Ernest Gaines
Encyclopedia
Ernest James Gaines is an African-American author
. His works have been taught in college classrooms and translated into many languages, including French, Spanish, German, Russian and Chinese. Four of his works have been made into television movies.
His 1993 novel, A Lesson Before Dying
, won the National Book Critics Circle Award
for fiction. Gaines has been a MacArthur Foundation
fellow, awarded the National Humanities Medal
, and inducted into the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
(Order of Arts and Letters) as a Chevalier.
in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana
. This became the setting and premise for many of his later works. He was the oldest of 12 children, raised by his aunt, who was crippled and had to crawl to get around the house. Although born generations after the end of slavery
, Gaines grew up impoverished, in old slave quarters on the plantation
.
Gaines' first six years of school took place in the plantation church. When the children were not picking cotton
in the fields, a visiting teacher came for five to six months of the year to provide basic education. Gaines then spent three years at St. Augustine School, a Catholic school for African Americans in New Roads
. Pointe Coupée Parish schooling for African-American children did not continue beyond the eighth grade during this time.
When he was fifteen, Gaines moved to Vallejo, California
, to join his mother and stepfather, who had left Louisiana during World War II
. His first novel was written at age 17, while babysitting his youngest brother, Michael. According to one account, he wrapped it in brown paper, tied it with string, and sent it to a New York publisher, who rejected it. Gaines burned the manuscript, but later rewrote it to become his first published novel, Catherine Carmier.
In 1956, Gaines published his first short story, The Turtles, in a college magazine at San Francisco State University
(SFSU). He earned a degree in literature in 1957 from SFSU. After spending two years in the Army, he won a writing fellowship to Stanford University
.
Since 1984, Gaines has spent the first half of every year in San Francisco and the second half in Lafayette
, where he teaches a creative writing
workshop every autumn at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
In 1996, Gaines spent a full semester as a visiting professor at the University of Rennes
in France where he taught the first Creative Writing class ever offered in the French University system.
Gaines currently lives on Louisiana Highway 1
in Oscar, Louisiana
, where he and his wife built a home on part of the old plantation where he grew up. He had the church he grew up with moved to his property. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/09/ernest.gaines.cemetery/index.html?hpt=C1
and established in 2007 to honor Gaines' legacy. Submissions of fiction from African-American writers are eligible. The selected recipient receives a US$
10,000 award and a commemorative sculpture created by artist Robert Moreland.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. His works have been taught in college classrooms and translated into many languages, including French, Spanish, German, Russian and Chinese. Four of his works have been made into television movies.
His 1993 novel, A Lesson Before Dying
A Lesson Before Dying
A Lesson Before Dying is Ernest J. Gaines' eighth novel, published in 1993.-Point of view:The reader is given a unique outlook on the status of African Americans in the South, after World War II and before the Civil Rights Movement...
, won the National Book Critics Circle Award
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book Critics Circle to promote the finest books and reviews published in English....
for fiction. Gaines has been a MacArthur Foundation
MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the United States. Based in Chicago but supporting non-profit organizations that work in 60 countries, MacArthur has awarded more than US$4 billion since its inception in 1978...
fellow, awarded the National Humanities Medal
National Humanities Medal
The National Humanities Medal honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities, broadened citizens’ engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to important resources in the humanities.The award, given by the...
, and inducted into the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
(Order of Arts and Letters) as a Chevalier.
Biography
Gaines was among the fifth generation of his sharecropper family to be born on the plantationPlantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana
Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana
Pointe Coupee Parish, pronounced "Pwent Koo-Pay" and , is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is New Roads. As of 2000, the population was 22,763....
. This became the setting and premise for many of his later works. He was the oldest of 12 children, raised by his aunt, who was crippled and had to crawl to get around the house. Although born generations after the end of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, Gaines grew up impoverished, in old slave quarters on the plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
.
Gaines' first six years of school took place in the plantation church. When the children were not picking cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
in the fields, a visiting teacher came for five to six months of the year to provide basic education. Gaines then spent three years at St. Augustine School, a Catholic school for African Americans in New Roads
New Roads, Louisiana
New Roads is a city in and the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The center of population of Louisiana is located in New Roads . The population was 4,996 at the 2000 census. The city's ZIP code is 70760...
