Ron Powers (born November 18, 1941) is an American journalist, novelist, and non-fiction writer. His works include ''No One Cares About Crazy People: My Family and the Heartbreak of Mental Illness in America''; ''White Town Drowsing: Journeys to Hannibal''; ''Dangerous Water: A Biography of the Boy Who Became Mark Twain'', and ''Mark Twain: A Life'', a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. With James Bradley, he co-wrote the 2000 #1 New York Times Bestseller ''Flags of Our Fathers.'' The book won the Colby Award the following year. It was made into a movie in 2006, produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Clint Eastwood. With
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...
, he co-wrote his memoir, ''True Compass'' in 2009.
''
No One Cares About Crazy People'' was a finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. The ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
'' named it a Notable Book of the Year, and ''
People
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...
'' named it a Top Ten Book of the Year.
As TV and radio columnist for ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
'', Powers won the
Pulitzer Prize for Criticism
The Pulitzer Prize for Criticism has been presented since 1970 to a newspaper writer in the United States who has demonstrated 'distinguished criticism'. Recipients of the award are chosen by an independent board and officially administered by C ...
in 1973 for his critical writing about television during 1972. He was the first television critic to win the Pulitzer Prize.
[
]
In 1985, Powers won an
Emmy Award for his work on ''
CBS News Sunday Morning''.
[ In 1993 he completed a biography of Muppets creator ]Jim Henson
James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...
that was scheduled to be published in October 1994, but after objections from the Henson family 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 ...
declined to release it.
Personal/influence
Powers was born in 1941 in Hannibal, Missouri
Hannibal is a city along the Mississippi River in Marion and Ralls counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 17,312, making it the largest city in Marion County. The bulk of the city is in Mar ...
— Mark Twain's hometown. Hannibal was influential in much of Powers' writing—as the subject of his book ''White Town Drowsing'', as the location of the two true-life murders that are the subject of ''Tom and Huck Don't Live Here Anymore'', and as the home of Mark Twain. Powers has said that his fascination with Twain— the subject of two of his books—began in childhood:
:"When I was a little boy in Hannibal, he was a mystic figure to me. His pictures and books and images were all over (my friend) Dulany Winkler's house, and I spent a lot of time there. I just wanted to reach out and touch him. Eventually I was able to."
In 2017, Powers published ''No One Cares About Crazy People'', chronicling his sons' schizophrenia, and the family's experience of dealing with the American mental health system.
In addition to writing, Powers has taught nonfiction for the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference The Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers' Conference is an author's conference held every summer at the Bread Loaf Inn, near Bread Loaf Mountain, east of Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1926, it has been called by ''The New Yorker'' "the oldest and most ...
, the Salzburg Seminar in Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, and at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont
Middlebury is the shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History.
History
On ...
.
Powers is married to Honoree Fleming, Ph.D., and is father to two sons; one of whom died in 2005. He currently resides in Castleton, Vermont
Castleton is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. Castleton is about to the west of Rutland, the county's seat and most populous city, and about east of the New York/Vermont state border. The town had a population of 4,458 at the 2 ...
.
Bibliography
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References
External links
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''In Depth'' interview with Powers, January 1, 2006
*NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
''Fresh Air
''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to ...
''
"Fresh Air" interview with Powers, March 20th, 2017
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Ron
1941 births
Living people
American television critics
Emmy Award winners
Pulitzer Prize for Criticism winners
People from Hannibal, Missouri
Writers from Missouri
Chicago Sun-Times people
20th-century American biographers
21st-century American biographers
American male non-fiction writers