Margo Jefferson

{{Infobox writer

|name=Margo Jefferson

|image=Margo Jefferson 2015.jpg

|caption=Jefferson at the 2015 Texas Book Festival

|birth_name=Margo Lillian Jefferson

|birth_date={{birth date and age|1947|10|17}}

|genre={{Hlist|Memoir|journalism|criticism}}

|occupation={{Hlist|Writer|critic|journalist|professor}}

|period = 1973–present

|education = Brandeis University (BA)
Columbia University (MS)

|awards = Pulitzer Prize for Criticism; National Book Critics Circle Award; Windham-Campbell Literature Prize; Rathbones Folio Prize

|notable_works = Negroland: A Memoir (2015)

}}

Margo Lillian Jefferson (born October 17, 1947){{cite web | title=Margo Jefferson's Biography | work=The History Makers | date=January 20, 2017 | url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/margo-jefferson | access-date=2021-05-05 }} is an American writer and academic.

Biography

Jefferson received her B.A. from Brandeis University, where she graduated cum laude, and her M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She became an associate editor at Newsweek in 1973 and stayed at the magazine until 1978. She then served as an assistant professor at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at New York University from 1979 to 1983 and from 1989 to 1991. Since then she has taught at the Columbia University School of the Arts, where she is now professor of professional practice in writing. Jefferson also taught at The New School's Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts.[http://www.newschool.edu/gf/liberal/faculty/jefferson/index.htm New School for Social Research] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060928022058/http://www.newschool.edu/gf/liberal/faculty/jefferson/index.htm |date=September 28, 2006 }}

She joined The New York Times in 1993, initially as a book reviewer,[http://theatre.osu.edu/3_people/level_3_people/visting_artists/jefferson.htm Michael Jackson: An American Work in Progress, Presented by Margo Jefferson].OSU. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513205219/http://theatre.osu.edu/3_people/level_3_people/visting_artists/jefferson.htm |date=May 13, 2008 }} then went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1995.[https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/margo-jefferson "Margo Jefferson of The New York Times"], The 1995 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Criticism, The Pulitzer Prizes.[http://theater.nytimes.com/ref/theater/JEFFERSON-BIO.html The New York Times] bio. She also served as the newspaper's theater critic in 2004.Andrew Gans, Andrew (August 24, 2004). [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/88035-Varietys-Isherwood-Named-New-New-York-Times-Critic "Variety's Isherwood Named New New York Times Critic"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017045648/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/88035-Varietys-Isherwood-Named-New-New-York-Times-Critic |date=October 17, 2012 }} Playbill. In addition to the Times, she has written for Vogue, New York Magazine, The Nation, and Guernica.

Jefferson has a longstanding interest in jazz, and appeared in Ken Burns' 2001 documentary series about the history of the music.[http://www.jazzcenter.net/burnsjazz.htm "Ken Burns's Jazz"], Jazz Center.Ken Monaco, [https://archive.today/20121202045151/http://www.pbs.org/jazz/about/pdfs/Jefferson.pdf PBS]

=Writing=

Jefferson's 2006 book, On Michael Jackson,{{cite web |last1=Silman |first1=Anna |title=She Wrote the Book on Michael Jackson. Now She Wishes It Said More. |date=7 March 2019 |url=https://www.thecut.com/2019/03/margo-jefferson-on-what-her-michael-jackson-book-is-missing.html |publisher=The Cut |access-date=8 March 2019}} was described by Publishers Weekly as a "slim, smart volume of cultural analysis."{{cite web |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-375-42326-0|title=On Michael Jackson|date=November 28, 2005 |website=Publishers Weekly}} According to Lucy Scholes in The Independent: "The excellent On Michael Jackson is not a straightforward biography, nor is it an attempt to claim either his innocence or his guilt when it comes to the child abuse scandals that, although he was acquitted, haunt his afterlife. A 'deciphering' is probably the most accurate description of the book, the shrewd playfulness of Jefferson's prose the perfect vehicle for analysis that's as smart as it is readable."Lucy Scholes (May 10, 2018), [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/on-michael-jackson-margo-jefferson-review-book-biography-negroland-a8345321.html "On Michael Jackson by Margo Jefferson, review: As smart as it is readable"], The Independent.