. Pointe Coupée Parish schooling for African-American children did not continue beyond the eighth grade during this time.
When he was fifteen, Gaines moved to Vallejo, California
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
, to join his mother and stepfather, who had left Louisiana during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His first novel was written at age 17, while babysitting his youngest brother, Michael. According to one account, he wrapped it in brown paper, tied it with string, and sent it to a New York publisher, who rejected it. Gaines burned the manuscript, but later rewrote it to become his first published novel, Catherine Carmier.
In 1956, Gaines published his first short story, The Turtles, in a college magazine at San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
(SFSU). He earned a degree in literature in 1957 from SFSU. After spending two years in the Army, he won a writing fellowship to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Since 1984, Gaines has spent the first half of every year in San Francisco and the second half in Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
, where he teaches a creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
workshop every autumn at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
In 1996, Gaines spent a full semester as a visiting professor at the University of Rennes
University of Rennes 2 - Upper Brittany
The University of Rennes 2 is a French university in Upper Brittany, one of four in the Academy of Rennes.The main campus is situated in the northwest section of Rennes in the Villejean neighborhood not far from the other campus, located at La Harpe.-Creation of the University of Brittany:Asked...
in France where he taught the first Creative Writing class ever offered in the French University system.
Gaines currently lives on Louisiana Highway 1
Louisiana Highway 1
Louisiana Highway 1 is a state highway in Louisiana. At 436.20 miles , it is the longest numbered highway of any class in Louisiana. It runs diagonally across the state, connecting the oil and gas fields near the island of Grand Isle with the northwest corner of the state, north of Shreveport.The...
in Oscar, Louisiana
Oscar, Louisiana
Oscar is an unincorporated community located in the southeastern portion of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana . It is located primarily along Louisiana Highway 1 on the southern end of False River. Famous residents include renowned author Ernest Gaines. This community was formerly home to the...
, where he and his wife built a home on part of the old plantation where he grew up. He had the church he grew up with moved to his property. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/09/ernest.gaines.cemetery/index.html?hpt=C1
Awards
- Academy of Achievement Golden Plate AwardAcademy of AchievementThe Academy of Achievement is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization founded in 1961 by photographer Hy Peskin. He established the Academy of Achievement to bring aspiring young people together with accomplished people...
(2001) - ChevalierKnightA knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
(Knight) of the Order of Art and LettersOrdre des Arts et des LettresThe Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
(France) (2000) - The American Academy of Arts and Letters Department of Literature (2000)
- The National Governors’ Arts Award (2000)
- The Louisiana Writer Award (2000)
- National Humanities MedalNational Humanities MedalThe National Humanities Medal honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities, broadened citizens’ engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to important resources in the humanities.The award, given by the...
(2000) - National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction (1993)
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation fellowMacArthur Fellows ProgramThe MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...
(1993) - Dos Passos PrizeDos Passos PrizeThe John Dos Passos Prize is awarded annually to the best currently under-recognized American writer in the middle of their career.The Prize was founded at Longwood University in 1980 and is meant to honor John Dos Passos by recognizing other writers in his name...
(1993) - Louisiana Humanist of the Year (1993)
- Solomon R. Guggenheim FoundationSolomon R. Guggenheim FoundationThe Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1937 by philanthropist Solomon R. Guggenheim and artist Hilla von Rebay. The first museum established by the foundation was the "Museum of Non-Objective Art", which was housed in rented space on Park Avenue in New York....
fellow (1971) - National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
grant (1967) - Wallace StegnerWallace StegnerWallace Earle Stegner was an American historian, novelist, short story writer, and environmentalist, often called "The Dean of Western Writers"...
fellow (1957)
Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
An award sponsored by the Baton Rouge Area FoundationBaton Rouge Area Foundation
Baton Rouge Area Foundation is a community foundation dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in Louisiana's capital region, and is registered with the IRS as a 501 tax-deductible nonprofit organization...
and established in 2007 to honor Gaines' legacy. Submissions of fiction from African-American writers are eligible. The selected recipient receives a US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
10,000 award and a commemorative sculpture created by artist Robert Moreland.