Blake Bailey is an American writer, born on 1st of July 1963. He has spent his life writing literary biographies of famous writers and novelists such as John Cheever, Charles Jackson and Philip Roth. His most popular biography so far is that of Richard Yates. Blake’s latest work was a Library of America omnibus edition of Cheever’s stories and novels which he edited for publication in 2008.
Age And Background
Blake Bailey is an author who has been writing for more than 30 years. He grew up in Oklahoma City, went to high school at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School and graduated from Tulane University in 1985.
Between the year 2009 till 2010, he was Writer in Residence at The College of William and Mary in Virginia. From 2010 to 2016, he was the Mina Hohenberg Darden Professor of Creative Writing at Old Dominion University.
Blake Bailey is a 58 years old journalist and biographer. He was born on 1 July 1963 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His father Fredrick travelled for a company while his mother set up shop after his husband’s work dried up.
Career
Blake Bailey had a career spanning over thirty years. He was born in Oklahoma City and attended high school there before attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he received his bachelor’s degree. Bailey grew up to be 58 years old, and has been writing for over three decades!
Blake Bailey started his career immediately after college, he wrote occasional freelance pieces. Bailey was taught gifted eighth-graders at Lusher Middle School in New Orleans in the 1990s.
As of 2003, after publishing a long critical profile of Richard Yates, Bailey contracted to write a full-length biography of the novelist, A Tragic Honesty: The Life and Work of Richard Yates.
Bailey bagged an award as at 2005 in a Guggenheim Fellowship to work on his biography Cheever (A Life) which won the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award among other honors. He also woeked on editing a two volume edition of Cheever’s work for the Library of America.
Bailey published his biography of the novelist Charles Jackson, Farther & Wilder which are The Lost Weekends and Literary Dreams of Charles Jackson in 2013, as well as a memoir, The Splendid Things We Planned: A Family Portrait in 2014.
According to the New York Times published interview on 17 November 2012, Philip Roth said that “Bailey was his official biographer and at work on that project” While Roth was alive, he gave Bailey exclusive access to papers, friends, family and made himself available for much interviews. Bailey’s 880-page biography of Roth which was given a titled by Philip Roth “The Biography” was published in the United States by W. W. Norton & Company on 6 April 2021 which took place in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape on 8 April in 2021.
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Awards and honors
Many people are familiar with the term “award” in terms of film and television. But have you ever considered an award for your own work? Getting awards can be a great way to boost morale, as well as boosting company visibility through media attention. Awards also help to establish credibility in your field or industry by making it clear that other professionals see the value of your work. In order to get an award, you need to know how they are given, what qualifies for one, and where they come from. The following is a list of some popular awards bagged by Blake Bailey.
– National Book Critics Circle Award finalist for A Tragic Honesty: The Life and Work of Richard Yates in 2003.
– Guggenheim Fellowship for Cheever: A Life in 2005.
– National Book Critics Circle Award winner for Cheever: A Life in 2009
– 2009 Francis Parkman Prize winner for Cheever: A Life in 2009.
– Pulitzer Prize finalist for Cheever: A Life in 2009.
– James Tait Black Memorial Prize finalist for Cheever: A Life in 2009.
– Academy Award in Literature given by the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2010.
– National Book Critics Circle Award (Autobiography) finalist for The Splendid Things We Planned in 2014.
5 Writing Tips From Blake Bailey
Have you ever wanted to be a writer? Well, if so, I have 5 tips from Blake Bailey that will help you become one!
Blake Bailey is an author and professor of English at the University of Iowa. He has written biographies on three authors: John Cheever, Richard Yates and J.D. Salinger.
Bailey’s most recent book is “The Splendid Things We Planned”, which covers the life of John Cheever and his struggle with alcoholism in the 1950s and 1960s.
1. Write about things that really interest you.
2. Be quiet and listen.
3. Action is Characters.
4. Be prepared.
5. If possible, be funny.
Brief Explanation
1. Write about things that really interest you: What do you write about? This is a question that many people struggle with. It’s not always easy to figure out what to write about, and it can be hard to find something that really interests you. But the good news is that there are plenty of things from which to choose! For example, if you love movies, then writing about movie reviews might be an excellent way for you to share your passion with your audience or reader’s.
2. Be quiet and listen: Be quiet and listen s not just a popular phrase, it’s the best advice you’ll ever hear. When you are quiet, you hear nothing but the sound of your own breath and thoughts. The world around you is silent, with no distractions to pry away at your focus. There’s just you and what’s in front of you: a blank canvas, an empty word document, or a clean slate that begs for creativity to come forth from within. It may seem daunting at first, but listen deeply- there are secrets waiting to be unlocked by those who dare step out of their comfort zones. Hone in on the quiet moments; take time each day to soak up silence and allow it to nourish your creative soul. As we all know too well, life can get noisy very quickly- so create pockets of peace where you are at that particular moment.
3. Action is Characters: Your characters are the central focus of your story. They are what drives action and conflict in your narrative. If you’re a writer, then they are likely some of your favorite people to talk about too! But how can you make them more interesting? What follows is an introduction to character design that will help you think about who these people really are.
– A compelling protagonist needs a goal or motivation, something that intrigues us enough to want to spend time with them on their journey.
– Supporting characters should be just as well developed as the protagonist, even if they have fewer lines in the story; it’s important for readers to understand why they do what they do and react accordingly.
4. Be prepared: You may not think it’s a big deal, but being prepared as a writer is one of the most important things you can do. It is easy to get caught up in the writing process and forget that there are other steps to take before publishing your work for the world to see.
5. If possible, be funny: If you are funny and have a sense of humor, then being a writer is one of the best jobs in the world. You get to make people laugh all day long while getting paid for it! The key to being funny is to be original. It’s okay if not everyone understands your jokes or finds them funny – as long as they’re somewhat unusual, you’ll stand out from the crowd!