Sarah Vowell
Born	December 27, 1969 (age 37) Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA

Sarah Jane Vowell (born December 27, 1969) is an American author, journalist, humorist, and commentator. Often referred to as a "social observer", Vowell has authored several books and is a regular contributor to the radio program This American Life on Public Radio International. She was also the voice of Violet in the animated film The Incredibles and a short documentary, VOWELLET - An Essay by SARAH VOWELL in the "Behind the Scenes" extras of The Incredibles DVD Release. December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (362nd in leap years). ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Muskogee or Muscogee can refer to: the Creek people, an American Indian people originally from Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, later relocated to Oklahoma their Creek language, or more broadly any of the Muskogean languages the ghost town of Muscogee, Florida the city of Muskogee, Oklahoma Muscogee County, Georgia Muskogee County... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²)  - Width 230 miles (370 km)  - Length 298 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ... December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (362nd in leap years). ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... An author is any person(s) or entity(s) that originates and assumes responsibility for an expression or communication. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... A humorist is an author who specializes in short, humorous articles or essays. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This American Life (TAL) is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by Chicago Public Radio. ... PRI logo Public Radio International, or PRI, is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization. ... The Incredibles is a 2004 Academy Award-winning animated feature film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, centering around a family of superheroes. ... The Incredibles is a 2004 Academy Award-winning animated feature film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, centering around a family of superheroes. ...

Education and personal life

Vowell was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. She has a fraternal twin sister, Amy. She earned a B.A. from Montana State University in 1993 and an M.A. at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1996. Vowell received the Music Journalism Award in 1996. Location within the state of Oklahoma County Muskogee County Mayor Wren Stratton Area    - City 100. ... The Montana State University System was created on July 1, 1994, when the Montana Board of Regents of Higher Education restructured the states colleges and universities into two umbrella universities, Montana State University System and the University of Montana. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... The Art Institute of Chicago is a fine art museum located in Chicago, Illinois. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ...

Vowell is part Cherokee (about 1/8th on her mother’s side and 1/16th on her father’s side). According to Vowell, “Being at least a little Cherokee in northeastern Oklahoma is about as rare and remarkable as being a Michael Jordan fan in Chicago.” She retraced the path of the forced removal of the Cherokee from the southeastern United States to Oklahoma known as the Trail of Tears with her twin sister Amy. This American Life chronicled her story on July 4th, 1998, devoting the entire hour to Sarah's work. [1] For other uses, see Cherokee (disambiguation). ... For other persons named Michael Jordan, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation). ... This monument at the New Echota Historic Site honors Cherokees who died on the Trail of Tears. ... This American Life (TAL) is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by Chicago Public Radio. ...

Vowell currently lives in Chelsea, a residential neighborhood in Manhattan known for its liberal population. She cannot swim, is afraid of heights, and does not drive a car; she usually enlists the aid of her friends and family to drive her to historical sites when doing research. She suffers from celiac sprue, in which the body has an auto-immune reaction to gluten. Vowell is an atheist. [2] Elegant building along 23rd street. ... Manhattan is a borough of New York City, New York, USA, coterminous with New York County. ... Coeliac disease (also termed non-tropical sprue, celiac disease and gluten intolerance) is an autoimmune disease characterised by chronic inflammation of the proximal portion of the small intestine caused by exposure to certain dietary gluten proteins. ... Wheat - a prime source of gluten Gluten is an amorphous ergastic protein found combined with starch in the endosperm of some cereals, notably wheat, rye, and barley. ... For information about the band, see Atheist (band). ...

Career

Published works

After obtaining her master's degree, Vowell published a book about her affection for the radio medium, Radio On: A Listener's Diary, in 1997.

Vowell's bibliography is as follows:

• 1997 Radio On: A Listener's Diary ISBN 0-312-18301-1
• 2000 Take the Cannoli: Stories From the New World ISBN 0-7432-0540-5
• 2002 The Partly Cloudy Patriot ISBN 0-7432-4380-3
• 2005 Assassination Vacation ISBN 0-7432-6003-1

Her writing has been published in The Village Voice, Esquire, GQ, Spin, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The San Francisco Weekly, and she has been a regular contributor to the online magazine Salon. Year 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar). ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... The Partly Cloudy Patriot is a book by Sarah Vowell, a contributing editor for the WBEZ / Public Radio International program This American Life. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Assasination Vacation is a book by Sarah Vowell, published in 2005, in which she travels around the country researching the assasinations of United States presidents Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley and James A. Garfield. ... The Village Voice is a weekly newspaper in New York City featuring investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts reviews and events listings for New York City. ... George Lois cover design for Esquire (May 1969) Esquire is a magazine for men owned by the Hearst Corporation. ... ... Spin is a music magazine that reports on all the music that rocks. Founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... This just IN !!!:paris hiltons new dog. ... Salon. ...

