Lidia Yuknavitch ( ; born June 18, 1963)
is an American writer, teacher and editor based in
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. She is the author of the memoir ''The Chronology of Water'', and the novels ''The Small Backs of Children,'' ''
Dora: A Headcase,'' and ''The Book of Joan''. She is also known for her TED talk "The Beauty of Being a Misfit", which has been viewed over 3.2 million times, and her follow-up book ''The Misfit's Manifesto''.
Early life
Yuknavitch was born Lidia Yukman in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
She grew up in a home where her father verbally, physically, and sexually
abused her and her sister, and her
alcoholic
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...
mother did not intervene.
As a teen, she was noticed by a "caring and methodical coach," who helped her move towards her dream of becoming a competitive swimmer.
The family moved to
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
for additional training, and Yuknavitch began abusing alcohol.
[
Yuknavitch relocated to ]Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
after high school, where she attended Austin Community College on a swimming scholarship. While attending college, she worked as a receptionist at the University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. Yuknavitch had hopes of qualifying for the United States Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
swimming team, but the boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict so ...
of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
and her own drug and alcohol abuse ended her competitive swimming career.[
Yuknavitch moved to Eugene, Oregon, after she lost her scholarship, where she enrolled in the ]University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
. There, she was one of the editors of ''Two Girls Review'', which later became 2 Gyrlz Performative Arts. She received her PhD in English literature from the University of Oregon.
Career
In 1987–1988, Yuknavitch, then known as Lidia Yukman, collaborated with a novel-writing class at the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
taught by Ken Kesey
Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s.
Kesey was born in ...
that produced the book ''Caverns
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
''. Although the group of novelists, collectively named "O. U. Levon", are often described as graduate students, Yuknavitch was not actually in graduate school at the time.[
Her work has been published in '']Guernica
Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...
'', ''Ms.
Ms. (American English) or Ms (British English; normally , but also , or when unstressed)''Oxford English Dictionary'' online, Ms, ''n.2''. Etymology: "An orthographic and phonetic blend of Mrs ''n.1'' and miss ''n.2'' Compare mizz ''n.'' The pr ...
'', '' The Iowa Review'', ''Zyzzyva
''Zyzzyva'' is a triannual magazine of writers and artists. It places an emphasis on showcasing emerging voices and never before published writers in addition to the already established. Based in San Francisco, it began publishing in 1985. ''ZYZ ...
'', ''Another Chicago Magazine
''Another Chicago Magazine'' is an American magazine established by Left Field Press, in 1977. Contributors include David Sedaris, Charles Bukowski, Samantha Irby, Ander Monson, Shelley Jackson, Charles Harper Webb, Maxine Chernoff, Kim Addoniz ...
'', PLAZM
''Plazm'' magazine has been published since 1991 by a collective of designers, writers, and others in Portland, Oregon, United States. The complete catalog of ''Plazm'' magazine is included in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum o ...
, '' The Sun'', ''Exquisite Corpse
Exquisite corpse (from the original French term ', literally exquisite cadaver), is a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule (e.g. ...
'', and ''TANK
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...
''.
Yuknavitch is associated with fellow Oregon writers Chuck Palahniuk, who wrote the introduction to her novel '' Dora: A Headcase'', Chelsea Cain, who wrote the introduction to ''The Chronology of Water'', Monica Drake, Cheryl Strayed
Cheryl Strayed (; née Nyland; born September 17, 1968) is an American writer and podcast host. She has written four books: the novel ''Torch'' (2006) and the nonfiction books '' Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail'' (2012), '' Ti ...
, and Tom Spanbauer
Tom Spanbauer (born 1946) is an American writer whose work often explores issues of sexuality, race, and the ties that bind disparate people together. Raised in Idaho, Spanbauer has lived in Kenya and across the United States. He lives in Portla ...
.[ Yuknavitch introduced Spanbauer at the launch for his book ''I Loved You More'' at ]Powell's Books
Powell's Books is a chain of bookstores in Portland, Oregon, and its surrounding metropolitan area. Powell's headquarters, dubbed Powell's City of Books, claims to be the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world. Powell's City ...
in Portland.
Yuknavitch's 2011 memoir, ''The Chronology of Water'', has developed a cult following, and it was noted in a '' Huffington Post'' book review that two years after being published, the book "keeps popping up on blogs and social media feeds". She said she started writing the book as a kind of dare after talking to Chuck Palahniuk about memoir at the end of a meeting of their writers' group. The title comes from a short story Yuknavitch wrote in a writing workshop with Diana Abu-Jaber
Diana Abu-Jaber ( ar, ديانا أبو جابر) is an American author and a professor at Portland State University.