Jefferson's autobiographical book, Negroland: A Memoir, was published in 2015. It was described by Dwight Garner in The New York Times as a "powerful and complicated memoir",Dwight Garner (September 10, 2015), [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/11/books/review-negroland-by-margo-jefferson-on-growing-up-black-and-privileged.html "Review: 'Negroland,' by Margo Jefferson, on Growing Up Black and Privileged"], The New York Times. and by Margaret Busby in The Sunday Times as "utterly compelling",Margaret Busby (June 19, 2016), [https://www.thetimes.com/culture/article/books-negroland-a-memoir-by-margo-jefferson-wnxqns0kq "Books: Negroland: A Memoir by Margo Jefferson"], The Sunday Times. while Anita Sethi wrote in The Observer: "Jefferson fascinatingly explores how her personal experience intersected with politics, from the civil rights movement to feminism, as well as history before her birth."Anita Sethi (January 22, 2017), [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jan/22/negroland-memoir-margo-jefferson-review-race-united-states-slavery-civil-rights-frederick-douglass "Negroland by Margo Jefferson review – a brilliant memoir about race in America"], The Observer. Tracy K. Smith wrote in The New York Times: "The visible narrative apparatus of 'Negroland' highlights its author's extreme vulnerability in the face of her material. It also makes apparent the all-too-often invisible fallout of our nation's ongoing obsession with race and class: Namely, that living a life as an exemplar of black excellence — and living with the survivor's guilt that often accompanies such excellence — can have a psychic effect nearly as deadening and dehumanizing as that of racial injustice itself."{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/books/review/margo-jeffersons-negroland-a-memoir.html|title=Margo Jefferson's 'Negroland: A Memoir'|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 20, 2015}} In 2016 Negroland was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37656727|title=Baillie Gifford Non-Fiction Prize nominees announced|publisher=BBC News|date=October 17, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/oct/17/first-hand-reporting-dominates-baillie-gifford-shortlist|title= First-hand reporting dominates Baillie Gifford shortlist|author=Maev Kennedy|author-link=Maev Kennedy|newspaper=The Guardian|date=October 17, 2016}} and won the National Book Critics Circle Award in the Autobiography category.

Jefferson is a contributor to the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.Margaret Busby (March 9, 2019), [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/mar/09/from-ayobami-adebayo-to-zadie-smith-meet-the-new-daughters-of-africa "From Ayòbámi Adébáyò to Zadie Smith: meet the New Daughters of Africa"], The Guardian.

In 2022, Jefferson was the recipient of a Windham-Campbell Literature Prize in the category of non-fiction.{{cite web|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/news/jefferson-dangarembga-and-pinnock-among-winners-of-windham-campbell-prizes|title=Jefferson, Dangarembga and Pinnock among winners of Windham-Campbell Prizes|magazine=The Bookseller|first=Lauren|last=Brown|date= March 29, 2022|access-date= March 30, 2022}} Her book Constructing a Nervous System was a finalist for ALA 2023 Carnegie Medal{{Cite web |last=Andrew Albanese |date=January 30, 2023 |title=Julie Otsuka, Ed Yong Win ALA's 2023 Carnegie Medals |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/91404-julie-otsuka-ed-yong-win-ala-s-2023-carnegie-medals.html |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=PublishersWeekly.com |language=en}} and the 2023 National Book Critics Circle award in criticism.{{Cite web |last=Varno |first=David |date=2023-02-01 |title=NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR PUBLISHING YEAR 2022 |url=https://www.bookcritics.org/2023/01/31/national-book-critics-circle-announces-finalists-for-publishing-year-2022/ |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=National Book Critics Circle |language=en-US}} The book won both the overall and non-fiction categories of the Rathbones Folio Prize.{{Cite web |date=2023-03-28 |title=De Kretser wins 2023 Folio Prize |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2023/03/28/228681/de-kretser-wins-2023-folio-prize/ |access-date=2023-03-28 |publisher=Books+Publishing}}

Awards

class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Award !Category !Result !Ref
1995 \|{{Em dash}} \|Pulitzer Prize \|Criticism \|{{Won}} \|
2016 \| rowspan="2" \|Negroland \|Baillie Gifford Prize \|{{Em dash}} \|{{Sho}} \|{{cite web \|date=October 2016 \|title=Shortlist announced for The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2016 \|url=https://thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk/news/shortlist-announced-baillie-gifford-prize-non-fiction-2016 \|publisher=The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction}}
2016 \|National Book Critics Circle Award \|Memoir \|{{Won}} \|{{cite web \|author=Alexandra Alter \|date=March 17, 2016 \|title='The Sellout' Wins National Book Critics Circle's Fiction Award \|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/business/the-sellout-wins-national-book-critics-circles-fiction-award.html \|access-date=March 18, 2016 \|work=The New York Times}}
2022 \|{{Em dash}} \|Windham–Campbell Literature Prize \|Non-fiction \|{{Won}} \|{{cite web \|title=Margo Jefferson \|url=https://windhamcampbell.org/festival/2022/recipients/jefferson-margo \|access-date=March 30, 2022 \|publisher=Windham-Campbell Prizes}}
2023 \|Constructing a Nervous System \|Rathbones Folio Prize \|{{Em dash}} \|{{Won}} \|

class="wikitable sortable"

