Wally Lamb
Wally Lamb | |
---|---|
Born | Walter John Lamb October 17, 1950 Norwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
Occupation | Novelist |
Education | University of Connecticut (BA, MA) Vermont College of Fine Arts (MFA) |
Website | |
Official website |
Wally Lamb (born October 17, 1950)[1] is an American author known as the writer of the novels She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True, both of which were selected for Oprah's Book Club.[2][3][4] He was the director of the Writing Center at Norwich Free Academy in Norwich from 1989 to 1998[5] and has taught Creative Writing in the English Department at the University of Connecticut.[6]
Early life
Lamb was born to a working class family in Norwich, Connecticut.[1] Three Rivers, the fictional town where several of his novels are set, is based on Norwich and the nearby towns of New London, Willimantic,[7] in Connecticut as well as Westerly, Rhode Island.[2] As a child, Lamb loved to draw and create his own comic books—activities which, he says, gave him "a leg up" on the imagery and colloquial dialogue that characterize his stories.[8] He credits his ability to write in female voices, as well as male, with having grown up with older sisters in a neighborhood largely populated by girls.
After graduating from high school, Lamb studied at the
Writing
Lamb began writing in 1981, the year he became a father.
Lamb's third novel,
Teaching
For 25 years, Lamb taught English and writing at the Norwich Free Academy,[17] a regional high school that was his alma mater.[5] In his last years at the school, Lamb designed and implemented the school's Writing Center, where he instructed students in writing across the disciplines.[18] As a result of his work for this program, he was chosen the Norwich Free Academy's first Teacher of the Year and later was named a finalist for the honor of Connecticut Teacher of the Year (1989).[19] From 1997 to 1999, Lamb was an Associate Professor in the English Department at the University of Connecticut.[20] As the school's Director of Creative Writing, he originated a student-staffed literary and arts magazine, The Long River Review.[21]
Prison work
From 1999 to 2019, Lamb facilitated a writing program for incarcerated women at the
The publication of the first book became a source of controversy and media attention when, a week before its release, the State of Connecticut unexpectedly sued its incarcerated contributors—not for the six thousand dollars each writer would collect after her release from prison but for the entire cost of her incarceration, calculated at $117 per day times the number of days in her prison sentence.
Influences
Lamb says he is influenced by masters of long- and short-form fiction, among them
Honors and awards
Lamb's writing awards include grants from the
Teaching awards for Lamb include a national Apple Computers "Thanks to Teachers" Excellence Award[27] and the Barnes & Noble "Writers Helping Writers" Award for his work with incarcerated women.[6] Lamb has received Honorary Doctoral Degrees from several colleges and universities and was awarded Distinguished Alumni awards from Vermont College of Fine Arts and the University of Connecticut.[12][27]
Personal life
Lamb lives in Connecticut with his wife and three sons.[3][5][1][24]
Bibliography
Fiction
- She's Come Undone (1992)
- I Know This Much Is True (1998)
- The Hour I First Believed (2008)
- Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story (2009) - Made into the 2014 Lifetime film Wishin' and Hopin'
- We Are Water (2013)
- I'll Take You There (2016)
Non-fiction
- Couldn't Keep It To Myself: Testimonies from Our Imprisoned Sisters(2003)
- I'll Fly Away: Further Testimonies from the Women of York Prison (2007)
Sources
- Barreca, Regina. Don't Tell Mama: The Penguin Book of Italian American Writing. New York: Penguin Books, 2002.
- Goldberg, Carole. "Lamb for Christmas: Writer Takes Different Tack in Fourth Novel, Lacing It With Much More Humor, Less Pathos." The Hartford Courant November 15, 2009: G6, G8. Print.
- Lamb, Wally. "P.S. Insights, Interviews, and More." The Hour I First Believed, Perennial Edition. New York: HarperCollins, 2009.
- Lamb, Wally. "P.S. Insights, Interviews, and More." I Know This Much Is True, Perennial Edition. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.