For the audio recording of The Partly Cloudy Patriot, Vowell was able to call upon such friends as Conan O'Brien, Seth Green, Stephen Colbert, David Cross, Paul Begala, Michael Chabon, Norman Lear, and They Might Be Giants to contribute to the reading. The resulting excerpts were posted in McSweeney's Internet Tendency. [3] The Partly Cloudy Patriot is a book by Sarah Vowell, a contributing editor for the WBEZ / Public Radio International program This American Life. ... Conan Christopher OBrien (born April 18, 1963)[1] is an Emmy-winning American comedian, writer and television personality best known as host of NBCs late-night talk/variety show Late Night with Conan OBrien. ... Seth Green (born February 8, 1974, Overbrook Park, Pennsylvania) is an American actor and television producer best known for his acting roles as Doctor Evils son Scott in the Austin Powers movies and as Oz on the Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV series. ... This article is about Stephen Colbert, the actor. ... David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an Emmy-winning American actor, writer and comedian. ... Paul Begala (born May 12, 1961) is a political consultant, a commentator, and a former advisor to President Bill Clinton. ... Michael Chabon (born May 24, 1963) is an American author best known for his novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... They Might Be Giants (commonly abbreviated to TMBG) is an American alternative rock duo consisting of John Linnell and John Flansburgh that formed in 1982. ... McSweeneys is a publishing house founded by editor Dave Eggers, author of You Shall Know Our Velocity, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius , How We Are Hungry and What Is the What. ...

In 2005, Vowell served as a guest columnist for the New York Times during several weeks in July, briefly filling in for Maureen Dowd. Vowell also served as a guest columnist in February 2006, and again in April of 2006. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... Ongoing events • 2005 Atlantic and Pacific hurricanes • 2005 Maharashtra floods • 2005 Gujarat Flood • Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan • Fuel prices • Gomery Comm. ... Maureen Dowd (born January 14, 1952) is a columnist for The New York Times. ...

According to The Steven Barclay Agency's website, she is currently at work on her next book, "The Wordy Shipmates", which will be published in 2008.

Public appearances and lectures

Vowell has made many public appearances and has been on a number of speaking tours, usually discussing her written works as well as cultural and historical events.

She has made appearances on television shows like Nightline, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and The Late Show with David Letterman. She also makes regular appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Nightline is a late-night hard and soft news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. ... The Daily Show (currently The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) is a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning American satirical television program produced by and run on the Comedy Central cable television network. ... Late Show with David Letterman is an hour-long weeknight comedy and talk show broadcast by CBS from the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway in New York City. ... Late Night with Conan OBrien is an American late night talk show on NBC that is also syndicated worldwide. ...

In April 2006, Vowell served as the keynote speaker at the 27th Annual Kentucky Women Writers Conference.

In August and September of 2006, she toured around the United States as part of the Revenge Of The Book Eaters national tour, which benefits the children's literacy centers 826NYC, 826CHI, 826 Valencia, 826LA, 826 Michigan, and 826 Seattle. 826NYC is a nonprofit organization (located in Park Slope, Brooklyn) dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. ... 826CHI is a nonprofit organization located in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. ... 826 Valencia is the name and address of a nonprofit writing workshop and tutoring center in San Francisco whose aim is to help students ages 8-18 with their writing skills, in the realm of creative writing, expository writing, or English as a second language. ... 826LA is a nonprofit organization (located in Venice Beach, California) dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. ... 826 Michigan is a nonprofit organization (located in Ann Arbor, Michigan) dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. ... 826 Seattle is a nonprofit organization (located in Seattle, Washington) dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. ...

Voice and acting work

Vowell's first book, which had radio as its central subject, caught the attention of This American Life host Ira Glass, and it led to Vowell becoming a frequent contributor to the show. Many of Vowell's essays have had their genesis as segments on the show. This American Life (TAL) is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by Chicago Public Radio. ... Ira Glass (born March 3, 1959) is an American public radio personality, and host and producer of the radio and television show This American Life. ...

In 2004, Vowell provided the voice of Violet Parr, the shy teenager in the Brad Bird-directed Pixar animated film The Incredibles and reprised her role for the various related video games. The makers of The Incredibles discovered Vowell from episode 81 – Guns of This American Life where she and her father fire a homemade cannon. Pixar made a test animation for Violet using audio from that sequence, which is included on the DVD version of The Incredibles. She also provided Violet's voice for the Disney on Ice presentation, The Incredibles in a Magic Kingdom Adventure. She also wrote and was featured in Vowellet: An Essay by Sarah Vowell included on the DVD version of The Incredibles, where she reflects on the differences between being super hero Violet and being an author of history books on the subject of assassinated presidents, and what it means to her nephew Owen. shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Violet Vi Parr is a fictional character from the movie The Incredibles. ... Phillip Bradley Bird (born on September 11, 1957 in Kalispell, Montana) is an American Academy Award-winning animator who is known for writing and directing the 1999 Warner Bros. ... Pixars studio lot in Emeryville Pixar Animation Studios is an American seven time Academy Award winning computer animation studio based in Emeryville, California (USA). ... The Incredibles is a 2004 Academy Award-winning animated feature film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, centering around a family of superheroes. ...

Vowell provided commentary in "Murder at the Fair: The Assassination of President McKinley", which is part of the History Channel miniseries, "10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America."

