How Do I
Pulitzer Prizes 2009
The 2009 Pulitzer Prizewinners and Nominated Finalists were announced Monday, April 20, 2009 at Columbia University. Below are the winners and finalists in Letters, Drama, and Music.
Fiction
For distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life.
Winner
Strout, Elizabeth
Olive Kitteridge
"Awarded to Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout (Random House), a collection of 13 short stories set in small-town Maine that packs a cumulative emotional wallop, bound together by polished prose and by Olive, the title character, blunt, flawed and fascinating."
Olive Kitteridge
"Awarded to Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout (Random House), a collection of 13 short stories set in small-town Maine that packs a cumulative emotional wallop, bound together by polished prose and by Olive, the title character, blunt, flawed and fascinating."
Finalists
Erdrich, Louise
The Plague of Doves
"a haunting novel that explores racial discord, loss of land and changing fortunes in a corner of North Dakota where Native Americans and whites share a tangled history"
The Plague of Doves
"a haunting novel that explores racial discord, loss of land and changing fortunes in a corner of North Dakota where Native Americans and whites share a tangled history"
Schutt, Christine
All Souls
"a memorable novel that focuses on the senior class at an exclusive all-girl Manhattan prep school where a beloved student battles a rare cancer, fiercely honest, carefully observed and subtly rendered."
All Souls
"a memorable novel that focuses on the senior class at an exclusive all-girl Manhattan prep school where a beloved student battles a rare cancer, fiercely honest, carefully observed and subtly rendered."
Return to the topDrama
For a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life.
Winner
Nottage, Lynn
Ruined
"a searing drama set in chaotic Congo that compels audiences to face the horror of wartime rape and brutality while still finding affirmation of life and hope amid hopelessness."
Ruined
"a searing drama set in chaotic Congo that compels audiences to face the horror of wartime rape and brutality while still finding affirmation of life and hope amid hopelessness."
Finalists
Gionfriddo, Gina
Becky Shaw
"a jarring comedy that examines family and romantic relationships with a lacerating wit while eschewing easy answers and pat resolutions"
Becky Shaw
"a jarring comedy that examines family and romantic relationships with a lacerating wit while eschewing easy answers and pat resolutions"
Miranda, Lin-Manuel and Quiara Alegría Hudes
In The Heights
"a robust musical about struggling Latino immigrants in New York City today that celebrates the virtues of sacrifice, family solidarity and gritty optimism."
In The Heights
"a robust musical about struggling Latino immigrants in New York City today that celebrates the virtues of sacrifice, family solidarity and gritty optimism."
History
For a distinguished and appropriately documented book on the history of the United States.
Winner
Gordon-Reed, Annette
The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family
"a painstaking exploration of a sprawling multi-generation slave family that casts provocative new light on the relationship between Sally Hemings and her master, Thomas Jefferson."
The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family
"a painstaking exploration of a sprawling multi-generation slave family that casts provocative new light on the relationship between Sally Hemings and her master, Thomas Jefferson."
Finalists
Faust, Drew Gilpin
This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War
"a deeply researched, gracefully written examination of how a divided nation struggled to comprehend the meaning and practical consequences of unprecedented human carnage"
This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War
"a deeply researched, gracefully written examination of how a divided nation struggled to comprehend the meaning and practical consequences of unprecedented human carnage"
Mackenzie, G. Calvin and Robert Weisbrot
The Liberal Hour: Washington and the Politics of Change in the 1960s
"an elegantly written account of a brief period in American history that left a profoundly altered national landscape."
The Liberal Hour: Washington and the Politics of Change in the 1960s
"an elegantly written account of a brief period in American history that left a profoundly altered national landscape."
Biography or Autobiography
For a distinguished and appropriately documented biography or autobiography by an American author
Winner
Meacham, Jon
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
"an unflinching portrait of a not always admirable democrat but a pivotal president, written with an agile prose that brings the Jackson saga to life."
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
"an unflinching portrait of a not always admirable democrat but a pivotal president, written with an agile prose that brings the Jackson saga to life."
Finalists
Brands, H.W.
Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"a richly textured and highly readable exploration of the inner Roosevelt, presented with analytical acuity and flashes of originality"
Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"a richly textured and highly readable exploration of the inner Roosevelt, presented with analytical acuity and flashes of originality"
Coll, Steve
The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century
"an epic tale extending far beyond Osama Bin Laden and the calamity of 9/11, rooted in meticulous research and written with an urgency, clarity and flair that entertains as easily as it educates."
The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century
"an epic tale extending far beyond Osama Bin Laden and the calamity of 9/11, rooted in meticulous research and written with an urgency, clarity and flair that entertains as easily as it educates."
Poetry
For a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author
Winner
Merwin, W.S.
The Shadow of Sirius
"a collection of luminous, often tender poems that focus on the profound power of memory"
The Shadow of Sirius
"a collection of luminous, often tender poems that focus on the profound power of memory"
Finalists
Bidart, Frank
Watching the Spring Festival
"a book of lyric poems that evinces compassion for the human condition as it explores the constraints that limit the possibility of people changing the course of their lives"
Watching the Spring Festival
"a book of lyric poems that evinces compassion for the human condition as it explores the constraints that limit the possibility of people changing the course of their lives"
Stone, Ruth
What Love Comes To: New & Selected Poems
"a collection of poems that give rich drama to ordinary experience, deepening our sense of what it means to be human"
What Love Comes To: New & Selected Poems
"a collection of poems that give rich drama to ordinary experience, deepening our sense of what it means to be human"
General Nonfiction
For a distinguished and appropriately documented book of nonfiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in any other category
Winner
Blackmon, Douglas A.
Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II
"a precise and eloquent work that examines a deliberate system of racial suppression and that rescues a multitude of atrocities from virtual obscurity."
Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II
"a precise and eloquent work that examines a deliberate system of racial suppression and that rescues a multitude of atrocities from virtual obscurity."
Finalists
Herman, Arthur
Gandhi and Churchill: The Epic Rivalry That Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age
"an authoritative, deeply researched book that achieves an extraordinary balance in weighing two mighty protagonists against each other"
Gandhi and Churchill: The Epic Rivalry That Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age
"an authoritative, deeply researched book that achieves an extraordinary balance in weighing two mighty protagonists against each other"
Hitchcock, William I.
The Bitter Road to Freedom: A New History of the Liberation of Europe
"a heavily documented exploration of the overlooked suffering of noncombatants in the victory over Nazi Germany, written with the dash of a novelist and the authority of a scholar."
The Bitter Road to Freedom: A New History of the Liberation of Europe
"a heavily documented exploration of the overlooked suffering of noncombatants in the victory over Nazi Germany, written with the dash of a novelist and the authority of a scholar."
Music
For distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States during the year
Winner
Reich, Steve
"Double Sextet"
"premiered on March 26, 2008 in Richmond, VA, a major work that displays an ability to channel an initial burst of energy into a large-scale musical event, built with masterful control and consistently intriguing to the ear."
Listen to an excerpt from the Boosey & Hawkes site.
"Double Sextet"
"premiered on March 26, 2008 in Richmond, VA, a major work that displays an ability to channel an initial burst of energy into a large-scale musical event, built with masterful control and consistently intriguing to the ear."
Listen to an excerpt from the Boosey & Hawkes site.
Finalists
Byron, Don
"7 Etudes for Solo Piano"
"premiered on March 15, 2008 at Hallwall’s Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, NY, a deft set of studies that display rhythmic inventiveness and irresistible energy, charm and wit"
"7 Etudes for Solo Piano"
"premiered on March 15, 2008 at Hallwall’s Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, NY, a deft set of studies that display rhythmic inventiveness and irresistible energy, charm and wit"
Meltzer, Harold
"Brion"
"premiered on April 23, 2008 at Merkin Hall, New York City, a sonic portrait of a cemetery in northern Italy painted with the touch of a watercolorist and marked by an episodic structure and vivid playfulness that offer a graceful, sensual and contemplative experience."
"Brion"
"premiered on April 23, 2008 at Merkin Hall, New York City, a sonic portrait of a cemetery in northern Italy painted with the touch of a watercolorist and marked by an episodic structure and vivid playfulness that offer a graceful, sensual and contemplative experience."
