Helen Benedict
Encyclopedia
Helen Benedict is a British-American novelist and journalist, best known for her writings on social injustice and the Iraq War.
, England of American anthropologists. As a child, she lived in Mauritius
and Seychelles
, where her parents conducted fieldwork. Seychelles became the setting for Benedict’s novel, The Edge of Eden.
Benedict grew up partly in London, partly in California, and attended university in both England and the United States. She worked for newspapers in both countries, and obtained her master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley
in 1979. She first began to publish in the United States that year and into the 1980s, with profiles of Nobel Laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer
and New York writer Leonard Michaels
, later collected in her anthology, Portraits in Print. The anthology also contained Benedict’s magazine profiles of Susan Sontag
, Joseph Brodsky
, Bernard Malamud
and Paule Marshall
.
In 1981, Benedict moved to New York, where she freelanced for five years, publishing short stories and articles in literary journals, magazines and newspapers. She began teaching at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism
in 1986, where she is now a full professor.
Benedict’s works have been translated and published in Italy, Greece, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Portugal. She has received fellowships from Yaddo, MacDowell, the Virginia Center of the Arts, and the Freedom Forum.
and sexism
, often through the eyes of people who fall outside the predominant culture. She has written of Dominican American immigrants, Greek peasants, mixed-race teenagers, former convicts and the descendants of slaves. Many of these themes are evident in her novel, The Edge of Eden, which is set in 1960 in the colonial islands of Seychelles
.
Her most recent nonfiction has investigated the exploitation of women in the U.S. military. In her 2009 book, The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq, Benedict explores the experiences of female troops fighting in the Iraq War and their abuse at the hands of their male comrades. The Lonely Soldier received the Ken Book Award in 2009.
A play Benedict wrote based on her interviews with women soldiers, The Lonely Soldier Monologues, was also produced in 2009, at two New York theaters, The Theater for the New City
and La Mama Experimental Theatre Club
, where it was reviewed by The New York Times
. An article Benedict wrote on the same subject, "The Private War of Women Soldiers," won the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism in 2008. In 2010, her article "The Scandal of Military Rape" won the EMMA
Award for Exceptional Magazine Story.
Benedict's sixth novel, Sand Queen, is set to be published in the autumn of 2011 by Soho Press.
Biography
Benedict was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England of American anthropologists. As a child, she lived in Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
and Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
, where her parents conducted fieldwork. Seychelles became the setting for Benedict’s novel, The Edge of Eden.
Benedict grew up partly in London, partly in California, and attended university in both England and the United States. She worked for newspapers in both countries, and obtained her master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1979. She first began to publish in the United States that year and into the 1980s, with profiles of Nobel Laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Isaac Bashevis Singer – July 24, 1991) was a Polish Jewish American author noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978...
and New York writer Leonard Michaels
Leonard Michaels
Leonard Michaels was an American writer of short stories, novels, and essays. He was born in New York City to Jewish parents; his father was born in Poland. He went to college and earned his B.A. from New York University and went on to acquire an M.A. as well as a Ph.D...
, later collected in her anthology, Portraits in Print. The anthology also contained Benedict’s magazine profiles of Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag was an American author, literary theorist, feminist and political activist whose works include On Photography and Against Interpretation.-Life:...
, Joseph Brodsky
Joseph Brodsky
Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky , was a Russian poet and essayist.In 1964, 23-year-old Brodsky was arrested and charged with the crime of "social parasitism" He was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1972 and settled in America with the help of W. H. Auden and other supporters...
, Bernard Malamud
Bernard Malamud
Bernard Malamud was an author of novels and short stories. Along with Saul Bellow and Philip Roth, he was one of the great American Jewish authors of the 20th century. His baseball novel, The Natural, was adapted into a 1984 film starring Robert Redford...
and Paule Marshall
Paule Marshall
Paule Marshall is an American author. She was born Valenza Pauline Burke in Brooklyn to Barbadian parents and educated at Girls High School, Brooklyn College and Hunter College . Early in her career, she wrote poetry, but later returned to prose...
.
In 1981, Benedict moved to New York, where she freelanced for five years, publishing short stories and articles in literary journals, magazines and newspapers. She began teaching at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
in 1986, where she is now a full professor.
Benedict’s works have been translated and published in Italy, Greece, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Portugal. She has received fellowships from Yaddo, MacDowell, the Virginia Center of the Arts, and the Freedom Forum.
Themes
Benedict’s novels explore the themes of displacement, isolation, racismRacism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
, often through the eyes of people who fall outside the predominant culture. She has written of Dominican American immigrants, Greek peasants, mixed-race teenagers, former convicts and the descendants of slaves. Many of these themes are evident in her novel, The Edge of Eden, which is set in 1960 in the colonial islands of Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
.
Her most recent nonfiction has investigated the exploitation of women in the U.S. military. In her 2009 book, The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq, Benedict explores the experiences of female troops fighting in the Iraq War and their abuse at the hands of their male comrades. The Lonely Soldier received the Ken Book Award in 2009.
A play Benedict wrote based on her interviews with women soldiers, The Lonely Soldier Monologues, was also produced in 2009, at two New York theaters, The Theater for the New City
Theater for the New City
Theater for the New City, founded in 1971 and known familiarly as "TNC", is one of New York City's leading Off-Off-Broadway theaters, known for radical political plays and community commitment. Productions at TNC have won 43 Obie Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama...
and La Mama Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is an off-off Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, and named in reference to her. Located on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the theatre grew out of Stewart's tiny basement boutique for her fashion designs; the boutique's space acted as a theatre for...
, where it was reviewed by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. An article Benedict wrote on the same subject, "The Private War of Women Soldiers," won the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism in 2008. In 2010, her article "The Scandal of Military Rape" won the EMMA
EMMA
EMMA is an Organization which raises awareness of discrimination through media campaigns, social networking, and the EMMA Awards....
Award for Exceptional Magazine Story.
Benedict's sixth novel, Sand Queen, is set to be published in the autumn of 2011 by Soho Press.