Elizabeth Graver (born July 2, 1964) is an American writer and academic.

Early life and education

Graver was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on July 2, 1964, and grew up in

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. Located in Berkshire County, the town is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statis ...

. Both her parents, Suzanne and Lawrence Graver, were professors of English at Williams College. She received her B.A. from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

in 1986, and her M.F.A. from the

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

in 1999. She also did graduate work at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

Career

A recipient of fellowships from Guggenheim Foundation, the

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The program was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDo ...

Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...

, the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, and the Suzy Newhouse Center for the Humanities at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

, she has been a Professor of English and Creative Writing at Boston College since 1993. Graver’s 2023 novel, ''Kantika'', was inspired by the migration story of her Turkish Sephardic Jewish maternal grandmother, Rebecca, whose journey took her from Turkey to Spain, Cuba and New York. Reviewer Ayten Tartici wrote, in the ''New York Times Book Review'': "In Graver’s vision, migration is never simply a one-way street . . . ''Kantika'' is a meticulous endeavor to preserve the memories of a family, an elegy and a celebration both." ''Kantika'' was a 2023 New York Times Notable Book and Best Historical Novel and has been translated into Turkish and German. ''Kantika'' was awarded
National Jewish Book Award
for Sephardic Culture, th
Edward Lewis Wallant Award
the Julia Ward Howe Prize, the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction, and
Jewish Fiction Award
Graver's 2013 novel, ''The End of the Point'', was long-listed for the 2013

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

and has met with praise since its release. The novel, featured by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Book Review editor Alida Becker, is set in a summer community on the coast of Massachusetts from 1942 through 1999 and is a layered meditation on place and family across half a century. Graver's first novel, ''Unravelling'', is set in 19th-century America in the

Lowell textile mills The Lowell Mills were 19th-century textile mills that operated in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, which was named after Francis Cabot Lowell; he introduced a new manufacturing system called the "Lowell system", also known as the " Waltham-Lowe ...

and tells the story of a fiercely independent young woman and the life she eventually fashions for herself.

Benjamin DeMott Benjamin Haile DeMott (June 2, 1924, Rockville Centre, New York – September 29, 2005, Worthington, Mass.) was an American English professor and cultural critic. The author of more than a dozen books, DeMott was known for his cultural criticism ...

, reviewing it for ''The New York Times'', wrote that ''Unravelling'' "creates a home-on-the-margins beyond cant—a kind of exiles' utopia, intensely imagined, right-valued, memorable." ''The Honey Thief'', a contemporary novel exploring a mother-daughter relationship, was reviewed in ''The New York Times'' by

Katharine Weber Katharine Weber (born November 12, 1955) is an American novelist and nonfiction writer. She has taught fiction and nonfiction writing at Yale University, Goucher College, the Paris Writers Workshop and elsewhere. She held the Visiting Richard L. ...

, who described it as a narrative in which "neither resolution nor redemption is guaranteed—or even, necessarily, hoped for."Weber, Katharine (September 5, 1999).
Sticky fingers
. ''New York Times''. Retrieved August 31, 2023.

Personal life

Married to civil rights lawyer James Pingeon, Graver is the mother of two grown daughters and teaches at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

Works

Novels

''Kantika''
(Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt & Co. 2023)
''The End of the Point''
(HarperCollins 2013) * ''Awake'' (Henry Holt & Co. 2005) * ''The Honey Thief'' (Hyperion 2000) * ''Unravelling'' (Hyperion 1999)

Short stories

* ''Have You Seen Me?'' (University of Pittsburgh Press 1991)

Drue Heinz Literature Prize The Drue Heinz Literature Prize is a major American literary award for short fiction in the English language. This prize of the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States was initiated in 1981 by Drue Heinz and d ...

(Judge: Richard Ford).
”The Mourning Door” by Graver, Elizabeth.
''Ploughshares'', vol. 26, no. 2/3, 2000, pp. 80–89.

Anthologies (selected)

* "All Aunt Hagar's Children: Edward P. Jones, ''B-Sides Books: Essays on Forgotten Favorites'' 2021, John Plotz, ed. * "Two Baths": ''Best American Essays'' 1991, Cynthia Ozick, guest ed. * “The Mourning Door”: ''''Best American Short Stories 2001'', Barbara Kingsolver, guest ed.; ''Prize Stories 2001: The O. Henry Awards'', Mary Gordon, Michael Chabon, Mona Simpson, guest eds; ''Pushcart Prize XXVI: Best of the Small Presses'', Bill Henderson, ed. *“Between”: ''Prize Stories 1996: The O. Henry Awards'', William Abrahams, ed. *“The Boy Who Fell Forty Feet”: ''Prize Stories 1994: The O. Henry Awards", William Abrahams, ed. *“The Body Shop”: ''Best American Short Stories 1991'', Alice Adams, guest ed.

References

External links

* Author's Website
elizabethgraver.com
*

' ttps://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/18/books/review/kantika-elizabeth-graver.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare Review'', Kantika''
"From History to Fiction, A Sephardic Journey," Ottoman History Podcast

National Book Award Fiction Long List 2013
* ttps://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2013/04/29/elizabeth-graver-book "Here and Now with Robin Young: NPR Interview on ''The End of the Point''"br>''Judicial Review'', March 2013: Discussing The Point of Elizabeth Graver's 'The End of the Point'

"The Leonard Lopate Show," NPR Interview, 3/5/13

The Book Show #1291, with Joe Donahue WAMC/NPR"Walker Evans, Kitchen Wall, Alabama Farmstead, 1936"
''Gastronomica Magazine'' *https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/28/stray-questions-for-elizabeth-graver/
"Physiological Form Meets Psychological Space: Elizabeth Graver's Four-Dimensional Stories," by Jacob M. App
http://fictionwritersreview.com/essay/physiological-form-meets-psychological-space-elizabeth-gravers-four-dimensional-stories/ el, Fiction Writers Review {{DEFAULTSORT:Graver, Elizabeth Novelists from Massachusetts Living people 1964 births American women novelists 20th-century American novelists Wesleyan University alumni Cornell University alumni People from Williamstown, Massachusetts Boston College faculty 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Jewish American novelists Jewish women writers Washington University in St. Louis alumni