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NEW JERSEY CULTURE
Believe it or not, there IS culture that comes from New Jersey! And I don't mean the latest diner being built! In this category, I am including writers, artists and other "cultural" individuals who may not fit in the other categories.
Peter Balakian - b. 1951
Teaneck, NJ
Poet, writer and Professor of Humanities at Colgate University.
Thanks to Bruce Smith for this suggetion.
Peter
Benchley -
b. 1940 d. 2006
Princeton, NJ
Born in New York City, Benchley is best known as the author of the novel
"Jaws", which was turned into the blockbuster movie of the same
name, starring New Jerseyan Roy Scheider and directed by Steven Spielberg.
However, Benchley was so much more than just the maker
of ocean nightmares.
Judy
Blume - b. 1938
Elizabeth, NJ
Children's book
author, winner of numerous literary awards. Just ask your child!
Iris
Chang - b. 1968 - d. 2004
Princeton, NJ
Born in Princeton, and raised in Illinois, this Chinese-American
freelance journalist and historian is best known for her book detailing
the Rape of Nanking. She commited suicide
as a result of a depressive episode from a nervous breakdown.
Mary
Higgins Clark
- b. 1929
Saddle River, NJ
Born and raised in New York, Mary
Higgins Clark, the "Queen of Suspense", is a best-selling
and award-winning mystery author.
Thanks for this suggestion goes to Jackie.
Harlan Coben - b. 1962
Newark, NJ
Born in Newark and raised in Livingston, Coben is a famous mystery/thriller author.
Thanks to Rob C. for this suggestion.
James
Fenimore Cooper
- b. 1789 d. 1851
Burlington, NJ
Early American
writer, generally considered to be the first major American novelist.
Perhaps most famous for "Last of the Mohicans".
James
Fenimore Cooper Society
Stephen
Crane - b. 1871 d. 1900
Newark, NJ
Writer, best
known for "The Red Badge of Courage" and "The Open Boat".
Stephen
Crane Society
Ed Cubberly - b. 1957
Bayonne, NJ
Born in Bayonne, but now residing in Frenchtown, Ed Cubberly produces custom hockey goalie masks but might be best known for creating the "Hannibal Lechter" mask.
He is also a part-time artist who makes sculptures from body molds.
Junot
Diaz - b. 1968
Parlin, NJ
Born in the Dominican Republic, 2008
Pulitzer award winning novelist Diaz immigrated to Parlin, NJ as a
boy, and attended Kean College and Rutgers.
Allen
Ginsberg - b. 1926 d. 1997
Newark, NJ
Born in Newark, NJ and raised in Paterson, NJ, Ginsberg
was a well-known and respected poet. He also recorded several selections
of music, with him reading his poetry over the music.
Alfred
Joyce Kilmer
- b. 1886 d. 1918
New Brunswick, NJ
Poet,
killed on the Western Front in World War 1.
Dorothea
Lange - b.
1895 d. 1965
Hoboken, NJ
Lange was an influential American documentary
photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era
work.
Fran Lebowitz - b. 1950
Morristown, NJ
Author, and sometimes actress.
Anne
Morrow Lindbergh -
b. 1906 d. 2001
Englewood, NJ
Obviously best known as the wife of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh,
Anne Morrow Lindbergh was an accomplished aviator and author.
Lindbergh
Foundation
Norman
Mailer - b. 1923 d. 2007
Long Branch, NJ
Born in New Jersey,
famed
novelist Mailer's family moved to Brooklyn when he was 4.
Wil
Mara - b.
1966
Manasquan, NJ
Author
of more than 80 books, including specialty books such as biographies for
young readers.
John McPhee -
b. 1931
Princeton, NJ
Pulitzer
prize winning author, McPhee went to school at Princeton and has written
for numerous publications. He also penned an authoritave book on the Pine
Barrens in New Jersey.
Dorothy
(Rothschild) Parker
- b. 1893 d. 1967
West End, NJ
Short story writer,
poet and critic, perhaps best known for her Algonquin Round Table in New
York City.
Paul
Robeson -
b. 1898 d. 1976
Princeton, NJ
Paul
Robeson would fit in any category, so I just picked this one. All-American
football player, singer, actor, activist, you name it, he did it.
Philip
Roth - b. 1933
Newark, NJ
Fiction author,
recipient of numerous Writing Awards and critical acclaim.
Philip
Roth Society
Gerard
Schwarz - b. 1947
Weehawken, NJ
Born in Weehawken but grew up in Hoboken, Schwarz
has been the Music Director at the Seattle Symphony for 21 years. He could
have been put in the Music category as well.
George Segal - b. 1924 d. 2000
South Brunswick, NJ
Born in New York City, Segal was a Rutgers graduate and did most of his
work while living in central New Jersey. Segal
was a painter and sculptor,
perhaps best known for his tableaux of life-sized cast figures, usually
in stark white plaster, of ordinary people placed in everyday situations
and environments.
Edward
Stratemeyer
- b. 1862 d. 1930
Elizabeth, NJ
You probably don't know Stratemeyer's
name, but you probably heard of some of the numerous children's books
he 'wrote' under various pseudonyms: Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, The Bobbsey
Twins and Tom Swift, among many other lesser known series.
Stratemeyer
Syndicate
Gay
Talese - b.
1932
Ocean City, NJ
Best-selling author,
also wrote for the New York Times.
Albert
Payson Terhune
- b. 1872 d. 1942
Wayne, NJ
Dog lover and writer. If you are a doggy person, you may have heard of
Terhune and the Sunnybank
collies.
Thanks for this suggestion goes to George Latimore of Indonesia.
George
Tice - b. 1938
Newark, NJ
One of the best-known
fine-art photographers
in the nation, Tice is a 10th generation New Jerseyan. Particularly fascinated
with urban landscapes, his series on Paterson is well-respected.
.
Walt
Whitman - b. 1819 d. 1892
Camden, NJ
Poet. Moved to
Camden in 1873 after suffering a stroke, living there until he died in
1892.
C. K. Williams - b. 1936
Newark, NJ
Born in Newark, and attended school in Maplewood, Charles Kenneth Williams is a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. He is also the recipient of numerous other awards, and teaches at Princeton.
William
Carlos Williams - b. 1883 d. 1963
Rutherford, NJ
Doctor and poet,
awarded Pulitzer Prize for Poetry posthumously in 1963.