John Edgar Wideman Appointed Distinguished Professor
AMHERST, Mass.
University of Massachusetts English professor John Edgar Wideman has been appointed a Distinguished Professor by University President William M. Bulger.
The appointment is given by the Board of Trustees of the UMass system to professors who have brought great recognition to the UMass system. Currently 17 professors at UMass-Amherst have been appointed distinguished professors, an honorary title.
A prolific author, Wideman has written nearly 20 works of fiction and nonfiction. His works appear in leading media outlets such as The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Harper’s Magazine and Esquire. In two different years, two of his books were included on the list of 15 best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review. A recent special issue of the literary journal Callaloo was devoted entirely to his work.
Wideman’s award-winning books include: The Cattle Killing (1996), winner of the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Historical Fiction; Philadelphia Fire (1990), winner of both the PEN/Faulkner and American Book awards; and Sent For You Yesterday (1983), also a winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award. Wideman is also the author of Fatheralong (1994); The Stories of John Edgar Wideman (1993); The Homewood Books (1993); Fever (1989); Brothers and Keepers (1984); The Homewood Trilogy (1984); Damballah (1981); The Lynchers (1973); Hurry Home (1969); and A Glance Away (1967).
He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has received the Chancellor’s Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the University of Massachusetts. Wideman joined the university in 1986 as a full professor.
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