Ellis Avery
Ellis Avery (October 25, 1972 – February 15, 2019)[1] was an American writer. She won two Stonewall Book Awards (the only author to have done so),[2] one in 2008 for her debut novel The Teahouse Fire[3][4] and one in 2013 for her second novel The Last Nude.[5][6][7] The Teahouse Fire also won a Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Debut Fiction and an Ohioana Library Fiction Award in 2007. She self-published her memoir, The Family Tooth, in 2015.[8]
Ellis Avery | |
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![]() Avery in 2011 | |
Born | October 25, 1972 |
Died | February 15, 2019 46) | (aged
Alma mater | Bryn Mawr College Goddard College |
Notable works | The Teahouse Fire, The Last Nude |
Notable awards | Stonewall Book Award, Lambda Literary Award |
Partner | Sharon Marcus |
Website | |
ellisavery |
Themes of Avery's work include, "aesthetically disciplined bodies" and "the will to make beauty that exceeds [pain]"[8] She was interested in the formation of queer identity before queerness was a "social category";[9] as such, she was at the forefront of a queer historical fiction movement in which the historical setting is, among other things, an allegory for the queer child awakening to her identity in a household that cannot recognize or name her existence. Avery and her partner, Sharon Marcus, a professor of English and French literature, influenced each other's work through a shared interest in interrogating received social constructs about women's relationships and lesbian identity in historical contexts.[9] In her later work, through her struggles with cancer and reactive arthritis, Avery became interested in medical narratives by both those afflicted with illness and medical professionals, and in 2018 led a narrative medicine storytelling and writing workshop at Harvard Medical School.
She taught creative writing at Columbia University,[10] and previously at the University of California at Berkeley.[11]
In 2012, Avery was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer that affects smooth muscle tissue.[1] She died on February 15, 2019. An out lesbian, she is survived by her partner Sharon Marcus.[1]
Early life
Avery was raised in Columbus, Ohio and Princeton, New Jersey.[12] Born Elisabeth Atwood,[13] she legally changed her name to Ellis Avery when she was 18.
Education
As Elisabeth Atwood, Avery attended Columbus School for Girls[13] in Columbus, Ohio, and Princeton Day School[14] in Princeton, N.J., from which she graduated a year early, in 1989. While at Princeton Day School, Avery edited and contributed to the literary magazine, Cymbals,[14] sang a cappella in the school's competitive Madrigals group,[14] participated in the drama club,[13] and earned a Merit Scholarship.[15] After Princeton Day School, Avery attended Bryn Mawr College, graduating in 1993 with an independent major in Performance Studies.[12] While at Bryn Mawr, she was an editor of and frequent contributor to The College News.[16] She earned an MFA in Writing from Goddard College's low-residency program.[17]
Works
Awards
- American Library Association Stonewall Fiction Award for The Teahouse Fire[4] and The Last Nude[7]
- Lambda Literary Award for Debut Fiction for The Teahouse Fire[4][24]
- Ohioana Library Fiction Award[25] for The Teahouse Fire[4][26]
- Kiriyama Prize Notable Book for The Teahouse Fire[4]
- Booklist Top 10 First Novels on Audio for The Teahouse Fire[4]
- Golden Crown Historical Fiction Award[27] for The Last Nude[4][27]
- Walter Rumsey Marvin Award[25] for Emerging Writers, Ohioana Library Association, for The Smoke Week[18][26]
Daily haiku
Beginning in 2000, Avery wrote haiku daily.[11] She published these online, in hard copy in Broken Rooms (2014), in a self-published collection called 365 one-line haiku in 2015, and in haiku-a-day datebooks for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019.[28]
See also
- LGBT culture in New York City
- List of self-identified LGBTQ New Yorkers
References
- "Award Winning Novelist Ellis Avery, 46, has Died". Lambda Literary Foundation. February 16, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
- Enszer, Julie R. (2016-02-29). "Ellis Avery: On Writing Through Grief, Sickness, and Recovery". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- "Avery, Doty Win 2008 Stonewall Book Awards, GLBTRT Announces". US Fed News, January 14, 2008.
- "The Teahouse Fire". Ellis Avery. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- "2013 Stonewall Book Awards Announced". American Libraries, January 29, 2013.
- Cody, Christine (2012-03-10). "A Conversation with Ellis Avery". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- "The Last Nude". Ellis Avery. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- "The Family Tooth". Ellis Avery. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- Neyenesch, Cassandra. "Ellis Avery and Sharon Marcus with Cassandra Neyenesch". Brooklyn Rail. Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
- "A Passionate Portrait of an Artist and Her Muse". NPR, December 31, 2011.
- "Profound Surrender: An Interview with Ellis Avery". The Common, April 3, 2016.
- "Bio". Ellis Avery. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
- "Forte et Gratum Winter 2011". Columbus School of Girls. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
- "The Link 1989" (PDF). Princeton Day School. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- "Town Topics, April 11, 1990". Town Topics. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
- "Bryn Mawr Repository". Bryn Mawr College Repository: Scholarship, Research, and Creative Work at Bryn Mawr College, "Ellis Avery". Retrieved 2019-02-22.
- "Goddard College in Vermont". Poets & Writers. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- "The Smoke Week". Ellis Avery. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- "Broken Rooms". Ellis Avery. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- Avery, Ellis (2019-03-01). "On Christopher Street Pier". Public Books. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
- "Public Streets Archives". Public Books. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- "Ellis Avery". Public Books. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- "Homepage". Public Books. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- "19th Lambda Literary Awards", Wikipedia, 2018-09-01, retrieved 2019-02-21
- "Ohioana Book Awards". Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- "Past Award Winners | Ohioana Library". Ohioana Library. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- "Golden Crown Literary Society". www.goldencrown.org. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
- "Haiku Datebook 2019 by Ellis Avery | Harvard Book Store". shop.harvard.com. Retrieved 2019-02-18.