Jonathan Strong (born 1944) is an American author of novels and short stories.

Personal life

Jonathan Strong was born in 1944. He was raised in

Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,475 as of the 2020 census. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the United States in terms of household income. It was ...

, where he attended

North Shore Country Day School North Shore Country Day School is an independent school in Winnetka, Illinois. It took its current form as a coeducational school in 1919 during the Country Day School movement, though it started as the Rugby School for Boys (1893-1900) and Girto ...

. He enrolled at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1962, but dropped out in the middle of his senior year as his writing career advanced. He returned to Harvard and earned his bachelor's degree in 1969. That year, he began his long career teaching fiction-writing at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

. Strong lives in

Rockport, Massachusetts Rockport is a seaside New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,992 in 2020 United States census, 2020. Rockport is located approximately northeast of Boston, at the tip of the Cape Ann peninsula. ...

, and West Corinth, Vermont.

Written work

Strong's first short story, "Supperburger," was published in the ''Parisian Review'' (1966). The following year it won an O. Henry Award. It has since been analogized and, according to literary critic James Morrison, has become "a kind of classic in gay fiction." Strong's first novel, ''Tike and Five Short Stories'' (1968), won 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 ...

' Rosenthal Award. In 1970, Strong's short story "Patients," published in ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

'', won another O. Henry Award. Strong published his second novel, ''Ourselves'', in 1971. Annie Gottlieb, a reviewer for ''

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 ...

'', called it "probably the best book yet to come out of my generation." After those early successes, it was fourteen years until Strong published another novel, although he continued to publish stories in periodicals including ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' and ''Shenandoah''. His reappearance as a novelist begin with ''Elsewhere'' (1985). Strong's next six novels were published with Zoland Books; ''Secret Words'' (1993), ''Companion Pieces'' (1993), ''An Untold Tale'' (1993), ''Offspring'' (1995), ''The Old World'' (1997), and ''A Circle Around Her'' (2000). Zoland stopped publishing new books in 2001. His more recent works, all with small presses, include ''Drawn from Life'' (2008), ''Consolation'' (2010), ''More Light'' (2011), ''Hawkweed and Indian Paintbrush'' (2013), ''The Judge's House'' (2015), ''Quit the Race'' (2017), and ''Four Last Songs'' (2020). In a 2011 interview, Morrison said that Strong was "among the most underrated writers in the country."

References

{{morecat, date=November 2023 Living people Tufts University faculty Harvard College alumni 1944 births American male novelists American male short story writers People from Winnetka, Illinois Writers from Illinois