Annie Proulx, Award-winning Novelist
Ranked #2,133 in Books, Poetry & Writing, #88,167 overall
Annie Proulx, Talented Writer
E. Annie Proulx is a New Englander who has adopted the West as her home. The Western landscape appears in much of her writing. She has written eight fiction books (four novels and four short story collections) and two nonfiction books.
Proulx lived in New England until later in life when she moved to Wyoming, and her stories all include place as a character. Her writing is raw and beautiful. Her last name is pronounced Pru.
Photo of the paperback book version of the short story Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx. Courtesy of Amazon.
Proulx lived in New England until later in life when she moved to Wyoming, and her stories all include place as a character. Her writing is raw and beautiful. Her last name is pronounced Pru.
Photo of the paperback book version of the short story Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx. Courtesy of Amazon.
Contents at a Glance
Annie Proulx Biography
Edna Annie Proulx was born in 1935 in Connecticut and lived in New England, including Vermont and Maine, for much of her life. She moved to Wyoming in 1994 where she currently lives. According to a 1997 interview, "Imagination is Everything," with The Atlantic online, Proulx holds an M.A. from Sir George Williams University, now Concordia University, and although she completed the coursework for a Ph.D. in European Economics, with a minor in traditional China, she did not write the thesis. Proulx began writing magazine articles before she wrote fiction. She has published essays and short stories in numerous national magazines including The New Yorker, Hungry Mind Review, and Organic Gardening.Proulx advises writers to live awhile and get some experience under their belts before attempting to write. In The Atlantic online interview, Proulx said, "Spend some time living before you start writing. What I find to be very bad advice is the snappy little sentence, 'Write what you know.' It is the most tiresome and stupid advice that could possibly be given. ... We just coil tighter and tighter into our boring little selves. What one should write about is what interests one."
Photo Credit: Dunedin Public Library
Have you read any of Annie Proulx's books?
Loading poll. Please Wait...
Annie Proulx's Books
- Heart Songs and Other Stories, a book of short stories published in 1988
- Postcards, a novel published in 1992
- The Shipping News, a novel published in 1994
- Accordion Crimes, a novel published in 1996
- Close Range: Wyoming Stories, a collection of short stories including Brokeback Mountain, published in 1999
- That Old Ace in the Hole, a novel published in 2003
- Bad Dirt: Wyoming Stories 2, a collection of short stories published in 2005
- Fine Just the Way It Is: Wyoming Stories 3, a collection of short stories published in 2008
- Bird Cloud, a memoir, published in January 2011
Photo of Annie Proulx's book Bird Cloud courtesy of Amazon.
Brokeback Mountain
Annie Proulx wrote the short story.
Close Range: Wyoming Stories is a collection of short stories, including Brokeback Mountain, which was made into a feature film starring Heath Ledger and Jack Gylllenhaal in 2005. Screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana adapted the short story for the screen.
The short story Brokeback Mountain originally was published in The New Yorker. Proulx won
The short story Brokeback Mountain originally was published in The New Yorker. Proulx won
When asked is she knew growing up that she wanted to be a writer,
Annie Proulx said:
"No. I never thought of myself as a writer. I only backed into it through having to make a living.
And then I discovered that I could actually do it. I thought there was some arcane fellowship that you knew at birth that you had to belong to in order to be a writer."
Source: The Paris Review
Annie Proulx's Nonfiction Books
Cider and Bird Cloud
Annie Proulx's first book, Cider: Making, Using, and Enjoying Sweet and Hard Cider, was published in 1980.
Proulx's memoir, Bird Cloud. was published in 2011. Bird Cloud is the name of her ranch in Wyoming. The book chronicles the building of the house, the hardship of living there in the winter, and her disappointment in general with the results.
Proulx's memoir, Bird Cloud. was published in 2011. Bird Cloud is the name of her ranch in Wyoming. The book chronicles the building of the house, the hardship of living there in the winter, and her disappointment in general with the results.
Short Story Collections by Annie Proulx
Heart Songs and Other Stories
Close Range: Wyoming Stories
Bad Dirt: Wyoming Stories 2
Fine Just the Way It Is: Wyoming Stories 3
Close Range: Wyoming Stories
Bad Dirt: Wyoming Stories 2
Fine Just the Way It Is: Wyoming Stories 3
Annie Proulx's Novels
Postcards
The Shipping News, which was made into a movie starring Kevin Spacey, Judi Dench, and Julianne Moore
Accordian Crimes
That Old Ace in the Hole
The Shipping News, which was made into a movie starring Kevin Spacey, Judi Dench, and Julianne Moore
Accordian Crimes
That Old Ace in the Hole
Annie Proulx Interviews
Read more about this opinionated author.
