Joan Cooper (November 10, 1931 in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

– September 20, 2014 in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

), known by her pen name, J. California Cooper, was an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. She wrote 17 plays and was named Black Playwright of the Year in 1978 for her play ''Strangers''.

Life and career

Cooper took inspiration from Thomas Lanier Williams’s adopted name “Tennessee" and adopted "California" as part of her pen name. Her work was encouraged by the author and activist Alice Walker, who has said of Cooper: Cooper was named Black Playwright of the Year in San Francisco in 1978 for her play ''Strangers''. It was at the encouragement of Walker that Cooper turned from her claim to fame in the theater and started writing short stories. Her first collection ''A Piece of Mine'' was published in 1984 by Wild Trees Press, the publishing company founded by Walker. Two other story collections followed, before the release of her first novel, ''Family'', in 1991. Cooper wrote '' Funny Valentines'', which later was turned into a 1999 TV movie starring

Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King), ...

and Loretta Devine. Awards Cooper won include the American Book Award (for her 1986 short-story collection ''Homemade Love''), a James Baldwin Writing Award and a Literary Lion Award from the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

. She died in

, in 2014 at the age of 82.

Bibliography

* 1984: ''A Piece of Mine'' * 1986: ''Homemade Love'', 1989

American Book Award The American Book Award is an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "the ...

winner * 1987: ''Some Soul to Keep'' * 1991: ''

Family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

'' * 1991: ''The Matter Is Life'' * 1994: ''In Search of Satisfaction'' * 1996: ''Some Love, Some Pain, Some Time: Stories'' * 1998: ''The Wake of the Wind'' * 2001: ''The Future Has a Past'' * 2003: ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number: Black Women Explore Midlife'' (contributor), edited by Carleen Brice * 2004: ''Some People, Some Other Place'' * 2006: ''Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns: Stories'' * 2009: ''Life is Short but Wide''

References

External links

J. California Cooper
at African American Literature Book Club
J. California Cooper
at

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* 1931 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American women novelists African-American novelists Writers from Berkeley, California American women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American Book Award winners 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers {{US-playwright-stub

Life and career

Bibliography

See also

References

External links