Zadie Smith

Born:	October 27, 1975 Brent, London, England
Occupation:	Novelist, essayist
Nationality:	English
Writing period:	2000-present
Literary movement:	hysterical realism
Debut works:	White Teeth
Influences:	Vladimir Nabokov, E.M. Forster, Charles Dickens, P.G. Wodehouse, Martin Amis, Franz Kafka, Raymond Carver, Philip Roth, Salman Rushdie, David Foster Wallace, Zora Neale Hurston

Zadie Smith (born October 27, 1975) is an English novelist. To date she has written three novels, and is widely regarded as one of England's most talented young authors; in 2003, she was included on Granta's list of 20 best young authors. Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... The London Borough of Brent is a London borough in north west London and forms part of Outer London. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For the album by the Kaiser Chiefs see Employment (album) Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... A novel is an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form; the writer of a novel is a novelist. ... An essayist is an author who writes compositions which can be about any particular subject. ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... ... Hysterical realism, also called recherché postmodernism or maximalism, is a literary genre typified by a strong contrast between elaborately absurd prose, plotting, or characterization and careful detailed investigations of real specific social phenomena. ... White Teeth is a 2000 novel by the British author Zadie Smith. ... Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Набо́ков, pronounced ) (April 22 [O.S. April 10] 1899, Saint Petersburg – July 2, 1977, Montreux) was a Russian-American, Academy Award nominated author. ... Edward Morgan Forster (January 1, 1879 - June 7, 1970) was an English novelist. ... “Dickens” redirects here. ... Called English literatures performing flea, P. G. Wodehouse, pictured in 1904, became famous for his complex plots, ingenious wordplay, and prolific output. ... Photo of Martin Amis by Robert Birnbaum Martin Amis (born August 25, 1949) is an English novelist. ... Kafka at the age of five Franz Kafka (IPA: ) (July 3, 1883 – June 3, 1924) was one of the major German-language fiction writers of the 20th century. ... Raymond Clevie Carver, Jr. ... Philip Milton Roth (born March 19, 1933, Newark, New Jersey) is an American novelist. ... Ahmed Salman Rushdie KBE (Hindi: Urdu: سلمان رشدی; born 19 June 1947) is a British-Indian novelist and essayist. ... David Foster Wallace (born February 21, 1962) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. ... Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American folklorist and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance, best known for the 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. ... is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... A novel is an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form; the writer of a novel is a novelist. ... This article is about the literary magazine and publisher. ...

Biography

Early life

Zadie Smith was born Sadie Smith (she changed her name when she was 14) in the northwest London borough of Brent – a largely working-class area – to a Jamaican mother, Yvonne McLean, and an English father, Harvey Smith. Her mother had grown up in Jamaica and immigrated to England in 1969. It was her father's second marriage. She has a half-sister, a half-brother, and two younger brothers, one of whom is the rapper Doc Brown. Her parents divorced when she was a teenager. The London Borough of Brent is a London borough in north west London and forms part of Outer London. ... Statue of a coal miner in Charleston, WV, USA. Working class is a term used both in academic sociology as well as in ordinary conversation. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Doc Brown (real name Ben Smith) is an underground British rapper. ...

As a child she was fond of tap dancing; as a teenager she considered a career as an actress in musical theatre; and as a university student she earned money as a jazz singer and wanted to become a journalist. Literature, however, came to be her principal interest. Tap dance was born in the United States during the 19th century, and today is popular all around the world. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... The Fantasticks is the longest-running musical in history Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... A singer is a musician who uses their voice to produce music. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ...

Education and career

Smith attended local state schools, including Malorees Junior School, and King's College, Cambridge University to study English literature.In an interview with the Guardian in 2000, Smith is keen to correct a recent newspaper assertion that she left Cambridge with a double First. 'Actually, I got a Third in my Part Ones,' she says, grinning". At Cambridge she published a number of short stories in a collection of student writing (see Short stories) called the May Anthologies. These attracted the attention of a publisher who offered her a contract for her first novel. Smith decided to contact a literary agent and was taken on by the Wylie Agency on the basis of little more than a first chapter. Full name The King’s College of Our Lady and St Nicholas in Cambridge Motto Veritas et Utilitas Truth and usefulness Named after Henry VI Previous names - Established 1441 Sister College(s) New College, Oxford Provost Prof. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ... The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian, V.S... This article is in need of attention. ... The Mays Literary Anthology The Mays is an anthology of new writing by students from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. ... “Publisher” redirects here. ...

