Claudia Rankine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Claudia Rankine
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Rankine in 2016
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| Born | September 4, 1963 Kingston, Jamaica |
| Occupation | Professor |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Williams College (BA) Columbia University (MFA) |
| Genre | Poetry; Playwright |
| Notable awards | MacArthur Fellow |
| Spouse | John Lucas |
Claudia Rankine (born September 4, 1963) is a talented writer from Jamaica and America. She writes poetry, essays, and plays. She has also edited several collections of writings by other authors.
Claudia Rankine has written five books of poetry and two plays. Her essays cover many different topics.
Her poetry book, Citizen: An American Lyric, won many important awards in 2014 and 2015. These include the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. It was the first book ever to be nominated for this award in both poetry and criticism. Citizen was also a finalist for the National Book Award. It even became a New York Times bestseller, which is very rare for a poetry book.
Rankine has received many other honors for her work. She was given the Academy Fellowship for poetry in 2005. In 2013, she became a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. She also received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2016, which is a very special award. In 2020, she was chosen as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Claudia Rankine has taught at several universities. She was a professor at Yale University. In 2021, she joined the Creative Writing Program at New York University as a professor.
Contents
About Claudia Rankine's Life and Work
Claudia Rankine was born in Kingston, Jamaica. She moved to the United States when she was a child. She grew up in New York City. She later studied at Williams College and Columbia University.
In 2003, Rankine began working as a professor at the University of Georgia. From 2006 to 2015, she taught English at Pomona College.
Her writings have appeared in many well-known magazines and journals. She also helped edit a collection called New Daughters of Africa. With another poet, Juliana Spahr, she co-edits a series called American Women Poets in the 21st Century.
Rankine's book Don't Let Me Be Lonely (2004) is a unique project. It mixes poetry, essays, and even ideas from television. Another poet, Robert Creeley, praised it as a "master work."
Claudia Rankine also wrote a play called The Provenance of Beauty: A South Bronx Travelogue. This play was recognized as an important new work in 2011.
In 2014, her famous poetry book Citizen: An American Lyric was published. This book explores important ideas about race and identity in America.
Rankine also creates documentary videos with her husband, John Lucas. He is a photographer and filmmaker. These video essays are called Situations.
Another poet, Mark Doty, said that Claudia Rankine's poems are very creative. He noted that her work explores the lines between poetry and prose. It also looks at how people are seen based on their skin color or background.
In 2023, a review of her 2001 book Plot was published. The reviewer, Kate Kellaway, said the book was brave. It explored the complex feelings a woman might have about pregnancy.
Rankine also started and leads something called the Racial Imaginary Institute. She describes it as a group that works with artists and organizations. They create art shows, readings, and discussions. These events help people think about the topic of race.
In 2017, Rankine worked with a dancer and choreographer named Will Rawls. They created a performance piece called What Remains. This work was performed at many places across the country. Rankine explained that they wanted to show feelings and actions without using many words.
The Racial Imaginary Institute: What It Does
The Racial Imaginary Institute (TRII) is a group started by Claudia Rankine in 2017. She used money from her MacArthur Grant to create it. TRII is a place for artists and writers to study "whiteness" and how race is an idea created by society.
The group's goal is to be a "cultural laboratory." Here, people can explore and understand ideas about race in our world.
Rankine hopes TRII will have its own building in New York City one day. For now, it works in different places. In 2017, the Whitney Museum hosted an event with TRII. It discussed ideas about race and art. In 2018, TRII presented an exhibition called "On Whiteness" in New York.
Awards and Special Honors
Claudia Rankine has received many awards for her writing:
- 1994: Cleveland State Poetry Prize for Nothing in Nature is Private.
- 2005: Academy Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets for her excellent poetry.
- 2014: National Book Critics Circle Award (Poetry) for Citizen: An American Lyric.
- 2014: Jackson Poetry Prize from Poets & Writers.
- 2015: PEN Open Book Award for Citizen.
- 2015: New York Times Bestseller for Citizen: An American Lyric.
- 2015: Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Poetry for Citizen: An American Lyric.
- 2015: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry for Citizen: An American Lyric.
- 2015: Forward Prize for Citizen: An American Lyric.
- 2016: MacArthur Fellowship.
- 2016: United States Artist Zell Fellowship.
- 2016: Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry for Citizen: An American Lyric.
- 2017: Honorary Doctor of Letters from Colgate University.
- 2017: John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for poetry.
- 2020: Elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- 2021: Elected an International Writer by the Royal Society of Literature.
See also
In Spanish: Claudia Rankine para niños
- American poetry
- Caribbean literature
- Caribbean poetry
Related Media
- Claudia Rankine poems, essays, and interviews at Poets.org
- Claudia Rankine, "'The Condition of Black Life Is One of Mourning'", The New York Times, June 22, 2015
- Claudia Rankine, "The Meaning of Serena Williams", The New York Times, August 25, 2015
- Situation Videos – video essays on current topics
- The Racial Imaginary Institute - official website
