Book of Joan (Yuknavitch) - Author Bio

Author Bio
• Birth— June 18, 1963
• Where—in the state of Oregon, USA
• Education—Ph.D., University of Oregon
• Awards—(see below)
• Currently—lives in Portland, Oregon


Lidia Yuknavitch is an American writer, teacher, and editor based in Oregon. She is the author of the The Book of Joan (2017), The Small Backs of Children (2015), Dora: A Headcase (2012), and a memoir, The Chronology of Water (2011).

Yuknavitch grew up in a family beset with alcoholism (her mother) and physical and sexual abuse (her father). As a teen, she was noticed by a coach, who helped her move towards her dream of becoming a competitive swimmer. The family moved from Oregon to Florida for additional training, and Yuknavitch began abusing alcohol.

She attended a university in Texas on a swimming scholarship and had hopes of qualifying for the United States Olympic swimming team. However, the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow—and her own struggle with drugs and alcohol —put an end to her competitive swimming career. She lost her scholarship and moved back to Oregon where she attended the University of Oregon in Eugene, eventually receiving her Ph.D.

In addition to authoring books, Yuknavitch teaches writing, literature, film, and women's studies and is on the MFA faculty at Eastern Oregon University. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with the filmmaker Andy Mingo, and the two are the editors of Chiasmus Press, a "micro indie press." They have a son. In 1986, Yuknavitch gave birth to a baby girl, who died that same day. On her website, she says, "From her I became a writer."

Writing and awards
♦ I think the space of making art is freedom of being.
♦ I think things that happen to us are true. Writing is a whole other body.
♦ I believe in art the way other people believe in god. (Excerpts from Yuknavitch's website.)

Awards for her memoir, Chronology of Water:
2012 - Readers' Choice, Oregon Book Award
2012 - Finalist, PEN Center USA Creative Nonfiction Award
2012 - Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award
2011 - Best Books of the Year, The Oregonian
1997 - Writers Exchange Award, Poets & Writers

(Author bio adapted from Wikipedia and the author's website. Retrieved 5/27/2017.)