Vowell is featured prominently in the They Might Be Giants documentary Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns). She also participated on the DVD commentary for the movie, along with the film's director and They Might Be Giants' John Linnell and John Flansburgh. Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) is a documentary profiling the band They Might Be Giants, featuring interviews with Frank Black, Sarah Vowell, Dave Eggers, and others. ... A promotional photograph from the late 1990s. ... John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960) is an actor and musician from Brooklyn, New York (though born and raised in Lincoln, Massachusetts). ...

In September 2006, Vowell appeared as a minor character in the ABC drama Six Degrees. Six Degrees (or 6Ëš) is an American dramatic television series about six residents of New York City and their relationships, based on the idea of six degrees of separation. ...

Trivia

• At a public appearance in February, 2007, Vowell confirmed that her twin sister Amy gave her an eyelash of abolitionist guerrilla warrior John Brown for Christmas, which now decorates her wall. Vowell said that her sister originally sought Abraham Lincoln's hair, but balked at the cost. According to her book Assassination Vacation, she gave Amy a DVD player.
• Author Dave Eggers thanks Vowell on page xlv in the acknowledgments section of his 2000 book, "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius", for a read-through of the book "before it was readable."

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... This article is about the abolition of slavery. ... John Brown John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was the first white American abolitionist to advocate and practice insurrection as a means to the abolition of slavery. ... The inside of a DVD player A DVD player is a device not only playing discs produced under the DVD Video standard but also playing discs under the standard of DVD Audio. ... Dave Eggers at the 2005 Hay Festival Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. ... A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (or AHWoSG) is a memoir by Dave Eggers released in 2000. ...

External radio links

Sarah Vowell has pieces featured on the following episodes of This American Life:

• 31 – When you talk about music
• 45 – Media fringe
• 54 – Sinatra
• 56 – Name change
• 58 – Small towns
• 65 – Who's Canadian?
• 67 – Your dream, my nightmare
• 70 – Other people's mail
• 76 – Mob
• 81 – Guns
• 90 – Telephone - Act II deals with They Might Be Giants' Dial-A-Song
• 94 – How to
• 97 – Death to wacky
• 104 – Music lessons
• 107 – Trail of tears, devoted entirely to Sarah Vowell's story about the Trail of Tears
• 114 – Last words
• 118 – What you lookin' at?
• 125 – Apocalypse
• 128 – Four corners
• 129 – Advice
• 141 – Invisible worlds
• 148 – The angels wanna wear my red suit
• 151 – Primary
• 167 – Memo to the people of the future
• 174 – Birthdays, anniversaries, and milestones
• 191 – I know what you did this summer
• 226 – Reruns
• 235 – The balloon goes up
• 239 – Lost in America, including a story about The Battle Hymn of the Republic and John Brown
• 244 – MacGyver
• 247 – What is this thing?
• 256 – Living without
• 277 – Apology
• 291 – Reunited
• 305 – This American Life Holiday Spectacular - Listen to "Christmas at Valley Forge" (lyrics by Sarah Vowell, music by Marah)
• 328 – What I Learned From TV
• 329 – Nice Work If You Can Get It

They Might Be Giants (commonly abbreviated to TMBG) is an American alternative rock duo consisting of John Linnell and John Flansburgh that formed in 1982. ... Established by rock band They Might Be Giants (TMBG), Dial-A-Song consists of an answering machine with a tape of the band playing various songs. ... This monument at the New Echota Historic Site honors Cherokees who died on the Trail of Tears. ... The Battle Hymn of the Republic is a patriotic anthem, written by Julia Ward Howe in December 1861, that was made popular during the American Civil War. ... John Brown John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was the first white American abolitionist to advocate and practice insurrection as a means to the abolition of slavery. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Sarah Vowell

• Steven Barclay Agency, Sarah Vowell page
• Sarah Vowell at the Internet Movie Database
• Consonant Vowells: Sarah Vowell on This American Life
• Soapbox: A Sampling of 20th Century Political Speech Hosted by Sarah Vowell
• Sarah Vowell on NPR's Talk of the Nation
• Sarah Vowell interview on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross
• Sarah Vowell interview on Radio KPSU, Portland, Oregon
• Sarah Vowell on 90.1 KERA FM's "The Talk Show" (March 1, 2006)
• Sarah Vowell, entry on the They Might Be Giants wiki
• Sarah Vowell on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (February 21, 2006)
• Sarah Vowell's columns in The New York Times
• 826 NYC
• Sarah Vowell on KPFA FM's "Cover to Cover with Richard Wolinsky" (February 23, 2006)
• Sarah Vowell interview with Robert Birnbaum at IdentityTheory.com
• Kentucky Women Writers Conference
• Sarah Vowell interview in the Contra Costa Times (from April 2, 2006)
• Sarah Vowell talks about Abraham Lincoln on Studio 360
• Sarah Vowell discusses "Assassination Vacation" on "New Letters on the Air" (KCUR 89.3 FM)
• Information about the "Revenge of the Book Eaters" tour
• "This American Life" Live Performance at Avery Fisher Hall (February 26, 2007 at 8 PM)
• "This American Life" Live Performance at the Chicago Theatre (March 1, 2007 at 8 PM)