White Teeth was introduced to the publishing world in 1997, long before it was completed. On the basis of a partial script an auction among different publishers for the rights started, with Hamish Hamilton being successful. Smith completed White Teeth during her final year at Cambridge. Published in 2000, the novel became a bestseller immediately. It was praised internationally and won a number of awards (see Novels). White Teeth is a 2000 novel by the British author Zadie Smith. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The Hamish Hamilton logo Hamish Hamilton is a British book publisher, founded eponymously by the half-Scot half-American Jamie Hamilton (Hamish is the Celtic form). ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ...

In interviews she reported that the hype surrounding her first novel had caused her to suffer a short spell of writer's block. Nevertheless, her second novel, The Autograph Man, was published in 2002 and was a commercial success, although the critical response was not as unanimously positive as it had been to White Teeth. Writers block is a phenomenon involving temporary loss of ability to continue writing, usually due to lack of inspiration or creativity. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

After the publication of The Autograph Man, Smith visited the United States as a 2002–2003 Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Fellow at Harvard University. [1] She started work on a book of essays, The Morality of the Novel, in which she considers a selection of 20th century writers through the lens of moral philosophy. The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard is an educational institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the semiautonomous components of Harvard University. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... Ethics is a general term for what is often described as the science (study) of morality. In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is good or right. ...

Her third novel, On Beauty, was published in September 2005 and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The book won the 2006 Orange Prize for Fiction. On Beauty is a 2005 novel by the British author Zadie Smith. ... 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in September September 28 : Constance Baker Motley September 25 : M. Scott Peck September 25 : Don Adams September 20 : Simon Wiesenthal September 14 : Robert Wise September 10 : Hermann Bondi September 8 : Donald Horne September 7 : Moussa Arafat... The Man Booker Prize for Fiction, also known in short as the Booker Prize, is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of either the Commonwealth of Nations or the Republic of Ireland. ... The Orange Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdoms most prestigious literary prizes, awarded annually for the best original full-length novel by a female author of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK in the preceding year. ...

Private life

Smith met Nick Laird at Cambridge University. They married in 2004 in the Chapel of King's College. Laird has published a collection of poems, To a Fault, and a novel, Utterly Monkey, early in 2005. The couple live in Kilburn, North London. Nick Laird is a novelist and poet. ... Kings College Chapel (partially obscured by the Gibbs Building), seen from The Backs Fan vaulting diagram Kings College Chapel is the chapel to Kings College of the University of Cambridge, and is one of the finest examples of late English Gothic or Perpendicular -style. ... Kilburn is an area of North London on the border of the London Borough of Brent and the London Borough of Camden. ... North London is that part of London which is north of the River Thames. ...

Works

Short stories

• Mirrored Box. In: The May Anthology of Oxford and Cambridge Short Stories 1995
• The Newspaper Man. In: The May Anthology of Oxford and Cambridge Short Stories 1996
• Mrs. Begum's Son and the Private Tutor. In: The May Anthology of Oxford and Cambridge Short Stories 1997
• Picnic, Lightning. In: The May Anthology of Oxford and Cambridge Short Stories 1997
• "Stuart***". In: The New Yorker Winter Fiction Issue 1999.
• The Girl with Bangs. In: Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Issue 6, 2001
• The Trials of Finch. In: The New Yorker Winter Fiction Issue 2002.
• Martha, Martha. In: Granta 81: Best of Young British Novelists 2003
• Hanwell in Hell. In: The New Yorker 27 September 2004.
• Hanwell Senior. In: The New Yorker 14 May 2007.