- Paris Review - The Art of Fiction No. 199, Annie Proulx
- The Paris Review is a literary magazine featuring original writing, art, and in-depth interviews with famous writers.
- The desert that breaks Annie Proulx's heart -- High Country News
- Annie Proulx does not love the Red Desert in southern Wyoming. That's what she says, anyway, though she's spent the last six years writing and editing a nonfiction book about the place.
"I think it's dangerous to love the desert," says the writer, who is known for telling brutal stories about rough, out-on-the-edge places and the people who live in them. "Because it's a heartbreaker to see what's happening to it. You know -- to watch its destruction." - Annie Proulx | VICE
- I have to admit that when they first hit the store shelves of the world, I skipped over Annie Proulx's books. Maybe it was the titles, Heartsongs and Other Stories, Postcards. I just figured it for melancholic sepia-toned lady lit. Then at some point in the 90s a friend handed me a copy of The Shipping News, with the recommendation that it was one of the finest things he'd ever read.
- A Good Book is Awaiting: Bird Cloud by Annie Proulx
- I love reading Annie Proulx's novels, but this memoir, not so much. Bird Cloud. It's the name of the book and the ranch she built. First she bought some land in Wyoming. The day she first saw the land, there was a cloud in the sky shaped like a bird.
Do you have a favorite Annie Proulx book?
Loading poll. Please Wait...
Awards for Annie Proulx
Proulx's first novel Postcards won the 1993 PEN/Faulkner Award.
The Shipping News, Proulx's second novel, was her first major writing success. The novel set in stark Newfoundland won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Heartland Award from the Chicago Tribune, and the International Fiction Prize from the Irish Times. The Shipping News was made into a major motion picture starring Kevin Spacey, Judi Dench, and Julianne Moore.
Proulx's next thrust into the limelight came when a 30-page short story tucked at the end of a collection of short stories was made into a movie. Brokeback Mountain, the movie, was based on the short story from Proulx's book Close Range: Wyoming Stories. The short story was originally published in The New Yorker and won a National Magazine Award. It also won an O. Henry Short Story Award in 1988. The movie Brokeback Mountain featured Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.
The Shipping News, Proulx's second novel, was her first major writing success. The novel set in stark Newfoundland won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Heartland Award from the Chicago Tribune, and the International Fiction Prize from the Irish Times. The Shipping News was made into a major motion picture starring Kevin Spacey, Judi Dench, and Julianne Moore.
Proulx's next thrust into the limelight came when a 30-page short story tucked at the end of a collection of short stories was made into a movie. Brokeback Mountain, the movie, was based on the short story from Proulx's book Close Range: Wyoming Stories. The short story was originally published in The New Yorker and won a National Magazine Award. It also won an O. Henry Short Story Award in 1988. The movie Brokeback Mountain featured Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Please let us know you dropped by to read about Annie Proulx.
-
-
lestroischenes Feb 3, 2012 @ 4:19 am | delete
- I've only read The Shipping News and just loved it. I've borrowed Accordian Crimes, so I'm looking forward to that. Heard an adaptation of Bird Cloud on BBC Radio 4 and it was fabulous. Even quite liked the film Brokeback Mountain. You could say I'm an Annie Proulx fan! Nice lens and many thanks for the pronunciation guide. Much needed.
-
How about a thumbs up for Annie Proulx?
Thank you!
This module only appears with actual data when viewed on a live lens. The favorite and lensroll options will appear on a live lens if the viewer is a member of Squidoo and logged in.
I've read all of Annie Proulx's books
except Cider and the third Wyoming Stories collection.
I may not read Cider but I'll read Just Fine the Way It Is one of these days.
by scarlettohairy
I'm a big fan of Annie Proulx's writing. If you want to read an engrossing story that's well written, grab one of her novels or collections of short s... more »
- 244 featured lenses
- Winner of 38 trophies!
- Top lens » Printable Hidden Pictures
Feeling creative?
Create a Lens!
Explore related pages
The Ashley Book of Knots
Annie Proulx uses quotes from this book throughout her novel The Shipping News.
The Ashley Book of Knots
Amazon Price: $47.82 (as of 05/28/2012)
A Jury of Her Peers
Includes writing by Annie Proulx
A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx
Amazon Price: $7.52 (as of 05/28/2012)
Understaning Annie Proulx
Understanding Annie Proulx
Amazon Price: $29.21 (as of 05/28/2012)
