Joan Deadion

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ProperCauldron: Oct 11, 2004; nah chill

If Anne Rice can have a GBS thread, Joan Didion can too.

Joan Didion, famed American essayist and novelist, has died

quote:

Acclaimed American writer Joan Didion, an essayist and novelist who rose to prominence in the 1960s, has died at age 87, her publisher confirmed to CNN on Thursday.

"We are deeply saddened to report that Joan Didion died earlier this morning at her home in New York due to complications from Parkinson's disease," said Paul Bogaards, a publicity executive at A. A. Knopf, in a statement.

Didion was a leading figure of the New Journalism movement in the 1960s and '70s, and she began her career with articles in Life magazine and other publications, capturing the unrest of American life in the postwar era. During her prolific career, she published multiple volumes of essays, nonfiction books, memoirs, novels and screenplays.

She was known for her distinctive prose, and rose to fame with essay collections such as 1968's "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" and 1979's "The White Album." Her memoir "The Year of Magical Thinking" won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2005. In 2013, former President Barack Obama awarded Didion the National Humanities Medal in the East Room of the White House, calling her "one of our sharpest and most respected observers of American politics and culture."

Her ancestors traveled with the infamous Donner Party but they took a different route.

She had a long and fascinating career. I read "Play it as it Lays" and "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" last year. I own a copy of "The Year of Magical Thinking" but haven't cracked it as I've had enough grief the last couple years. I've never been to California or the 1960s but I still enjoyed her works.

There's a documentary on Netflix about her life, made by her nephew, titled "The Center Will Not Hold". It's a fine feature in its own right.

quote:

"I think we are well-advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind's door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends. We forget all too soon the things we thought we could never forget. We forget the loves and the betrayals alike, forget what we whispered and what we screamed, forget who we were.�

# ? Dec 24, 2021 05:31

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 16:11

LOLbertsons: Apr 8, 2009

Year of Magical Thinking is pretty good. I suggest cracking it over the holidays. Especially good if you've lost a family member recently. RIP Joan DIdion.

# ? Dec 24, 2021 05:42