Adam Gopnik

Adam Gopnik, (born August 24, 1956) an American writer, essayist and commentator. He is best known as a staff writer for "The New Yorker"—to which he has contributed non-fiction, fiction, memoir and criticism—and as the author of the essay collection "Paris to the Moon", an account of the half-decade that Gopnik, wife Martha, and son Luke spent in the capital of France.

Background and education

Adam Gopnik was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but was raised in Montreal, Quebec. Gopnik's parents served as professors at McGill University, from which Gopnik himself received his Bachelor of Arts degree.

Career

Early Years

In 1986, Gopnik began his long, professional association with "The New Yorker" - with a piece that would show his future range, a consideration of connections between baseball, childhood, and renaissance art. He has written for four editors at the magazine: William Shawn, Robert Gottlieb, Tina Brown, and David Remnick.

Paris and "Paris Journal"

In 1995, "The New Yorker" dispatched him to Paris to write the "Paris Journals", in which he described life in that city. These essays were later collected and published by Random House in "Paris to the Moon", after Gopnik returned to New York City in 2000. The book became a "New York Times" bestseller.

Curatorial

Gopnik trained in art history — and thus writes on the subject with a high degree of confidence and sophistication — and with his friend Kirk Varnedoe curated the famous 1990 "High/Low" show at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Personal

Gopnik lives in New York with his wife, Martha Parker, and two children, Luke and Olivia. His five siblings include Blake Gopnik, the "Washington Post" art critic, and Alison Gopnik, a leading child psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Berkeley (author of "The Scientist in the Crib", UK title: "How Babies Think").

Books

In addition to 2000's "Paris to the Moon," Random House also published the author's reflections on life in New York, and particularly on the comedy of parenting, "Through the Children's Gate," in 2006. (As in the earlier memoir, much of the material had appeared previously in "The New Yorker".) In 2005 Hyperion Books published his children's novel "The King in the Window", about Oliver, an American boy living in Paris, who is mistaken for a mystical king and stumbles upon an ancient battle waged between Window Wraiths and the malicious Master of Mirrors, luring him into a journey of self-discovery that could save the world. He is currently said to be working on a book about Lincoln and Darwin, called " Angels And Ages" and a new novel for children , " The Steps Across The Water".

Honors and appearances

A frequent guest on "Charlie Rose", Gopnik has been honored with three National Magazine Awards for Essay and Criticism and a George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting. His entry on the culture of the United States is featured in the "Encyclopædia Britannica".

Adam Gopnik recently wrote and presented BBC Four's "Lighting Up New York", a cultural journey through the recent history of New York.

Bibliography

* "Paris to the Moon", a [http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/1200/gopnik/excerpt.html book of essays while in France] ISBN 0-375-75823-2
* (editor) "Americans in Paris: A Literary Anthology" (New York: [http://www.loa.org The Library of America] , 2004) ISBN 1-931082-56-1
* "Through the Children's Gate A Home in New York," [http://www.randomhouse.com/vintage/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400075751&view=r] ISBN 978-1400075751, [http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400041817] ISBN 978-1-4000-4181-7

References

* [http://www.caneelbay.com/hottype Speech at Caneel Bay - Adam Gopnik]