David Wright (born 1964) is an American writer.

Early life and education

Wright grew up in Borger, Texas. His mother is a white

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

woman who survived the Nazi occupation of Paris. Her parents were affluent, assimilated

French Jews The history of the Jews in France deals with Jews and Jewish communities in France since at least the Early Middle Ages. France was a centre of Jewish learning in the Middle Ages, but Persecution of Jews, persecution increased over time, includ ...

. His mother was a member of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

; she immigrated to the US in the 1950s as the GI bride of an African-American soldier. He holds a BA from

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowling ...

and an MFA from the

MFA Program for Poets & Writers MFA may refer to: Organizations * Marine and Fisheries Agency, a former UK government executive agency * Ministry of Foreign Affairs (including a list of ministries with the name) * Movement of the Forces of the Future (french: Mouvement des Forc ...

at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

. He also studied at the

École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and ''grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The ...

. Before he started teaching creative writing, he was a player/coach on various American football teams in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He teaches at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. He has also published under the name "David Wright Faladé", in honor of his biological father. His father Maximien Faladé was a devout Catholic from

Porto-Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Gu ...

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

, the grandson of Béhanzin, the last King of

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...

Works

Books

* ''Black Cloud Rising'', Atlantic Monthly Press, February 2022. * *

Short stories

*"The Sand Banks, 1861" (2020)

Documentary film

*''Rescue Men: The Story of the Pea Island Lifesavers'' (2010).

Television journalism

* "The Pea Island Story", co-written and co-produced with Stephanie Frederic and David Zoby. Aired on '' BET Tonight'', February 1999.

Awards

* 2017:

International Board on Books for Young People The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is an international non-profit organization committed to bringing books and children together. The headquarters of the IBBY are located in Basel, Switzerland. IBBY history In 1952, Jella Lepm ...

, grades 9–12, ''Away Running'' * 2011: Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program,

Universidade de São Paulo The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

, Brazil. * 2009: North Carolina Humanities Council, Large Grant, for production of Rescue Men: The Story of the Pea Island Lifesavers. * 2005: Dobie-Paisano Fellowship, University of Texas and the Texas Institute of Letters. * 2004: Tennessee Williams Scholar, Sewanee Writers’ Conference. * 1999:

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

, Summer Institute for College and University Faculty Fellow,

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...

Institute for Afro-American Research,

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, "The Civil Rights Movement: History and Consequences". * 1997–1998: Chancellor’s Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship, Afro-American Studies and Research Program,

. * 1994:

Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on Hoodoo (spirituality), hoodoo. The most ...

/ Richard Wright Award, the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation, Fairfax, VA. * 1993:

Paul Cuffe Paul Cuffe, also known as Paul Cuffee (January 17, 1759 – September 7, 1817) was an American businessman, whaler and abolitionist. Born free into a multiracial family on Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts, Cuffe became a successful merchant and ...

Memorial Fellowship, Munson Institute of American Maritime Studies, Mystic, Connecticut.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, David African-American Jews African-American novelists American people of Beninese descent American people of French-Jewish descent University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty Harvard Fellows 1964 births Living people University of Massachusetts Amherst MFA Program for Poets & Writers alumni Carleton College alumni Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime History alumni People from Borger, Texas 21st-century American novelists 21st-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American people Fulbright alumni