Susanna Moore (born December 9, 1945) is an American writer and teacher. Born in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
but raised in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, Moore worked as a model and script reader in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
before beginning her career as a writer. Her first novel, ''My Old Sweetheart'', published in 1982, earned a
PEN Hemingway nomination, and won the Prize for First Fiction from the
American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...
. She followed this with ''The Whiteness of Bones'' in 1989, and her third novel, ''Sleeping Beauties'', in 1993. All three of these novels were set in Hawaii and charted dysfunctional family relationships.
Moore gained particular critical notice for her fourth novel, ''
In the Cut
''In the Cut'' is a 1995 thriller novel by American writer Susanna Moore. The plot follows an English teacher at New York University who becomes entangled in a sexual relationship with a detective investigating a series of gruesome murders in her ...
'' (1995), which marked a departure from her previous works in both setting and content, concerning a New York City teacher who has a sexual affair with a detective investigating violent murders and dismemberments in her neighborhood. It was adapted into a 2003
feature film of the same name by director
Jane Campion
Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and '' The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for which she has received a tot ...
.
Biography
Moore was born December 9, 1945 in
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Bryn Mawr, pronounced ,
from Welsh for big hill, is a census-designated place (CDP) located across three townships: Radnor Township and Haverford Township in Delaware County, and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It i ...
.
Shortly after her birth, her family relocated to
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, where she spent her formative years, and attended the
Punahou School
Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, 12th grade. Protestant missionar ...
in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
. She is the oldest of seven children, and was raised by her widowed father, a
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
; her mother died in her childhood.
At age seventeen, Moore returned to the mainland United States to live in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
with her grandmother. She later lived in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, working as a
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...
and
script reader
Script coverage is a filmmaking term for the analysis and grading of screenplays, often within the "script development" department of a production company.
While coverage may remain entirely oral, it usually takes the form of a written report, gui ...
.
[ For a time in the late 1960s, she worked as ]Warren Beatty
Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...
's assistant in California. She published her first book, ''My Old Sweetheart'', in 1982, followed by ''The Whiteness of Bones'' in 1989, and ''Sleeping Beauties'' in 1993—all three books, set in her home state of Hawaii, dealt with themes of familial dysfunction. For ''My Old Sweetheart'', Moore earned a PEN Hemingway nomination, and won the Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...
.[
Her fourth novel, '']In the Cut
''In the Cut'' is a 1995 thriller novel by American writer Susanna Moore. The plot follows an English teacher at New York University who becomes entangled in a sexual relationship with a detective investigating a series of gruesome murders in her ...
'', a thriller novel about a teacher in New York City who begins a sexual relationship with a detective investigating nearby murders, marked a notable departure from Moore's previous works,[ and was adapted into a feature film of the same name in 2003 by director ]Jane Campion
Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and '' The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for which she has received a tot ...
.
In 1999, she received the Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Moore went on to publish two works in 2003: the British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
-set novel ''One Last Look'',[ and the non-fiction ''I Myself Have Seen It: The Myth of Hawai‘i'', an autobiographical work that explored Moore's upbringing in Hawaii.
In 2006, Moore received a Fellowship in Literature at the ]American Academy in Berlin
The American Academy in Berlin is a private, independent, nonpartisan research and cultural institution in Berlin dedicated to sustaining and enhancing the long-term intellectual, cultural, and political ties between the United States and Germany ...
; and in 2006 she received a Fellowship in Literature from the Asian Cultural Council
The Asian Cultural Council (ACC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing international cultural exchange between Asia and the U.S. and between the countries of Asia through the arts. Founded by John D. Rockefeller III in 1963, AC ...
, which entailed a three-month fellowship to research on the Meiji Period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
in Japan.
Moore was a visiting lecturer in Creative Writing at Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in 1988, 1989 and 1994; visiting lecturer at New York Graduate School in 1995; creative writing teacher at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn
The Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn (MDC Brooklyn) is a United States federal administrative detention facility in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It holds male and female prisoners of all security levels. It ...
between 2004 and 2006; and lecturer of creative writing at Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
between 2007 and 2009. During May to August 2009, Moore was Writer-in-Residence at Australia's University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
. As of a 2012 interview, Moore resided in her home state of Hawaii, though she returns to the East Coast each year to teach courses at Princeton University for the fall semester.
Moore has a daughter, Lulu, with production designer and art director Richard Sylbert
Richard Sylbert (April 16, 1928 – March 23, 2002) was an American production designer and art director, primarily for feature films.
Early life
Sylbert was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Samuel and Lily (Lazell) Sylbert, and was the twin bro ...
, and later lived with Michael Laughlin
Michael Stoddard Laughlin (November 28, 1938 – October 20, 2021) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter.
Life
Laughlin was raised in Minonk, Illinois, where his father Donald M. Laughlin had extensive farms. He played baske ...
. Lulu acted as a child, playing Paul Le Mat
Paul Le Mat (born September 22, 1945) is an American actor. He first came to prominence with his role in ''American Graffiti'' (1973); his performance was met with critical acclaim and earned him the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year ...
's half-alien daughter in ''Strange Invaders
''Strange Invaders'' is a 1983 American science fiction film directed and co-written by Michael Laughlin, and stars Paul Le Mat, Nancy Allen and Diana Scarwid.
Produced as a tribute to the sci-fi films of the 1950s, notably ''The Invasion of t ...
''.
Publications
Fiction
* ''My Old Sweetheart
My or MY may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station
* Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe
* ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak
* ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon
Business
* Mar ...
'' (1982)
* '' The Whiteness of Bones'' (1989)
* '' Sleeping Beauties'' (1993)
* ''In the Cut
''In the Cut'' is a 1995 thriller novel by American writer Susanna Moore. The plot follows an English teacher at New York University who becomes entangled in a sexual relationship with a detective investigating a series of gruesome murders in her ...
'' (1995)
* ''One Last Look
''One Last Look'' is a 1967 play by American playwright Steve Carter. During a funeral service, mourners reflect on their relationship with the deceased.
Original production
*Directed by Arthur French
*Produced by Norman "Speedy" Hartmann and ...
'' (2003)
* '' The Big Girls'' (2007)
* '' The Life of Objects'' (2012)
Non-fiction
* '' I Myself Have Seen It: The Myth of Hawai‘i'' (2003)
* '' Paradise of the Pacific: Approaching Hawai‘i'' (2015)
*''Miss Aluminum: A Memoir'' (2020)
References
External links
Official site
*
at the University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
* ttp://www.laweekly.com/2007-06-14/art-books/susanna-moore-women-behind-bars/ Susanna Moore: Women Behind Bars
Susanna Moore: The Morning News
Princeton University: Moore, a graceful novelist, pushes students to be daring
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Susanna
1945 births
Living people
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
American memoirists
American women novelists
Novelists from Hawaii
Novelists from Pennsylvania
Punahou School alumni
American women memoirists
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American women writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers