Paula Fox
Encyclopedia
Paula Fox is an American
author of novels for adults and children
and two memoirs. Her novel The Slave Dancer
(1973) received the Newbery Medal
in 1974; and in 1978, she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. More recently, A Portrait of Ivan won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
in 2008.
Her adult novels went out of print in 1992. In the mid nineties she enjoyed a revival as her adult fiction was championed by a new generation of American writers.
, rejected her at birth and left her in a foundling home in New York City. Her maternal grandmother, temporarily visiting the United States, rescued her. Unable at the time to provide a home herself, the Cuban abuela gave her to Reverend Elwood Corning (fondly called Uncle Elwood) and his bedridden mother in Balmville, New York. The Reverend treated her kindly, teaching her important things along the way. Fox first visited her parents house at the age of 3 where her mother treated her like a prisoner in war. The reunion was so traumatic that in her memoir Borrowed Finery she wrote, "I sensed that if she could have hidden the act she would have killed me."
A teenage marriage produced a daughter, Linda, in 1944. However, given the tumultuous relationship with her own biological parents, she gave the child up for adoption. Fox later attended Columbia University
, married the literary critic and translator Martin Greenberg
, raised two sons, taught, and began to write.
The daughter Fox gave up for adoption, Linda Carroll
, is the mother of the musician Courtney Love
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author of novels for adults and children
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
and two memoirs. Her novel The Slave Dancer
The Slave Dancer
The Slave Dancer is a children's book written by Paula Fox and published in 1973. It tells the story of a boy who witnessed first-hand the savagery of the African slave trade. The book not only includes a historical account, but it also touches upon the emotional conflicts felt by those involved in...
(1973) received the Newbery Medal
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
in 1974; and in 1978, she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. More recently, A Portrait of Ivan won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
The Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's literature. It is Germany's only state-funded literary award. In the past, authors from many countries...
in 2008.
Her adult novels went out of print in 1992. In the mid nineties she enjoyed a revival as her adult fiction was championed by a new generation of American writers.
Life
Paula Fox was born in New York, New York on April 22, 1923. Her father, Paul Hervey Fox, wrote screenplays and was often drunk. Her Cuban-born mother, Elsie De Sola FoxElsie Fox
Elsie Fox was an American minor screenwriter in the 1930s. She is the biological mother of novelist Paula Fox.-Life and career:...
, rejected her at birth and left her in a foundling home in New York City. Her maternal grandmother, temporarily visiting the United States, rescued her. Unable at the time to provide a home herself, the Cuban abuela gave her to Reverend Elwood Corning (fondly called Uncle Elwood) and his bedridden mother in Balmville, New York. The Reverend treated her kindly, teaching her important things along the way. Fox first visited her parents house at the age of 3 where her mother treated her like a prisoner in war. The reunion was so traumatic that in her memoir Borrowed Finery she wrote, "I sensed that if she could have hidden the act she would have killed me."
A teenage marriage produced a daughter, Linda, in 1944. However, given the tumultuous relationship with her own biological parents, she gave the child up for adoption. Fox later attended Columbia University
Columbia 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...
, married the literary critic and translator Martin Greenberg
Martin Greenberg (poet)
Martin Greenberg is an American poet and translator.-Life:He was the son of a Jewish couple, immigrants from Lithuania. His elder brother, Clement Greenberg became the most influential art critic in the U.S. in the 1950's - 1970's. He graduated from the University of Michigan. Served in World War...
, raised two sons, taught, and began to write.
The daughter Fox gave up for adoption, Linda Carroll
Linda Carroll
Linda Carroll is an American author and the mother of Courtney Love.Carroll was adopted into an Italian Catholic family. She graduated from high school in 1961 and gave birth to Love in 1964. After finishing her bachelors degree in Oregon in the 1970s, she moved to New Zealand...
, is the mother of the musician Courtney Love
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
.
Adult Fiction
- 1967 Poor George
- 1970 Desperate CharactersDesperate Characters (novel)-Plot:Sophie and Otto Bentwood are a middle-aged, middle class, childless Brooklyn Heights couple trapped in a loveless marriage. He is an attorney, she a translator of books...
- 1972 The Western Coast
- 1976 The Widow’s Children
- 1984 A Servant’s Tale
- 1990 The God of Nightmares
- 2011 News from the World: Stories and Essays
Children's Fiction
- 1966 Maurice's Room (pictures by Ingrid Fetz)
- 1967 How Many Miles to Babylon? (illustrated by Paul Giovanopoulos)
- 1967 A Likely Place (illustrated by Edward Ardizzone)
- 1968 Dear Prosper (illustrated by Steve McLachlin)
- 1968 The Stone-Faced Boy (illustrated by Donald A. Mackay)
- 1969 Hungry Fred (illustrated by Rosemary Wells)
- 1969 The King's Falcon (illustrated by Eros Keith)
- 1969 Portrait of Ivan (illustrated by Saul Lambert)
- 1970 Blowfish Live in the Sea
- 1973 Good Ethan (illustrated by Arnold LobelArnold LobelArnold Stark Lobel was a popular American author of children's books. Among his most popular books are those of the Frog and Toad series, and Mouse Soup, which won the Garden State Children's Book Award from the New Jersey Library Association.Lobel won the 1981 Caldecott Medal for his book...
) - 1974 The Slave DancerThe Slave DancerThe Slave Dancer is a children's book written by Paula Fox and published in 1973. It tells the story of a boy who witnessed first-hand the savagery of the African slave trade. The book not only includes a historical account, but it also touches upon the emotional conflicts felt by those involved in...
(illustrated by Eros Keith) - 1978 The Little Swineherd and Other Tales (1996 edition illustrated by Robert ByrdRobert Byrd (artist)Robert Byrd is an author and illustrator from Haddonfield, New Jersey.Following his attendance of highschool, Byrd joined the U.S. Navy in 1961, leaving in 1962 to attend Trenton Junior College...
) - 1980 A Place Apart
- 1984 One-Eyed Cat
- 1986 The Moonlight Man ISBN 0-02-735480-6
- 1987 Lily and the Lost Boy (also published as The Lost Boy) ISBN 0-531-08320-9
- 1988 The Village by the Sea (also published as In a Place of Darkness)
- 1991 Monkey Island
- 1993 Western Wind
- 1995 The Eagle Kite (also published as The Gathering Darkness)
- 1997 Radiance Descending
- 1999 Amzat and His Brothers: Three Italian Tales
Memoirs
- 2001 Borrowed Finery
- 2005 The Coldest Winter: A Stringer in Liberated Europe
See also
External links
- http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2008/2195004.htm transcript of interview with Ramona KovalRamona KovalRamona Koval is an Australian broadcaster, writer and journalist.Her parents were Yiddish-speaking survivors of the Holocaust who arrived in Melbourne from Poland in 1950....
, for The Book ShowThe Book ShowThe Book Show is an Australian ABC radio program for the discussion of everything relating to the written word. It is broadcast live around Australia on Radio National with a daily weekday morning show which is then replayed nightly and also has a Sunday evening show. The show is hosted by Ramona...
on ABC Radio National July, 2004 - Paula Fox bio on frontstreetbooks.com
- Jesse Lichtenstein interviews Paula Fox for LoggernautLoggernautLoggernaut Reading Series is a reading series in Portland, Oregon founded in 2005. Each reading features three readers and a prompt to which they respond....
. - A Qualified Optimist, U.K. Guardian, Aida Edemariam, June 21, 2003
- Interview with Paula Fox at the Rumpus