- Lamb, Wally. "Revisions and Corrections." I'll Fly Away: Further Testimonies from the Women of York Prison. Ed. Wally Lamb. New York: HarperCollins, 2007.
- Lamb, Wally. "Notes to the Reader" and "Couldn't Keep It To Ourselves." Couldn't Keep It To Myself: Testimonies From Our Imprisoned Sisters. Ed. Wally Lamb. New York: HarperCollins, 2003.
- McClurg, Jocelyn. "'Oprah Effect' Strikes Wally Lamb Again." Hartford Courant June 19, 1998: A1, A14.
- Shoup, Barbara and Margaret Love Denman. Novel Ideas: Contemporary Authors Share the Creative Process. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2001.
References
- ^ a b c d "Wally Lamb bio". StarTribune.com. November 14, 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Lamb, Wally (1998). Braided Cords. I Know This Much Is True, Perennial ed. New York: HarperCollins.
- ^ a b c "Wally Lamb". HarperCollins. Archived from the original on April 9, 2012.
- ^ McClurg, Jocelyn (June 19, 1998). "'Oprah Effect' Strikes Again". No. CLX.170. Hartford Courant.
- ^ a b c d e f Peck, Claude (November 16, 2008). "Breaking His Silence". Star Tribune. pp. E1, E10.
- ^ a b c "Wally Lamb". Goodreads, Inc. January 25, 2012.
- ^ a b Stroebel, Ken (May 18, 1998). "Second Effort: Lamb Finds Success a Tough Act to Follow". Norwich Bulletin.
- ^ a b Strauss, Alix (October–November 1998). "Master of Character". Book. pp. 35–37.
- ^ Koster, Rick (November 30, 2008). "Tragedy's Collateral Damage: Wally Lamb Discusses His Latest Novel, The Hour I First Believed". The Day.
- ^ a b c "Wally Lamb". Book Report, Inc. January 25, 2012.
- ^ "Wally Lamb". Missouri Review. January 25, 2012.
- ^ a b "I Know This Much Is True". Harpo, Inc. June 18, 1998.
- ^ Lamb, Wally (2009). On Writing The Hour I First Believed. Perennial Ed. New York: HarperCollins.
- ^ Koster, Rick (November 30, 2008). "Tragedy's Collateral Damage: Wally Lamb Discusses His Latest Novel, The Hour I First Believed". The Day.
- ^ Goldberg, Carol (November 15, 2009). "Lamb for Christmas: Writer Takes Different Tack in Fourth Novel, Lacing it with Much More Humor, Less Pathos". Hartford Courant.
- ^ a b Haupt, Jennifer (March 1, 2011). "Wally Lamb Talks About the Healing Power of Stories". Psychology Today. One True Thing.
- ^ Associated Press. "Lamb Credits His Teaching Experience." USA Today. December 2, 1999. Web. Jan 30, 2012.https://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/books/b493.htm.
- ISBN 978-0-06-098756-5.
- ^ McClurg, Jocelyn (July 26, 1992). "Author Climbed Inside Head of 'Undone' Character Dolores, or Vice". The Hartford Courant.
- ^ "Lamb, Wally." Encyclopedia.com. n.d. Web. January 30, 2012.
- ^ "Affiliated Programs". English.uconn.edu. University of Connecticut Department of English. n.d. January 25, 2012.
- ^ "You Don't Know Me". www.counterpointpress.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2019.
- ^ a b c Leung, Rebecca (December 5, 2007). "'Couldn't Keep It To Myself.'". 60 Minutes. CBS News.
- ^ a b "Wally Lamb". AEI Speakers Bureau. January 24, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Lamb, Wally. "Author's Picks: Twenty-one Books That Called Me to a Writing Life." I Know This Much Is True, Perennial Ed. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.
- ^ "Wally Lamb." Books.com. Consumer Web Help, inc. n. d. January 25, 2012. http://book.consumerhelpweb.com/authors/lamb/lamb.htm.
- ^ a b "Wally Lamb." VermontCollege.edu. Vermont College of Fine Arts. n.d. Web. January 25, 2012. http://www.vermontcollege.edu/node/154.