John McPhee
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John Angus McPhee (born March 8, 1931) is an American author. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the fourth occasion in 1999 for '' Annals of the Former World'' (a collection of five books, including two of his previous Pulitzer finalists). In 2008, he received the George Polk Career Award for his "indelible mark on American journalism during his nearly half-century career". Since 1974, McPhee has been the Ferris Professor of Journalism at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
.


Background

McPhee has lived in
Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...
, for most of his life. He was born in Princeton, the son of the
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
athletic department's physician, Harry McPhee. He was educated at Princeton High School, then spent a postgraduate year at Deerfield Academy, before graduating from Princeton University in 1953 with a senior thesis titled "Skimmer Burns" and spending a year at Magdalene College, Cambridge. McPhee was a member of University Cottage Club while a student at Princeton. While at Princeton, McPhee went to New York once or twice a week to appear as the juvenile panelist on the radio and television quiz program '' Twenty Questions''. One of his roommates at Princeton was 1951 Heisman Trophy winner Dick Kazmaier. Twice married, McPhee is the father of four daughters from his first marriage to Pryde Brown: the novelists Jenny McPhee and Martha McPhee, photographer Laura McPhee, and architecture historian Sarah McPhee.


Writing career

McPhee's writing career began at ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine, and led to a long association with the weekly magazine ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' from 1963 to the present. Many of his 31 books include material originally written for ''The New Yorker,'' where he has been a staff writer since 1965. Unlike Tom Wolfe and Hunter Thompson, who helped kick-start the " new journalism" of the 1960s, McPhee produced a gentler, more literary style of writing that more thoroughly incorporated techniques from fiction. He avoided Wolfe's and Thompson's stream-of-consciousness style, using detailed description of characters and vivid language to make his writing lively and personal, even when it focused on obscure or difficult topics. He is highly regarded by fellow writers for the quality, quantity, and diversity of his literary output.While being interviewed on the August 27, 2009, edition of ''Radio West'' (KUER, Salt Lake City, Utah), writer Christopher Cokinos said that he has a sign above his desk which says ''Too tired to write? John McPhee isn't.'' Reflecting his personal interests, McPhee's subjects are highly eclectic. He has written pieces on lifting-body development (''The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed''), the psyche and experience of a nuclear engineer (''The Curve of Binding Energy''), a New Jersey wilderness area ('' The Pine Barrens''), the United States Merchant Marine (''Looking for a Ship''), farmers' markets (''Giving Good Weight''), the movement of coal across America ("Coal Train" in ''Uncommon Carriers''), the shifting flow of the Mississippi River ("Atchafalaya" in ''The Control of Nature''),
geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
(in several books), as well as a short book entirely about oranges. One of his most widely read books, '' Coming into the Country'', is about the three faces of Alaska: the urban, the rural, and the Alaskan wilderness. McPhee has profiled a number of famous people, including conservationist David Brower in '' Encounters with the Archdruid'', and the young Bill Bradley, whom McPhee followed closely during Bradley's four-year
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
career at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
.


Teaching

McPhee has been a nonfiction writing instructor at Princeton University since 1974, having taught generations of aspiring undergraduate writers as the Ferris Professor of Journalism. Many of his students have achieved distinction: * Joel Achenbach, writer for the '' Washington Post'' and author of seven books * Timothy Ferriss, entrepreneur and author of '' The 4-Hour Workweek'' and '' The 4-Hour Body'' * Peter Hessler, contributor to ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' and author of three books about China * Jim Kelly, former managing editor of ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine * Richard Preston, author of '' The Hot Zone'' and other books about infectious disease epidemics and bioterrorism * David Remnick, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and editor-in-chief of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' since 1998 * Eric Schlosser, author of '' Fast Food Nation'' and other books * Richard Stengel, former managing editor of ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine * Jennifer Weiner, best-selling author of '' Good In Bed'', '' In Her Shoes'', and other novels * Robert Wright, former senior editor at ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...
'' and columnist for ''Time'', '' Slate'' and 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 ...
'', and author of award-winning books


Awards and honors

McPhee has received many literary honors, including the Award in Literature from the
American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...
and the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, awarded for '' Annals of the Former World''. In 1978 he received a LittD from Bates College, in 2009 an honorary Doctorate of Letters from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, in 2010 an honorary Doctor of Letters from Lehigh University, and in 2012 an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from
Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...
. * Pulitzer Prize (1999) for ''Annals of the Former World'' * Award in Literature from the
American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...
(1977) * Elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1993) * Finalist, National Book Award (science) for ''The Curve of Binding Energy'' * Nominated, National Book Award (science), for '' Encounters with the Archdruid'' * Wallace Stegner Award (2011) for "sustained contribution to the cultural identity of the West through literature, art, history, lore, or an understanding of the West". * National Book Critics Circle Award Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award (2017)


Bibliography


Books


Selected essays and reporting

* * * * *


See also

* Books by John McPhee


Notes


References

* Weltzein, O. Alan and Susan N. Maher (2003). ''Coming into McPhee Country: John McPhee and the Art of Literary Criticism''. .


External links


Publisher's official web site
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McPhee, John 1931 births Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge American expatriates in the United Kingdom American non-fiction environmental writers Deerfield Academy alumni John Burroughs Medal recipients Living people Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Writers from Princeton, New Jersey Princeton High School (New Jersey) alumni Princeton University alumni Princeton University faculty Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction winners The New Yorker people 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers The New Yorker staff writers