Binnie Kirshenbaum
Encyclopedia
Binnie Kirshenbaum is an American novelist and short story writer. She is professor and chair of the Writing Program at Columbia University School of the Arts
.
and an M.F.A. from Brooklyn College
. Before joining the faculty at Columbia, she taught at Wagner College
in Staten Island.
said, "Kirshenbaum refuses to corral what is funny or sad into separate camps, but allows one to flip over into the other, creating unexpectedly poignant effects."
Kirshenbaum's most recent novel, The Scenic Route, was published in 2009. It is the story of a divorced and recently unemployed woman who travels to Europe and has an affair with a married man. It has been described as “a refreshingly gimlet-eyed examination of memory” and “a cross-cutting investigation into the horrors of the 20th century.”
Kirshenbaum’s novels have been chosen as Notable Books of the Year by The Chicago Tribune, NPR, Time
, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Washington Post
. She twice won Critics Choice Awards, and she was selected by Granta
as one of the Best Young American novelists. She’s published short fiction and essays in many magazines and anthologies and her work has been widely translated.
Interviews of Kirshenbaum
Online essays
Online fiction
Columbia University School of the Arts
The Columbia University School of the Arts , also known simply as the School of the Arts or as SoA, is the division of the university that offers Master of Fine Arts degrees in Film, Visual Arts, Theatre Arts, and Writing, as well as a Master of Arts degree in Film Studies...
.
Biography
Kirshenbaum received a B.A. from Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and an M.F.A. from Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
. Before joining the faculty at Columbia, she taught at Wagner College
Wagner College
Wagner College is a private, co-educational, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 total students located atop Grymes Hill in New York City's borough of Staten Island...
in Staten Island.
Career
Kirshenbaum is the author of two collections of short stories and six novels. She published her first book, Married Life and Other True Adventures, in 1990. Her work is noted for its wit and acute observations. Carlin Romano of The Philadelphia Inquirer called her “the younger sister of Philip Roth, the lost doppelganger of Erica Jong.” Richard Howard wrote of her, “This author is indeed a humorist, even a comedian, a sort of stand-up tragic." In its review of A Disturbance In One Place, the San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
said, "Kirshenbaum refuses to corral what is funny or sad into separate camps, but allows one to flip over into the other, creating unexpectedly poignant effects."
Kirshenbaum's most recent novel, The Scenic Route, was published in 2009. It is the story of a divorced and recently unemployed woman who travels to Europe and has an affair with a married man. It has been described as “a refreshingly gimlet-eyed examination of memory” and “a cross-cutting investigation into the horrors of the 20th century.”
Kirshenbaum’s novels have been chosen as Notable Books of the Year by The Chicago Tribune, NPR, Time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
. She twice won Critics Choice Awards, and she was selected by Granta
Granta
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
as one of the Best Young American novelists. She’s published short fiction and essays in many magazines and anthologies and her work has been widely translated.
Novels
- On Mermaid Avenue (1992) ISBN 978-0880641562*
- A Disturbance in One Place (1994) ISBN 978-0060520885
- Pure Poetry (2000) ISBN 978-0684864716
- Hester Among the Ruins (2002) ISBN 978-0393041521
- An Almost Perfect Moment (2004) ISBN 978-0393041521
- The Scenic Route (2009) ISBN 978-0060784744
Story collections
- Married Life and Other True Adventures (1990) ISBN 978-0895943989
- History on a Personal Note (1995) ISBN 978-0060520892
External links
GeneralInterviews of Kirshenbaum
Online essays
- LA Times: "How Spell-Check Changed my Life"
- NY Times: "Visiting Day"
- The Rumpus: "The Last Book I Loved"
Online fiction