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Barbara Kingsolver
Barbara Ellen Kingsolver (born April 8, 1955) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, essayist, and poet. Her widely known works include '' The Poisonwood Bible'', the tale of a missionary family in the Congo, and '' Animal, Vegetable, Miracle'', a nonfiction account of her family's attempts to eat locally. In 2023, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for the novel '' Demon Copperhead''. Her work often focuses on topics such as social justice, biodiversity, and the interaction between humans and their communities and environments. Kingsolver has received numerous awards, including the Dayton Literary Peace Prize's Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award 2011 and the National Humanities Medal. After winning for ''The Lacuna'' in 2010 and ''Demon Copperhead'' in 2023, Kingsolver became the first author to win the Women's Prize for Fiction twice. Since 1993, each one of her book titles have been on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list. Kingsolver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Book Festival
The National Book Festival is an annual literary festival held in Washington, D.C. in the United States; it is organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, and was founded by Laura Bush and James H. Billington in 2001. Background In 1995, the First Lady of Texas Laura Bush (a librarian) founded the Texas Book Festival with Mary Margaret Farabee and support of Robert S. Martin, then Director and Librarian of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and other volunteers. The goal of the festival was to honor Texas authors, promote the joys of reading, and benefit the state's public libraries. The first Texas Book Festival took place in November 1996. History As First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush worked with Librarian of Congress James H. Billington to create the National Book Festival. At a news conference announcing the inaugural event, Billington said: "We must all try, in every way we can, to send the message that reading is critical to our lives and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Women's Prize For Fiction
The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes. It is awarded annually to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year. A sister prize, the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, was launched in 2023. Early history The prize was established in 1996, to recognise the literary achievement of female writers. The inspiration for the prize was the Booker Prize of 1991, when none of the six shortlisted books was by a woman, despite some 60% of novels published that year being by female authors. A group of women and men working in the industry – authors, publishers, agents, booksellers, librarians, journalists – therefore met to discuss the issue. Research sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Republic Of The Congo (Léopoldville)
The Republic of the Congo () was the period of the history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1960 and 1971. Located in Central Africa, the state was created with the independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960. From 1960 to 1966, the country was also known as Congo-Léopoldville (after its capital) to distinguish it from its northwestern neighbor, which is also called the Republic of the Congo, alternatively known as "Congo-Brazzaville". In 1964, the state's official name was changed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo'','' but the two countries continued to be distinguished by their capitals; with the renaming of Léopoldville as Kinshasa in 1966, it became also known as Congo-Kinshasa. After Mobutu Sese Seko, Joseph Désiré Mobutu, commander-in-chief of the national army, Congo Crisis, seized control of the government in 1965, the Democratic Republic of the Congo became the Zaire, Republic of Zaire in 1971; but it was reverted back to the Democratic Republic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing Megacity, megacities, with an estimated population of 17 million in 2024. It is the List of cities and towns in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, most densely populated city in the DRC, the List of cities in Africa by population, most populous city and List of urban areas in Africa by population, third-largest metropolitan area in Africa, and the world's List of largest cities, twenty-second most populous city and List of national capitals by population, fourth-most populous capital city. It is the leading Economy, economic, Politics, political, and cultural center of the DRC, housing several industries including manufacturing, telecommunications, List of banks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, banking, and entertainment. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carlisle, Kentucky
Carlisle is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Nicholas County, Kentucky, Nicholas County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,010 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nicholas County. It is located at the junction of Kentucky Route 32 and Kentucky Route 36, about halfway between Lexington, Kentucky, Lexington and Maysville, Kentucky, Maysville. History Carlisle was founded in 1816 when John Kincart donated land to facilitate the relocation of the county seat from Ellisville, Kentucky, Ellisville, to the north. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, Carlisle has a total area of , all land. Demographics As of the census of 2010, there were 2,010 people, 892 households, and 546 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,040 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.10% White (U.S. Census), White, 0.8% African American (U.S. Census), Af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bellwether Prize
The PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, formerly known as the Bellwether Prize for Fiction, is a biennial award given by the PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) and Barbara Kingsolver to a U.S. citizen for a previously unpublished work of fiction that address issues of social justice. The prize was established by noted author Barbara Kingsolver, and is funded by her. Winning authors receive a $25,000 award and a publishing contract, from which they receive royalties. Submissions are judged by a panel of authors whose work shows themes of social change. Authors who have served as judges include: Russell Banks, Martin Espada, Terry Karten, Maxine Hong Kingston, Ursula K. Le Guin, Barry Lopez, Toni Morrison, Ruth Ozeki, Grace Paley, and Anna Quindlen. In May 2011, PEN American Center announced it would take over administration of the prize, which will be known as the PEN/Bellwether Prize. The award is one of many PEN awards sponsored by International PEN affili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Progressivism In The United States
Progressivism in the United States is a Left–right political spectrum, left-leaning political philosophy and reform movement. Into the 21st century, it advocates policies that are generally considered social democratic and part of the American Left. It has also expressed itself within Centre-right politics, center-right politics, such as New Nationalism (Theodore Roosevelt), New Nationalism and progressive conservatism. It reached its height early in the 20th century. American middle class, Middle/American working class, working class and reformist in nature, it arose as a response to the vast changes brought by modernization, such as the growth of large corporations, Pollution in the United States, pollution, and Corruption in the United States, corruption in American politics. Historian Alonzo Hamby describes American progressivism as a "political movement that addresses ideas, impulses, and issues stemming from modernization of American society. Emerging at the end of the nine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evolutionary Biology
Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes such as natural selection, common descent, and speciation that produced the diversity of life on Earth. In the 1930s, the discipline of evolutionary biology emerged through what Julian Huxley called the Modern synthesis (20th century), modern synthesis of understanding, from previously unrelated fields of biological research, such as genetics and ecology, systematics, and paleontology. The investigational range of current research has widened to encompass the genetic architecture of adaptation, molecular evolution, and the different forces that contribute to evolution, such as sexual selection, genetic drift, and biogeography. The newer field of evolutionary developmental biology ("evo-devo") investigates how embryogenesis is controlled, thus yielding a wider synthesis that integrates developmental biology with the fields of study covered by the earlier evolutionary synthesis. Subfields ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecology
Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely related sciences of biogeography, evolutionary biology, genetics, ethology, and natural history. Ecology is a branch of biology, and is the study of abundance (ecology), abundance, biomass (ecology), biomass, and distribution of organisms in the context of the environment. It encompasses life processes, interactions, and adaptations; movement of materials and energy through living communities; ecological succession, successional development of ecosystems; cooperation, competition, and predation within and between species; and patterns of biodiversity and its effect on ecosystem processes. Ecology has practical applications in fields such as conservation biology, wetland management, natural resource m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Appalachia
Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountains of New York, continuing south through the Blue Ridge Mountains and Great Smoky Mountains into northern Georgia (US state), Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, with West Virginia near the center, being the only state entirely within the boundaries of Appalachia. In 2021, the region was home to an estimated 26.3 million people. Since its recognition as a cultural region in the late 19th century, Appalachia has been a source of Appalachian stereotypes, enduring myths and distortions regarding the isolation, temperament, and behavior of its inhabitants. Early 20th-century writers often engaged in yellow journalism focused on Sensationalism, sensationalistic aspects of the region's culture, such as moonshining and #Feuds, clan feuding, p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Democratic Republic Of The Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is the List of African countries by area, second-largest country in Africa and the List of countries and dependencies by area, 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 112 million, the DR Congo is the most populous nominally List of countries and territories where French is an official language, Francophone country in the world. Belgian French, French is the official and most widely spoken language, though there are Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, over 200 indigenous languages. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the economic center. The country is bordered by the Republic of the Congo, the Cabinda Province, Cabinda exclave of Angola, and the South Atlantic Ocean to the west; the Cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the northeast, Virginia to the east, Tennessee to the south, and Missouri to the west. Its northern border is defined by the Ohio River. Its capital is Frankfort, Kentucky, Frankfort and its List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city is Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville. As of 2024, the state's population was approximately 4.6 million. Previously part of Colony of Virginia, colonial Virginia, Kentucky was admitted into the Union as the fifteenth state on June 1, 1792. It is known as the "Bluegrass State" in reference to Kentucky bluegrass, a species of grass introduced by European settlers which has long supported the state's thoroughbred horse industry. The fertile soil in the central and western parts of the state led to the development ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
