Louise Erdrich
1954-
http://www.unl.edu/plains/publications/resource/erdrich.shtml
"Louise Erdrich." Center for Great Plains Studies. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2011.
Louise Erdrich, the first of seven children, was highly encouraged at a young age to start writing. She was born in Little Falls, Minnesota. Starting to write at a young age assisted her in being one of the first females to be admitted to Dartmouth College. She majored in English and creative writing and graduated in 1976. She graduated from John Hopkins University in 1979 with a Master of Arts in writing.
Her family, heritage, and life experiences helped inspire her fiction writing. When she was younger, her father would pay her a nickel every time she wrote a story and her mother would create book covers for the stories. They were very proud of their daughter.
Louise married Michael Dorris, a past professor of hers, in October of 1981. They had three children together and Michael had adopted three children prior to their marriage. Louise adopted them as well. Michael and Louise separated after fifteen years of marriage and soon after Michael committed suicide.
Her most famous novel, Love Medicine, was published in 1984. This novel is based off of her Chippewa heritage. She was given the National Book Critics Circle Award for Best Fiction for this book. She has also been awarded several other awards and prizes for her writings.
Some of her awards:
Pushcart Prize in Poetry
O. Henry Prize for short fiction
Western Literary Association Award
Guggenheim Fellowship
Some of her books:
Imagination (textbook), 1981.
Jacklight, 1984.
Love Medicine, 1984, expanded edition, 1993
The Beet Queen, 1986.
Tracks, 1998.
Baptism of Desire, 1989.
Route Two, 1990.
(With Michael Dorris) The Crown of Columbus, 1991.
The Bingo Palace, 1994.
The Falcon: A Narrative of the Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner, 1994.
The Blue Jay's Dance: A Birth Year (memoir), 1995.
Tales of Burning Love, 1996.
Grandmother's Pigeon (children's book), 1996.
The Antelope Wife, 1998.
This site was very helpful to learn the important things that have occurred, so far, in Erdrich's life. It is also helpful to see a list of her writings and accomplishments. It shows how influential her family was in her writings, from when she was a child until more recently. Everything she has done, and the establishments she has worked at, helped her to become the great writer she is today.
Some of her books:
Imagination (textbook), 1981.
Jacklight, 1984.
Love Medicine, 1984, expanded edition, 1993
The Beet Queen, 1986.
Tracks, 1998.
Baptism of Desire, 1989.
Route Two, 1990.
(With Michael Dorris) The Crown of Columbus, 1991.
The Bingo Palace, 1994.
The Falcon: A Narrative of the Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner, 1994.
The Blue Jay's Dance: A Birth Year (memoir), 1995.
Tales of Burning Love, 1996.
Grandmother's Pigeon (children's book), 1996.
The Antelope Wife, 1998.
This site was very helpful to learn the important things that have occurred, so far, in Erdrich's life. It is also helpful to see a list of her writings and accomplishments. It shows how influential her family was in her writings, from when she was a child until more recently. Everything she has done, and the establishments she has worked at, helped her to become the great writer she is today.
