Russell Banks

Russell Banks (born March 28, 1940 in Newton, Massachusetts) is an American writer of fiction and poetry.

Life and work

Russell Banks is a member of the International Parliament of Writers and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His work has been translated into twenty languages and has received numerous international prizes and awards. He likes to write fiction books under the label of non-fiction books, such as "Dreaming up America". His main works include the novels "Continental Drift", "Rule of the Bone", "Cloudsplitter", "The Sweet Hereafter", and "Affliction". The latter two novels were each made into feature films in 1997; see "Affliction" (film).

Many of Banks' works reflect his working-class upbringing in upstate New York, specifically, the Adirondacks. His stories often show people facing tragedy and downturns in everyday life, expressing sadness and self-doubt, but also showing resilience and strength in the face of their difficulties.

Banks has also written short stories, some of which appear in the collection "The Angel on the Roof", as well as poetry. He has written a movie adaptation of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" for producer Francis Ford Coppola, which was slated for production in 2006. [cite web|url= http://www.identitytheory.com/interviews/birnbaum156.php|date= January 18 2005|accessdate= 2007-12-09| title= Interview: Russell Banks|work= IdentityTheory.com] It is not known if Banks's screenplay will be used in the final version. Banks's novel "The Darling" is going to be made into a feature film directed by Martin Scorsese, with Cate Blanchett in the main role. [cite web|url= http://www.barclayagency.com/banks_print.html|date= © 2007|accessdate= 2007-12-09| title= Russell Banks|work= The Steven Barclay Agency]

Banks was the 1985 recipient of the John Dos Passos Prize for fiction.

Banks lives in upstate New York, and has been named a New York State Author. He is presently also Artist-in-Residence at the University of Maryland.

Works

* 1974 " Snow" (poetry)
* 1975 "Searching for Survivors" (short story collection)
* 1975 "Family Life" (novel)
* 1978 "The New World" (short story collection)
* 1978 "Hamilton Stark" (novel)
* 1980 "The Book of Jamaica" (novel)
* 1981 "Trailerpark" (short story collection)
* 1983 "The Relation of My Imprisonment" (novel)
* 1985 "Continental Drift" (novel)
* 1986 "Success Stories" (short story collection)
* 1989 "Affliction" (novel)
* 1991 "The Sweet Hereafter" (novel)
* 1995 "Rule of the Bone" (novel)
* 1998 "Cloudsplitter" (novel)
* 1998 "Invisible Stranger (nonfiction)"
* 2000 "The Angel on the Roof" (short story collection)
* 2004 "The Darling" (novel)
* 2008 "The Reserve" (novel)
* 2008 "Dreaming Up America" (nonfiction)

Notes

References

* [http://wiredforbooks.org/russellbanks/ 1989, 1991 interviews with Russell Banks] by Don Swaim at Wired for Books
* [http://www.guernicamag.com/interviews/81/telling_details/ Author interview in Guernica Magazine (Guernicamag.com)]
* http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/banksr.html
* [http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=174 Russell Banks reads his short story "The Moor" on This American Life]

=External Links=
* [http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/research/fa/banks.html Russell Banks Collection] at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin
* [http://www.biblioblog.fr/index.php/post/2008/04/16/Interview-of-Russell-Banks Interview] march 2008
* [http://www.cercles.com/interviews/banks.html] interview with Russell Banks when "The Darling" was published