Marilynne Robinson

writer, 2005 Pulitzer Prize

After graduating from Brown University in 1966, Marilynne Robinson enrolled in the graduate program in English at the University of Washington. While writing her dissertation, Robinson began work on her first novel, *Housekeeping* (1981). *Housekeeping* received the PEN/Hemingway award for best first novel and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. After the publication of *Housekeeping*, Robinson began writing essays and book reviews for *Harper's*,* Paris Review*, and *The New York Times Book Review*. She also started teaching, serving as writer-in-residence and visiting professor at numerous colleges and universities, including the University of Kent in England, Amherst College, and the University of Massachusetts. From an essay she wrote for Harper's, entitled "Bad News from Britain", Robinson wrote the controversial book *Mother Country: Britain, the Welfare State and Nuclear Pollution* (1989), a finalist for the National Book Award. In the tradition of 19th century novelists who turned to the essay, Robinson published a critically acclaimed collection in 1998 called *The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought*. Through essays on topics ranging from John Calvin to Darwinism to Freud and 20th century psychologists, the book examines and critiques the ideas our culture has handed down to us. Although Robinson has published only three books, she is widely regarded as one of America's best contemporary writers.