The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ... Timothy McSweeneys Quarterly Concern is a semi-quarterly literary journal published by the McSweeneys publishing house. ... The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ... The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ... is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Novels

White Teeth (2000)

Smith's first novel White Teeth is built around three families - the British and Jamaican Joneses, the Bangladeshi Iqbals and the Jewish Catholic Chalfens. It won the Whitbread First Novel Award 2000, the Guardian First Book Award, the Commonwealth Writers First Book Prize, the Betty Trask Award and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction. In 2002 the story of White Teeth was made into a short TV series for Channel 4. White Teeth is a 2000 novel by the British author Zadie Smith. ... White Teeth is a 2000 novel by the British author Zadie Smith. ... The Whitbread Book Awards are among the United Kingdoms most prestigious literary awards. ... Guardian First Book Award issued before 1999 as Guardian Fiction Prize or Guardian Fiction Award is awarded to new writing in fiction and non-fiction. ... The Commonwealth Writers Prize was established in 1987. ... The Betty Trask Award for a first novel given by the Society of Authors to citizens of the Commonwealth under the age of 35. ... Founded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English Language. ... White Teeth is a 2000 novel by the British author Zadie Smith. ... This article is about the British television station. ...

The Autograph Man (2002)

Her second novel, The Autograph Man, follows the progress of a Jewish/Chinese Londoner named Alex-Li Tandem, who buys and sells autographs for a living and is obsessed with celebrities. Smith's second novel won the Jewish Quarterly Review's Wingate Literary Prize 2003. The Jewish Quarterly Review (JQR) is the oldest English-language journal of Judaic scholarship, established in 1888 by Israel Abrahams and Claude G. Montefiore as an outgrowth of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement. ...

On Beauty (2005)

Her third novel, On Beauty, which takes its title from an essay by Elaine Scarry (On Beauty and Being Just), follows the lives of a mixed race British-American family living in America. A short article in the Guardian has described it as a transatlantic comic saga. It was shortlisted for the 2005 Man Booker Prize on September 8, 2005. She gave a preview reading of her third novel at the Oxford Literary Festival in April 2005. This book won Smith the Orange Prize for Fiction in June 2006. On Beauty is a 2005 novel by the British author Zadie Smith. ... Elaine Scarry (born 30 June 1946), a professor of English and American Literature and Language, is the Walter M. Cabot Professor of Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value at Harvard University. ... The Man Booker Prize for Fiction, also known in short as the Booker Prize, is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of either the Commonwealth of Nations or the Republic of Ireland. ... is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 2005 : ← - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - → Hamas and Islamic Jihad have declared, in principle, their intention to join the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). ... June 2006 : ← - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Extraordinary renditions. ...

Collections

• Piece of Flesh (2001)

Anthology of erotic short stories featuring Daren King, Toby Litt and Matt Thorne. Published as part of tenure as Writer in Residence at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. Eroticism is an aesthetic focused on sexual desire, especially the feelings of anticipation of sexual activity. ... Daren King is a contemporary English novelist who has written five novels, published by Abacus, Faber and Faber and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ... Toby Litt is an English writer, born in Bedford in 1968. ... This article is about English novelist Matt Thorne, who is not to be confused with cultural anthropologist Matt Thorn Matt Thorne is an English writer born in 1974 who has published seven novels. ... External view of the entrance to the ICA from the Mall. ...

Essays and others

• "On the Road: American Writers and Their Hair".

Essay written to be read aloud at Neal Pollack's Timothy McSweeney's Festival of Literature, Theater, and Music, 2001. 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. ...

• "We proceed in Iraq as hypocrites and cowards - and the world knows it". In: The Guardian, 27th February, 2003.

Political essay on war in Iraq.

• "The divine Ms H". In: The Guardian, 1st July, 2003.

Essay on Katharine Hepburn for the film features section of The Guardian. It has been suggested that Tom Hepburn be merged into this article or section. ...

• "The Limited Circle is Pure". In: The New Republic, 3rd November 2003.
  

An article written by Zadie Smith on Franz Kafka, for a 2005 reissue of The Trial, for which she also wrote a foreword. Kafka at the age of five Franz Kafka (IPA: ) (July 3, 1883 – June 3, 1924) was one of the major German-language fiction writers of the 20th century. ... The Trial (German: ) is a novel by Franz Kafka about a character named , who awakens one morning and, for reasons never revealed, is arrested and subjected to the rigours of the judicial process for an unspecified crime. ...

