Cynthia Ozick facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cynthia Ozick
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| Born | April 17, 1928 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Education | Hunter College High School New York University (BA) Ohio State University (MA) |
| Period | 1966–present |
| Notable awards | American Academy of Arts and Letters, 1988 |
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Cynthia Ozick (born April 17, 1928) is an American writer. She is well-known for her short stories, novels, and essays. Her work often explores important ideas about life and identity.
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About Cynthia Ozick
Cynthia Ozick was born in New York City. She grew up in the Bronx with her parents, Celia and William Ozick. Her parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia. They owned a pharmacy called Park View Pharmacy.
Her Education and Family
Cynthia went to Hunter College High School in Manhattan. She earned her bachelor's degree from New York University. Later, she got her master's degree in English literature from Ohio State University. There, she studied the novels of Henry James.
Cynthia Ozick was married to Bernard Hallote, a lawyer, until he passed away in 2017. Their daughter, Rachel Hallote, is a history professor at SUNY Purchase. Rachel also leads the Jewish studies program there. Cynthia Ozick is the niece of a Hebrew scholar named Abraham Regelson.
Yale University has collected her important writings and papers.
What Cynthia Ozick Writes About
Ozick's stories and essays often focus on Jewish American life. But she also writes about other topics. These include politics, history, and thoughts on other books. She has also written and translated poetry.
Key Themes in Her Work
The writer Henry James is very important in her fiction and non-fiction. Critics have noted how much his work has influenced her own.
The Holocaust and its effects are also a major theme in her writing. For example, in her essay "Who Owns Anne Frank?", she writes that the true meaning of Anne Frank's diary has been changed over time. Much of her work looks at how people rebuild their identity. This includes after moving to a new country or experiencing difficult events.
Ozick has said that writing is not a choice for her. She describes it as a "hallucinatory madness." She feels she must write no matter what. She finds both freedom and struggle in creating stories.
Awards and Praise
Cynthia Ozick has won many awards for her writing.
Major Awards and Recognition
- In 1971, she received the Edward Lewis Wallant Award. She also won the National Jewish Book Award for her short story collection The Pagan Rabbi and Other Stories.
- In 1977, she won The National Jewish Book Award for Fiction for Bloodshed and Three Novellas.
- In 1997, she received the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay for Fame and Folly.
- Four of her stories have won first prize in the O. Henry competition.
- In 1986, she was the first person to win the Rea Award for the Short Story.
- In 2000, she won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Quarrel & Quandary.
- Her novel Heir to the Glimmering World (2004) received great praise.
- Ozick was considered for the 2005 Man Booker International Prize.
- In 2008, she received the PEN/Nabokov Award and the PEN/Malamud Award. This last award honors great short story writers.
- Her novel Foreign Bodies was shortlisted for the Orange Prize (2012) and the Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize (2013).
What Critics Say
The novelist David Foster Wallace called Ozick one of the greatest living American writers. She has been described as "the Athena of America's literary pantheon." People also call her the "Emily Dickinson of the Bronx." Many see her as one of the most skilled and graceful writers of her time.
See also
In Spanish: Cynthia Ozick para niños
- Jewish American literature