Early life and education
Abu-Jaber was born in Syracuse, New York. Her father was Jordanian with a Palestinian Jerusalemite mot ...
.[ The photograph on the book jacket depicts a naked woman in the water. Yuknavitch and her publisher opted to wrap the book in a "belly band" in order to cover the woman's breast. Yuknavitch wrote about this decision in '']The Rumpus
''The Rumpus'' is an online literary magazine launched on January 20, 2009. The site features interviews, book reviews, essays, comics, and critiques of creative culture as well as original fiction and poetry. The site runs two subscription-base ...
''.
''Dora: A Headcase'', is Yuknavitch's novel about "Dora", the subject of a famous case study by Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...
. The subject of the study had lost her voice. Yuknavitch wrote that she wanted to "give Dora back her voice and 'talk back' to Freud." In 2014, the book was optioned for a movie by Katherine Brooks
Katherine Brooks (born March 15, 1976) is an American film writer and director. Brooks is a member of the Directors Guild of America, a Jury Member for Samsung Fresh-Films 2007 (the largest teen filmmaking program in the USA) and is the recipie ...
.[
''The Small Backs of Children,'' published in 2015, was praised by '' Kirkus Reviews'', in which it was called a "brave and affecting novel."
]Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
published Yuknavitch's first short story collection, ''Verge'', on February 4, 2020. Yuknavitch read one of the stories, "Street Walker," on the December 10, 2019, episode of the Lit Hub
Literary Hub is a daily literary website that launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and Electric Literature founder Andy Hunter.
Cont ...
/Podglomerate Storybound podcast, accompanied by original musical composition from the band Whiston & Warmack.
Personal life
Yuknavitch has had relationships with both men and women, including Kathy Acker
Kathy Acker (April 18, 1947 isputed– November 30, 1997) was an American experimental novelist, playwright, essayist, and postmodernist writer, known for her idiosyncratic and transgressive writing that dealt with themes such as childhood trau ...
. She has been married three times. She lives in Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
with the filmmaker Andy Mingo and their son, Miles. Mingo and Yuknavitch are the editors of Chiasmus Press, a " micro indie press."
Yuknavitch teaches writing, literature, film, and women's studies
Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...
and is on the MFA faculty at Eastern Oregon University
Eastern Oregon University (EOU) (officially designated as Oregon’s Rural University) is a public university in La Grande, Oregon. It was formerly part of the Oregon University System, since dissolved. EOU was founded in 1929 as a teacher’ ...
. She has also taught at Mt. Hood Community College.
Bibliography
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Awards
;''The Small Backs of Children''
*2016, Ken Kesey Award for Fiction Oregon Book Award
The Oregon Book Awards are presented annually by Literary Arts to honor the "state’s finest accomplishments by Oregon writers who work in genres of poetry, fiction, graphic literature, drama, literary nonfiction, and literature for young readers ...
*2016, Readers' Choice Oregon Book Award
The Oregon Book Awards are presented annually by Literary Arts to honor the "state’s finest accomplishments by Oregon writers who work in genres of poetry, fiction, graphic literature, drama, literary nonfiction, and literature for young readers ...
;''The Chronology of Water''
*2012, Readers' Choice Oregon Book Award
The Oregon Book Awards are presented annually by Literary Arts to honor the "state’s finest accomplishments by Oregon writers who work in genres of poetry, fiction, graphic literature, drama, literary nonfiction, and literature for young readers ...
*2012, Finalist, PEN Center USA
PEN Center USA was a branch of PEN, an international literary and human rights organization. It was one of two PEN International Centers in the United States, the other being the PEN America in New York City. On March 1, 2018, PEN Center USA unifi ...
Creative Nonfiction Award
*2012, Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award
The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award, also known as the Pacific Northwest Book Award (PNBA), is an annual award presented by the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association to recognize "excellence in writing" from the American Pacif ...
*2011, Best Books of the Year, ''The Oregonian
''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...
''
*1997, Writers Exchange Award, Poets & Writer
See also
* List of LGBT people from Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon has a large LGBT community for its size. Notable LGBT people from the city include:
* Sam Adams – first openly gay mayor of a large U.S. city
* Matt Alber – singer-songwriter
* Terry Bean – gay rights activist and ...
Further reading
*
*
References
External links
Corporeal Writing
(Yuknavitch's writing workshop website)
Official website
TED Talk
(video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuknavitch, Lidia
1963 births
Living people
Eastern Oregon University faculty
LGBT people from Oregon
Mt. Hood Community College
University of Oregon alumni
Writers from Eugene, Oregon
Writers from Florida
Writers from Portland, Oregon
Writers from San Francisco
Bisexual memoirists
Bisexual academics
American women memoirists
American bisexual writers