James Alan McPherson’s Followers (98)

James Alan McPherson

Born

in Savannah, Georgia, The United States

September 16, 1943

Died

July 27, 2016

Genre

Short Stories, Biographies & Memoirs

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James Alan McPherson was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American short story writer and essayist. He spent his early career writing short stories and essays, almost without exception, for The Atlantic. At the age of 35, McPherson received a Pulitzer Prize for his collection of stories, Elbow Room (1978). He is also the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (1973) and the MacArthur Foundation Award (the so-called "Genius Award"; 1981) and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1995. He is perhaps most often quoted for propounding this philosophy of American citizenship: "I believe that if one can experience diversity, touch a variety of its people, laugh at its craziness, distill wisdom from its tragedies, and attempt to syn ...more

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James Alan McPherson’s books

Average rating: 4.08 · 8,798 ratings · 840 reviews · 33 distinct works • Similar authors

	Elbow Room 3.71 avg rating — 1,849 ratings — published 1977 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hue and Cry 4.12 avg rating — 332 ratings — published 1968 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Crabcakes: A Memoir 3.61 avg rating — 71 ratings — published 1998 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Region Not Home: Reflections from Exile 3.98 avg rating — 46 ratings — published 2000 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	On Becoming an American Writer: Essays & Nonfiction by James Alan McPherson, Anthony Walton (Introduction) 4.50 avg rating — 28 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Elbow room by James Alan McPherson, Fawcett Publications 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Railroad: Trains and Train People in American Culture liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1976 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Story of the Contract Buyers League it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ploughshares at Emerson College Fall 2008, Vol.34, Nos.2 & 3 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2008 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Untitled Novel 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by James Alan McPherson (?)

“I think that love must be the ability to suspend one's intelligence for the sake of something. At the basis of love therefore must live imagination.”
― James Alan McPherson, Elbow Room

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“Sometimes, in the night, it is expectant and therefore eager to be out. It has slept too long and is restless, fighting the force that keeps it patient. Years of internal slumber has drugged it, but not decisively, so that, once slightly touched, it starts and quivers and attempts to announce itself so strongly that, occasionally, a man's mind will wake in his bed and ask itself: Who is there?”
― James Alan McPherson, Hue and Cry

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“...he still thought I was accusing him or calling him to account. He said, "People *do* grow. You may not think much of *me*, but my children will be great!"
I said , "They will be black and blind or passing for white and self-blinded. Those are the only choices.”
― James Alan McPherson, Elbow Room

tags: identity, multi-racial, passing

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Polls

What shall we read in March, 2024? Books published in or before 1990.

Love in a Dry Season, by Shelby Foote

15 votes 23.8%

Norwood, by Charles Portis

14 votes 22.2%

27 Wagons Full of Cotton and Other Plays, by Tennessee Williams

10 votes 15.9%

Edisto, by Padgett Powell

9 votes 14.3%

Uncle Tom's Children, by Richard Wright

9 votes 14.3%

Elbow Room, by James Alan McPherson

6 votes 9.5%

63 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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