (born April 10, 1954) is an American novelist and non-fiction writer.
Anne Lamott | |
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Born | San Francisco, California, U.S. | April 10, 1954
Occupation |
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Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Drew School Goucher College |
Genre | Drama, humor, literary fiction, Reviews |
She is also a progressive political activist, public speaker, and writing teacher. Lamott is based in Marin County, California. Her nonfiction works are largely autobiographical.[1] Lamott's writings, marked by their self-deprecating humor and openness, cover such subjects as alcoholism, single-motherhood, depression, and Christianity.[2]
Life and career
Lamott was born in San Francisco, and is a graduate of Drew School. She was a student at Goucher College for two years where she wrote for the newspaper.[3] Her father, Kenneth Lamott, was also a writer. Her first published novel Hard Laughter was written for him after his diagnosis of brain cancer. She has one son, Sam, who was born in August 1989 and a grandson, Jax, born in July 2009.[4][5]
Lamott's life was documented in Freida Lee Mock's 1999 documentary Bird by Bird with Annie: A Film Portrait of Writer Anne Lamott.[6] Because of the documentary and her following on Facebook and other online networks, she is often called the "People's Author".[7]
Lamott has described why she writes:
I try to write the books I would love to come upon, that are honest, concerned with real lives, human hearts, spiritual transformation, families, secrets, wonder, craziness—and that can make me laugh. When I am reading a book like this, I feel rich and profoundly relieved to be in the presence of someone who will share the truth with me, and throw the lights on a little, and I try to write these kinds of books. Books, for me, are medicine.[8]
Lamott was featured on the second episode of the first season of the show The Midnight Gospel.
Awards and honors
Lamott was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1985.[9] She was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2010.[10]
Personal life
On April 13, 2019, Lamott married Neal Allen, 63, a former vice president for marketing at the McKesson Corporation in San Francisco. The couple had met in August 2016. He was a twice-divorced father of four, who had left his job at McKesson to devote himself to writing.[11]
Bibliography
Novels
- Hard Laughter. Viking Press. 1980. ISBN 0-670-36140-2.
- Rosie. Viking Press. 1983. ISBN 0-670-60828-9.
- Joe Jones. North Point Press. 1985. ISBN 0-86547-209-2.
- All New People. North Point Press. 1989. ISBN 0-86547-394-3.
- Crooked Little Heart. Pantheon Books. 1997. ISBN 0-679-43521-2.
- Blue Shoe. Riverhead Books. 2002. ISBN 1-57322-226-7.
- Imperfect Birds. Riverhead Books. 2010. ISBN 978-1-59448-751-4.
Non-fiction
- Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year. Pantheon Books. 1993. ISBN 978-0-679-42091-0.
- Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Pantheon Books. 1994. ISBN 978-0-679-43520-4.
- Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith. Pantheon Books. 1999. ISBN 978-0-679-44240-0.
- Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith. Riverhead Books. 2005. ISBN 978-1-57322-299-0.
- Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith. Riverhead Books. 2007. ISBN 978-1-59448-942-6.
- Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son. Riverhead Books. 2012. ISBN 978-1-59448-841-2. (with Sam Lamott)
- Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers. Riverhead Books. 2012. ISBN 978-1-59463-129-0.
- Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair. Riverhead Books. 2013. ISBN 978-1-59463-258-7.
- Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace. Riverhead Books. 2014. ISBN 978-1-59448-629-6.
- Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy. Riverhead Books. 2017. ISBN 9780735213586.
- Almost Everything: Notes on Hope. Riverhead Books. 2018. ISBN 978-0525537441.
- Dusk, Night, Dawn. Penguin. 2021. ISBN 978-0-593-18969-6.
References
- "Author Anne Lamott selling Marin home for $1.199 million". The Mercury News. 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
- Lamott, Anne (22 May 2006). "My son, the stranger". Salon. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
- Flanagan, Mark. "Anne Lamott". About Entertainment. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- Hetter, Katia (6 April 2012). "Anne Lamott's directions for grandparents: 'Some Assembly Required'". CNN. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- Brennan, Keri (15 July 2017). "Author Anne Lamott selling Marin home for $1.199 million". MercuryNews.com. Bay Area News Group. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- Freida Lee Mock (Director) (1999-08-01). Bird by Bird with Annie (Documentary). Vanguard International Cinema.
- Smiley, Tavis (14 April 2010). "Interview with Anne Lamott". PBS. Archived from the original on 16 April 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
- "Quote of the Day". Religion Blog. Dallas Morning News. 2008-02-10.
- "Anne Lamott - Fellow - 1985 - Fiction". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved 2015-04-22.
- Tagg, Mariel. "2010 CA Hall of Fame, red carpet induction ceremony". Sacramento Press. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- Brady, Lois Smith (Apr 26, 2019). "The Writer Anne Lamott Gets to the Happily-Ever-After Part". The New York Times. Retrieved Jan 2, 2020 – via NYTimes.com.
Further reading
- Bochynski, Pegge. (2010) "Anne Lamott" in American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies, Supplement XX, Mary Antin to Phillis Wheatley. Ed. Jay Parini. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons p131-146.
- Bouris, Karen (Jan–Feb 2013). "Anne Lamott : life as a black-belt codependent". Interview. Spirituality & Health. 15 (6): 48–53. Archived from the original on 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
- Vandenburgh, Jane. (2010) Architecture of the Novel: A Writer's Handbook. Anne Lamott (Foreword). Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint ISBN 1582435979
External links
Library resources about Anne Lamott |
By Anne Lamott |
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- Anne Lamott on Facebook
- Salon.com: articles by Anne Lamott
- Profile – Steven Barclay Agency Archived 2007-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
- Write TV Public Television Interview (2004)
- Minnesota Public Radio Interview (2007)
- Interview for Writers on the Record (2007)
- Goodreads.com: Author profile: Anne Lamott
- TED.com: "12 truths I learned from life and writing", a talk by Anne Lamott (2017)