Norman Rush (born October 24, 1933) is an American writer most of whose introspective

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s and short stories are set in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

in the 1980s. He won the U.S.

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

and the 1992 ''

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''/

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International Fiction Prize for his novel ''

Mating In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. ''Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproduc ...

''.

Life and career

Rush was born in San Francisco and raised in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, the son of Roger and Leslie (Chesse) Rush. He graduated from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

in 1956. During the Korean War he was sentenced to two years incarceration for his status as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

to the war, but was released on parole after nine months. After working for fifteen years as a book dealer, he changed careers to become a teacher and found he had more time to write. He submitted a short story about his teaching experiences to ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', which was published in 1978. Rush and his wife Elsa were co-directors of the

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from 1978 to 1983, which provided material for his short story collection ''Whites'' (1986). ''Whites'' was a finalist for the 1987

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during ...

. His Botswana experience also served as the setting for his novels ''

'' (1991) and '' Mortals'' (2003). Rush lives with his wife, Elsa, in

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of th ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, in a farmhouse which they have shared since 1961 located on High Tor Mountain. Rush's third novel, ''Subtle Bodies'', was published in September 2013.

Published works

* ''Whites'', short stories

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

, 1986, — finalist for the

* ''

'', Knopf, 1991, — winner of the

National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...

"National Book Awards – 1991"

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...

. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
(With essays by Lee Taylor Gaffigan and Jim Shepard from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.) * '' Mortals'', a novel Knopf, 2003, . * ''Subtle Bodies'', a novel, Knopf, 2013, .

References

External links

* * Keillor, Garrison. ''Writer's Almanac''. October 24, 2006. *

The Bat Segundo Show ''The Bat Segundo Show'' was a podcast based in New York City run by writer and literary critic Edward Champion between 2004 and 2012. It was revived in mid-2013. The program features comprehensive interviews with prominent figures in arts and ...

70 minute radio interview
. September 3, 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rush, Norman 1933 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists National Book Award winners Living people Swarthmore College alumni Writers from California American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers