The Seat Not Taken

Biographical

The AALBC.com (The African American Literature Book Club) provides biographical information and an annotated list of books by and about John Wideman.

Wideman is the Asa Messer Professor and Professor of Africana Studies and English at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

In this 2002 interview in The Paris Review, Wideman discusses his life and work, including the influence of his grandmother’s wake on his work.

Wideman speaks about both the pain and the pleasure in his writing and his life in this 1996 Salon interview.

Listen to John Wideman talk about growing up poor in Pittsburgh, PA.

Cultural

Click here for information on Homeland Security's "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign.

John Wideman was the second African American to win a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.

Wideman won the Pen Faulkner Award for fiction twice in six years.

To refresh your memory, follow along as Robert Frost reads his poem, "The Road Not Taken."

You may find it interesting that a literary society exists dedicated to Wideman and his works.

Bibliographical

The journal Callalo devoted its Summer 1999 issue to an extensive look at John Wideman and his works. The issue includes fiction, non-fiction, interviews, reviews, and much more.

The New York Times has collected Wideman's work along with news and reviews into an archive available on its Web site. You can hear Wideman reading his own work, learn about his children’s fortunes and misfortunes, and see how the critics have received his work over the years.

Read what Wideman says about the film Hoop Dreams.