Literary Lives
A hundred years of great writing, curated for The New Yorker’s centenary.
Joyce Carol Oates’s Relentless, Prolific Search for a Self
In more than a hundred works of fiction, Oates has investigated the question of personality—while doubting that she actually has one.
Annie Ernaux Turns Memory Into Art
Many authors write about their lives. Over nearly fifty years, the Nobel laureate has discovered new ways to do it.
Maxine Hong Kingston’s Genre-Defying Life and Work
The Asian-American literary pioneer, whose writing has paved the way for many immigrants’ stories, has one last big idea.
Herman Melville at Home
The novelist drew on far-flung voyages to create his masterpiece. But he could finish it only at his beloved Berkshire farm.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Comes to Terms with Global Fame
As her subjects have expanded, her audience has, too, but visibility has its drawbacks.
Toni Morrison and the Ghosts in the House
From 2003: As an editor, author, and professor, Morrison has fostered a generation of black writers.
Capote’s Long Ride
Thirty-two years after the publication of “In Cold Blood,” the rest of the story comes out.
The Silent Woman
Since her suicide, in 1963, biographers of Sylvia Plath have encountered uncomfortable questions about her identity—and the nature of biography itself.
A Consciousness of Reality
In her diary, Virginia Woolf left behind the most truthful record of what a writer’s life is actually like.
