NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Author-playwright Jessica Hagedorn, 鈥淵ellowface鈥� novelist R.F. Kuang and poet Monica Youn are among this year's recipients of the 45th annual American Book Awards, which honor 鈥渙utstanding literary achievement from the entire spectrum" of the country's artistic and cultural community.
The awards were announced Monday by the nonprofit which helped establish in 1976 as a way to champion multicultural literature.
In the diverse spirit of the foundation, winners ranged from the late Rabbi Michael Lerner, longtime editor of the progressive magazine Tikkun, to the Latino poet and performance artist Paul S. Flores, to the recent University of Southern California graduate Asna Tabassum, whose valedictorian speech last spring was cancelled by the school over concerns for her support of Palestinians.
Kuang's 鈥淵ellowface,鈥� a bestselling satire of book publishing, was one of several contemporary works cited. Others included Youn's poetry collection 鈥淔rom From,鈥� Flores' 鈥淲e Still Be: Poems and Performances,鈥� Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's 鈥淚ndependence: A Novel," Debra Magpie Earling's 鈥淭he Lost Journals of Sacajewea: A Novel" and Barbara D. Savage's 鈥淢erze Tate: The Global Odyssey of a Black Woman Scholar.鈥�
Hagedorn, whose books include the 1990 novel 鈥淒ogeaters,鈥� and Lerner, who died last month at age 81, each were praised for lifetime achievement. Tabassum was given an anti-censorship award and recipients of criticism prizes included Mehdi Hasan's 鈥淶eteo鈥� and Lynn茅e Denise's 鈥淲hy Willie Mae Thornton Matters.鈥�
The Associated Press
