John Jeremiah Sullivan on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
John Jeremiah Sullivan (born 1974) is an American writer, musician, teacher, and editor. He is a contributing writer for ''
Life of Saturdays
In 2017, he helped lead a small group of 8th-grade students on a scavenger hunt to resurrect lost copies of ''The Daily Record'', the African–American newspaper at the center of a white supremacist coup d'état and massacre that occurred in his adopted home town of Wilmington, NC, in 1898. He and his team located seven total copies, all of which are now digitized and available for view via th
N.C. Digital Heritage Project
In 2019, the ''New Yorker'' published Sullivan's novella, "Mother Nut," on its website. Sullivan is married to Dr. Mariana Johnson, a film scholar and professor. They have two daughters.
James Beard Foundation’s MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award
for "I placed a Jar in Tennessee," published in ''Lucky Peach.'' * 2015 ASCAP Foundation Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award * 2015 Windham–Campbell Literature Prize (Non-Fiction) valued at $150,000 * 2016 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant, to complete ''The Prime Minister of Paradise'' * 201
Guggenheim Fellowship
"Too Much Information"
on
"The Last Wailer"
on
"Back in the Day"
on
"The Final Comeback of Axl Rose"
on
"Upon This Rock"
on a visit to a
"Good-Bye to All That"
on a visit to the Gulf Coast, post-
"He Shall Be Levi"
on a visit to Alaska, to meet
"American Grotesque"
on the
"Violence of the Lambs"
on the coming war between animals and humans, 2011.
"Peyton's Place"
on living in the house used for the filming of ''
"The Ill-Defined Plot,"
on the history of the essay, 2014.
"David Foster Wallace's Perfect Game,"
2014 * Online version is titled "Rhiannon Giddens and what folk music means".
"Mother Nut,"
a novella, 2019. ;''Harper's Magazine''
"Horseman, Pass By: Glory, grief, and the race for the Triple Crown"
2003.
"A_Rawness_of_Seeing:_Denis_Johnson
_writes_the_big_novel".html" ;"title="Denis Johnson">"A Rawness of Seeing:
"Dear Heather'
on Leonard Cohen, 2004.
"My Front Pages"
on Bob Dylan, 2004. ;''The New York Times Magazine''
"You Blow My Mind. Hey, Mickey!"
on
"My Debt to Ireland"
on
"How William Faulkner Tackled Race — and Freed the South From Itself"
on
"Venus and Serena Against the World"
on
"Where is Cuba Going?"
on
"The Ballad of Geeshie and Elvie"
about blues singers
"‘Shuffle Along’ and the Lost History of Black Performance in America,”
2016.
2016. ;''The Paris Review''
“Guy Davenport, The Art of Fiction No. 174
” interview, 2002
"Mister Lytle"
an essay, 2010.
"Unnamed Caves"
on American cave art, 2011.
“The Princes: A Reconstruction,”
2012
Annette Gordon-Reed, The Art of Nonfiction No. 11
2021 *
Uhtceare"
(Sleep Stories), 2021 ''The Oxford American''
“That Don’t Get Him Back Again
” 2010 *
That Chop on the Upbeat,”
2013
“Baby Boy Born Birthplace Blues,”
2016
"Death Rattle,"
2017 ''The Yale Review''
"Guest House,"
2022
Profile at The Whiting Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, John Jeremiah 1974 births Living people American magazine editors American male journalists James Beard Foundation Award winners The New Yorker people Sewanee: The University of the South alumni Writers from Louisville, Kentucky
The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...
'', a contributing editor of ''Harper's Magazine
''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...
'', and the southern editor of ''The Paris Review
''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...
''. In 2014, he edited ''The'' ''Best American Essays,'' a collection in which his work has been featured in previous years. He has also served on the faculty of Columbia University, Sewanee: The University of the South, and other institutions.
Biography
Sullivan was born inLouisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
to Mike Sullivan, a sportswriter. His mother is an English professor. He earned his degree in 1997 from The University of the South
The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an official seminary of ...
, in Sewanee, Tennessee
Sewanee () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,535 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Sewanee is best known as the home of ...
.
His first book, ''Blood Horses: Notes of a Sportswriter's Son'', was published in 2004. It is part personal reminiscence, part elegy for his father, and part investigation into the history and culture of the thoroughbred racehorse.
His second book, '' Pulphead: Essays'' (2011), is an anthology of fourteen previously published magazine articles, with most of them "in substantially different form" for the book.
Sullivan's essay "Mister Lytle: An Essay," originally published in ''The Paris Review
''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...
'', won a number of awards, including a National Magazine Award, and was anthologized in ''Pulphead''. Sullivan recounts how he lived with Andrew Nelson Lytle
Andrew Nelson Lytle (December 26, 1902 – December 12, 1995) was an American novelist, dramatist, essayist and professor of literature.
Early life
Andrew Nelson Lytle was born on December 26, 1902, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He graduated from V ...
, when Lytle was in his 90s, helping him with house chores and learning some wisdom about writing and life.
His original music appears on the self-titled albuLife of Saturdays
In 2017, he helped lead a small group of 8th-grade students on a scavenger hunt to resurrect lost copies of ''The Daily Record'', the African–American newspaper at the center of a white supremacist coup d'état and massacre that occurred in his adopted home town of Wilmington, NC, in 1898. He and his team located seven total copies, all of which are now digitized and available for view via th
N.C. Digital Heritage Project
In 2019, the ''New Yorker'' published Sullivan's novella, "Mother Nut," on its website. Sullivan is married to Dr. Mariana Johnson, a film scholar and professor. They have two daughters.
Awards
* 2003Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse.
An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...
, ''Blood Horses''
* 2003 National Magazine Award
The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...
