Paule Marshall, an American writer born in Brooklyn in 1929 to Barbadian parents, is known for her novels set in the West Indies and Brooklyn. She studied at Hunter College and Brooklyn College, and was a poet before turning to prose. Marshall has also had a successful teaching career and has received numerous awards for her writing, including the MacArthur Fellowship and the Dos Passos Prize for Literature. Marshall’s notable works include Brown girl, brown stones and The Fisher King: A Novel.
Paule Marshall, American writer, was born on April 9, 1929 in Brooklyn. Marshall’s name at birth was Valencia Pauline Burke. Although she was born in the United States of America, her parents and extended family were from Barbados. Many of Paule Marshall’s novels are set in the West Indies, the homeland of her ancestors, and Brooklyn, where she grew up.
Marshall remained in New York for his education, attending Hunter College in Manhattan and Brooklyn College. He completed his studies at Brooklyn College in 1953. Two years later, in 1955, he completed his studies at Hunter College. Although she completed her studies at Hunter College, Paule Marshall received an LH.D. honorary, or Doctor of Humane Letters, from Bates College in 1993.
Early in her writing career, Marshall wrote poetry. However, she eventually turned to prose. It is for her novels, rather than her poetry, that she is best known. Still, you were a poet who helped launch her career. Poet Langston Hughes did Marshall a huge service when she chose her to accompany him on a world reading tour. During the tour, both authors read their work and sold their books.
In addition to her writing career, Marshall has had a long career as a teacher. She has served as a faculty member at Yale University, Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of California, Berkeley and the renowned Iowa Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa. Following these teaching assignments, Marshall held the Helen Gould Sheppard Chair of Literature and Culture at New York University.
Throughout her impressive writing career, Paule Marshall has been the recipient of many awards and accolades. She was selected as a MacArthur Fellow and was also a recipient of the Dos Passos Prize for Literature. In 1994, soon after receiving an honorary degree from Bates, she was named a Literary Lion by the New York Public Library.
Paule Marshall, an advocate of the novel as a vital and viable literary form, has published the following works, listed in chronological order:
Brown girl, brown stones
Soul claps and sings
The chosen place, the timeless people
Reena and other stories
Praise for the widow
daughters
The Fisher King: A Novel
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