2008 Woodie Awards
Maureen Howard remembers the place she came from
Ashley Winseck
Issue date: 12/8/05 Section: News
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"History set me down in Bridgeport, Conn. at the beginning of the depression. It, to me, remains a fascinating city, because it is my city," said Howard.
Howard is the author of nine novels as well as many essays and memoirs. She has also applied her talent to the introductions to works by Edith Wharton and Virginia Woolf.
Along with "Natural History", her novels, "Grace Abounding", and "Expensive Habits" became nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award. In 1978, her book "Facts of Life," was given the National Book Critics Circle Award for Non-Fiction, and in 1997 she was presented with the Award in Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Howard was also awarded the 24th John Dos Passos Prize for Literature this year. In addition to her novels, she also teaches at Columbia University.
Professor Michelle Loris had the honor of introducing Howard, describing her work as, "stories that are eloquent and lyrical."
The importance of going back to your roots, to your original "place," served as the basis of Howard's speech. She told the audience that one of her main interests has been reinventing the place she came from, Bridgeport, in terms of both her stories and her characters.
"The past is not an easy trip, nor is history," said Howard, "[but] I have been obsessed with where history has set me down and the idea that writer's need to figure that out."
"From above, start with the privileged few..." said Howard; reading from her novel "Natural History." Howard shared how she attempted to map the city of Bridgeport.
She uses place as the basis for developing her characters, as well as her stories.
"When I think about the ability to get where you want to be as a writer, I feel there are people who have been unbelievably brave," said Howard.
She did not claim that she herself had ever been so brave, but she did attribute credit to another author. Howard said that Herman Melville had had the most influence on her as a writer.