, Feature Writing
* 2004 Whiting Award
The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation
Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard E ...
, Nonfiction
* 2011 National Magazine Award
The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...
, Essays and Criticism, "Mister Lytle. An Essay" (''The Paris Review'')
* 2011 Pushcart Prize
The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...
, ''Pushcart XXXV'', "Mister Lytle. An Essay" (''The Paris Review'')
* 201James Beard Foundation’s MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award
for "I placed a Jar in Tennessee," published in ''Lucky Peach.'' * 2015 ASCAP Foundation Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award * 2015 Windham–Campbell Literature Prize (Non-Fiction) valued at $150,000 * 2016 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant, to complete ''The Prime Minister of Paradise'' * 201
Guggenheim Fellowship
Bibliography
Books
* * '' Pulphead: Essays'',Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...
, 2011.
Essays and reporting
;''GQ''"Too Much Information"
on
David Foster Wallace
David Foster Wallace (February 21, 1962 – September 12, 2008) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and university professor of English and creative writing. Wallace is widely known for his 1996 novel '' Infinite Jest'', whi ...
, 2011.
"The Last Wailer"
on
Bunny Wailer
Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...
, 2011.
"Back in the Day"
on
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
, 2009.
"The Final Comeback of Axl Rose"
on
Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February 6, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its incep ...
, 2006.
"Upon This Rock"
on a visit to a
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...
festival, 2004.
"Good-Bye to All That"
on a visit to the Gulf Coast, post-
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
, 2005.
"He Shall Be Levi"
on a visit to Alaska, to meet
Levi Johnston
Levi Keith Johnston (born May 3, 1990) is an American model and actor, best known as the twice-former fiancé of Bristol Palin and father of their son Tripp. He first received media attention in August 2008 when U.S. vice presidential candidate S ...
, 2009.
"American Grotesque"
on the
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...
, 2010.
"Violence of the Lambs"
on the coming war between animals and humans, 2011.
"Peyton's Place"
on living in the house used for the filming of ''
One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to:
* "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak
* ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song
** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...
,'' 2011.
;''The New Yorker''
"The Ill-Defined Plot,"
on the history of the essay, 2014.
"David Foster Wallace's Perfect Game,"
2014 * Online version is titled "Rhiannon Giddens and what folk music means".
"Mother Nut,"
a novella, 2019. ;''Harper's Magazine''
"Horseman, Pass By: Glory, grief, and the race for the Triple Crown"
2003.
"A_Rawness_of_Seeing:_Denis_Johnson
_writes_the_big_novel".html" ;"title="Denis Johnson">"A Rawness of Seeing:
Denis_Johnson">"A_Rawness_of_Seeing:_Denis_Johnson
_writes_the_big_novel"_2007.
"Unknown_Bards:_The_blues_becomes_transparent_about_itself"
_included_in_''Best_Music_Writing'',_2009. ;''New_York_Magazine''
"Art-Shaped_Box"
_on_Nirvana_(band).html" "title="Denis Johnson
writes the big novel"">Denis Johnson">"A Rawness of Seeing: Denis Johnson
writes the big novel" 2007.
"Unknown Bards: The blues becomes transparent about itself"
included in ''Best Music Writing'', 2009. ;''New York Magazine''
"Art-Shaped Box"
on Nirvana (band)">Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
, 2004.
_writes_the_big_novel"_2007.
_included_in_''Best_Music_Writing'',_2009. ;''New_York_Magazine''
_on_Nirvana_(band).html" "title="Denis Johnson
writes the big novel"">Denis Johnson">"A Rawness of Seeing: Denis Johnson
writes the big novel" 2007.
"Unknown Bards: The blues becomes transparent about itself"
included in ''Best Music Writing'', 2009. ;''New York Magazine''
"Art-Shaped Box"
on Nirvana (band)">Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
"Dear Heather'
on Leonard Cohen, 2004.
"My Front Pages"
on Bob Dylan, 2004. ;''The New York Times Magazine''
"You Blow My Mind. Hey, Mickey!"
on
Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...
, 2011.
"My Debt to Ireland"
on
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
's Future, 2012, included in ''The Best American Essays'', 2013
"How William Faulkner Tackled Race — and Freed the South From Itself"
on
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...
, 2012.
"Venus and Serena Against the World"
on
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is ...
and Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
, 2012.
"Where is Cuba Going?"
on
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
's future, included in ''The Best American Travel Writing'', 2013.
"The Ballad of Geeshie and Elvie"
about blues singers
Geeshie Wiley
Geeshie Wiley was an American country blues singer and guitar player who recorded six songs for Paramount Records, issued on three records in April 1930.Death Certificate for Thornton Wiley, dated December 13, 1931 According to the blues histori ...
and Elvie Thomas, 2014.
"‘Shuffle Along’ and the Lost History of Black Performance in America,”
2016.
2016. ;''The Paris Review''
“Guy Davenport, The Art of Fiction No. 174
” interview, 2002
"Mister Lytle"
an essay, 2010.
"Unnamed Caves"
on American cave art, 2011.
“The Princes: A Reconstruction,”
2012
Annette Gordon-Reed, The Art of Nonfiction No. 11
2021 *
Uhtceare"
(Sleep Stories), 2021 ''The Oxford American''
“That Don’t Get Him Back Again
” 2010 *
That Chop on the Upbeat,”
2013
“Baby Boy Born Birthplace Blues,”
2016
"Death Rattle,"
2017 ''The Yale Review''
"Guest House,"
2022
References
External links
Profile at The Whiting Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, John Jeremiah 1974 births Living people American magazine editors American male journalists James Beard Foundation Award winners The New Yorker people Sewanee: The University of the South alumni Writers from Louisville, Kentucky