• "Love, Actually". In: The Guardian, 1st November 2003
  

Article on EM Forster, based on a lecture given the Gielgud Theatre in London on October 22, 2003. Edward Morgan Forster, OM, (January 1, 1879 – June 7, 1970) was an English novelist, short story writer, and essayist. ... Schillers Don Carlos starring Derek Jacobi as Philip II of Spain at the Gielgud Theatre, February 2005 The Gielgud Theatre, named after British actor John Gielgud, is a West End theatre in Londons Shaftesbury Avenue at the corner of Rupert Street. ...

• Doodle from the Guardian Hay festival 2004

• "You Are In Paradise". In: The New Yorker, 14th June, 2004.
  

Essay on the topic of Holidays

• "Shades of Greene". In: The Guardian, 18th September, 2004

Introduction to the centenary edition of The Quiet American by Graham Greene. The Quiet American (1955) is a novel (ISBN 0-09-947839-0) written by British author Graham Greene. ... This article is about the writer. ...

• "The Zen of Eminem". In: Vibe, 2005.
  

An article on the rap star Eminem for the American magazine on urban music and culture Vibe. Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known as Eminem or Slim Shady, is a Grammy and Academy Award-winning American rapper, record producer and actor from the Detroit, Michigan area. ...

• "We are family" In: The Guardian, 4th March, 2005

Interview with Zadie Smith and brother Doc Brown

• "Nature's Work of Art". In: The Guardian G2 section, 15th September 2005.
  

An article on Greta Garbo. Greta Garbo (September 18, 1905 – April 15, 1990) was a Swedish-born actress during Hollywoods silent film period and part of its Golden Age. ...

• "Fail better". In: The Guardian, 13th January 2007

Topics

Multiculturalism

In an interview with Amazon.co.uk, Smith says about her presentation of culture and community in White Teeth: "I just wanted to show that there are communities that function well. There's sadness for the way tradition is fading away but I wanted to show people making an effort to understand each other, despite their cultural differences."

Essays About Smith's Work Available Online

• "A Thing of Beauty?", a review of On Beauty in The Oxonian Review of Books
• "White Knees", an essay on Smith's body of work by Wyatt Mason in the October 2005 issue of Harper's Magazine.

Wyatt Mason (born 1969) is an American critic, translator and essayist. ... 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in October 28: Richard Smalley 26: Emil Kyulev 24: José Azcona del Hoyo 24: Rosa Parks 23: Stella Obasanjo 22: Liam Lawlor 22: Shirley Horn 20: Endon Mahmood 17: Ba Jin 10: Milton Obote 7: Charles... An issue of Harpers from 1905 November 2004 issue Harpers Magazine (or simply Harpers) is a monthly general-interest magazine covering literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts from a progressive, left perspective. ...

External links

• http://www.literati.net/ZSmith/index.htm (some information about the author, with contact e-mail address)
• http://www.authortrek.com/zadiesmithpage.html (provides a good glossary for a closer look at "White Teeth" and links to interviews online)
• http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,809618,00.html (a review of White Teeth in the Guardian, a controversial approach and critic, but nevertheless interesting.
• http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,6000,780206,00.html (an article in the Guardian on the TV adaptation of White Teeth)
• http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,0_0140276335,00.html?sym=MIS An A-Z by Zadie Smith (an amusing small collection of thoughts and bits from Zadie Smith)
• http://books.guardian.co.uk/booksoftheyear2004/story/0,15602,1365941,00.html Season's Readings - Writers and guest critics recommend their favourites, from bestsellers to the undeservedly obscure In this article is a short paragraph with Zadie Smith's reading recommendations of 2004.
• Girl Wonder: The life so far of multiracial literary sensation Zadie Smith.
• Only Connect: From White Teeth to the ivory tower.
• Zadie Smith's Culture Warriors
• She's young, black, British - and the first publishing sensation of the millennium
• Assessing literary it girl Zadie Smith

Sources

Squires, Claire White Teeth - A Reader's Guide. Continuum International Publishing Group, New York & London. 2002