!Year

!Title

!Award

!Category

!Result

!Ref

1995

|{{Em dash}}

|Pulitzer Prize

|Criticism

|{{Won}}

2016

| rowspan="2" |Negroland

|Baillie Gifford Prize

|{{Em dash}}

|{{Sho}}

|{{cite web |date=October 2016 |title=Shortlist announced for The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2016 |url=https://thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk/news/shortlist-announced-baillie-gifford-prize-non-fiction-2016 |publisher=The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction}}

2016

|National Book Critics Circle Award

|Memoir

|{{Won}}

|{{cite web |author=Alexandra Alter |date=March 17, 2016 |title='The Sellout' Wins National Book Critics Circle's Fiction Award |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/business/the-sellout-wins-national-book-critics-circles-fiction-award.html |access-date=March 18, 2016 |work=The New York Times}}

2022

|{{Em dash}}

|Windham–Campbell Literature Prize

|Non-fiction

|{{Won}}

|{{cite web |title=Margo Jefferson |url=https://windhamcampbell.org/festival/2022/recipients/jefferson-margo |access-date=March 30, 2022 |publisher=Windham-Campbell Prizes}}

2023

|Constructing a Nervous System

|Rathbones Folio Prize

|{{Em dash}}

|{{Won}}

Bibliography

=Books=

{{cite book |title=On Michael Jackson |location=New York |publisher=Pantheon |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-375-42326-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/onmichaeljackson00jeff }}
{{cite book |title=Negroland: A Memoir |location=New York |publisher=Pantheon |year=2015|isbn=978-0307378453}}Tracy K. Smith, [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/books/review/margo-jeffersons-negroland-a-memoir.html "Margo Jefferson's 'Negroland: A Memoir'"] (review), The New York Times, September 15, 2015.
{{cite book |title=Constructing a Nervous System |title-link=Constructing a Nervous System |location=New York |publisher=Pantheon |year=2022 |isbn=978-1524748173}}

=Selected essays and reporting=

"Ripping Off Black Music", Harper's Magazine, January 1973.
"Seducified by a Minstrel Show", The New York Times, May 22, 1994.Margo Jefferson (May 22, 1994), [https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/22/arts/television-view-seducified-by-a-minstrel-show.html "TELEVISION VIEW; Seducified by a Minstrel Show"], The New York Times.
"On Writers and Writing; Authentic American", The New York Times, February 18, 2001.Margo Jefferson (February 18, 2001), [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/18/books/on-writers-and-writing-authentic-american.html "On Writers and Writing; Authentic American"], The New York Times.
"On the Home Front, the Personal Becomes Theatrical (and Political, Too)", The New York Times, December 11, 2004.Margo Jefferson (December 11, 2004), [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/11/theater/newsandfeatures/on-the-home-front-the-personal-becomes-theatrical.html "On the Home Front, the Personal Becomes Theatrical (and Political, Too)"], The New York Times.
{{cite journal |date=March–April 2013 |title=Some permutations of we : criticism that comes close to home |journal=The Believer |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=22–24 }}
"How Michelle Obama expanded the definition of a first lady", The Guardian, January 6, 2017.Margo Jefferson (January 6, 2017), [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/06/how-michelle-obama-expanded-definition-of-first-lady "How Michelle Obama expanded the definition of a first lady"], The Guardian.
"No Cinderella: Margo Jefferson on the real Meghan Markle", The Guardian, May 5, 2018.Margo Jefferson (May 5, 2018), [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/05/meghan-markle-royal-wedding-margo-jefferson "No Cinderella: Margo Jefferson on the real Meghan Markle"], The Guardian.
"Was I in denial? Margo Jefferson on Michael Jackson's legacy", The Guardian, June 7, 2019.Margo Jefferson (June 7, 2019), [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jun/07/margo-jefferson-on-michael-jackson "Was I in denial? Margo Jefferson on Michael Jackson's legacy"], The Guardian.

References

External links

{{external media

|audio1 = [http://www.gracecavalieri.com/poetLaureates/featuredpoet_margojefferson.html Margo Jefferson], The Poet and the Poem 2017–18 Series

}}

Tim Adams, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/22/margo-jefferson-negroland-interview "Margo Jefferson: 'I was anxious about using the word Negro in a book title'"] (interview), The Observer, May 22, 2016.
[https://lithub.com/margo-jefferson-the-books-in-my-life/ "Margo Jefferson: The Books in My Life | On the Pleasures of Poetry and (Not) Reading the Russians"], Lit Hub, August 23, 2016.
[https://thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk/news/margo-jefferson-interview "Margo Jefferson interview"], The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, 2016.
Arifa Akbar, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/05/margo-jefferson-interview-on-michael-jackson "Margo Jefferson: 'I have always loved Michael Jackson'"] (interview), The Guardian, May 5, 2018.
Zinzi Clemmons, [https://www.thewhitereview.org/feature/interview-margo-jefferson/ "Interview with Margo Jefferson"], The White Review, October 2018.