Existing comment:
Anne Tyler: "Sit by my side and let the world slip . . ."
Born Minneapolis, Minnesota
Anne Tyler (born 1941) moved to Baltimore in the late 1960s, where much of her writing is set. Her novels often evoke the dislocations and misconnections of modern American life in a way that is affectionate and merciless at the same time. In a rare interview, she explained why she writes: "It seems to me often that I'm sort of looking from a window at something at a great distance and wondering what it is. But I'm not willing to actually go into it. I would rather sit behind the windowsill and write about it."
Tyler's vast body of work encompasses short stories and novels as well as literary criticism. In 1989, she won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Breathing Lessons (1988), and two of her other books were nominated for the prize. The Accidental Tourist (1985), which was made into an Academy Award-nominated film, remains her most popular.
Ralph Heimans (born 1970)
Oil on canvas, 2015
Acquisition made possible through the generosity of David Kowitz |