Keith Gessen
Keith Gessen
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Keith Gessen is a Russian-American writer, journalist, and professor.
Birth and Death Dates
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Born in 1970, no death date provided.
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Gessen holds dual nationality of Russia and the United States. He works as a writer, journalist, and professor.
Early Life and Background
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Keith Gessen was born to Russian immigrant parents in 1970. Growing up in New York City, he developed an interest in writing at a young age. Gessen attended the University of Chicago, where he earned his Bachelor's degree in English and Philosophy. He then went on to earn his Master's degree in Creative Writing from Columbia University.
Major Accomplishments
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Gessen's writing career spans various genres, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and journalism. Some notable accomplishments include:
He has written for numerous publications such as The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, and The London Review of Books.
Gessen is the author of several novels, including _All the Devoted People_, _A Bad Marriage_, and _Leaves of Grass Don't Die_.
His non-fiction works, like _Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette_ and _Dead Babies_, have received critical acclaim.
Notable Works or Actions
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In addition to his writing, Gessen has been involved in various projects and initiatives:
He co-founded n+1 magazine in 2004 with several other writers.
Gessen served as a professor at New York University from 2010 to 2018, teaching creative writing and literature courses.
Impact and Legacy
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Keith Gessen's work has had a significant impact on the literary world. His writing often explores themes of identity, politics, and culture, making him a prominent voice in contemporary literature. Through his fiction and non-fiction works, he continues to contribute to conversations about the human experience.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Gessen's influence can be seen in several areas:
His novels often tackle complex issues such as identity, class, and morality.
As a journalist, Gessen has covered topics like politics, culture, and social justice, providing insightful commentary on current events.
Through his teaching and writing, Gessen has inspired a new generation of writers to explore the intersection of literature and reality.
Gessen's unique perspective as a Russian-American writer allows him to navigate multiple cultural landscapes. His ability to write about complex issues with nuance and depth makes him a respected voice in both literary and journalistic circles.
Quotes by Keith Gessen
The government, as a rule, discourages specialization: Military officers and diplomats are constantly transferred from one post to another, from one region to the next. Still, specialists do emerge.
During two decades, on and off, reporting in Russia and the post-Soviet states - in the turbulent '90s, the wealthy but depressing aughts and, finally, during the eruption of violence in Ukraine - I occasionally heard people talk about how 'the Americans' wanted this or that political outcome.
From the start of his administration, President Barack Obama had tried to lower tensions with Russia and refocus American attention on a rising China; he had made clear he wanted no part in the problems of the post-Soviet periphery.
I grew up in this household where reading was the most noble thing you could do. When I was a teenager, we would have family dinners where we all sat there reading. It wasn't because we didn't like each other. We just liked reading. The person who made my reading list until my late teen years was my mom.
All literature has this moral strain, but in Russian literature, it's particularly sharp.
I remember reading Dostoevsky's 'The Idiot' in my grandmother's Moscow apartment and feeling this call to be a better person.
I think that the basement where Orwell washed dishes in Paris was his first lesson in anti-humbug - and part of the lesson is that you have to keep renewing it. And Orwell did that.
In 1939, Orwell wrote a long essay titled 'Inside the Whale,' about modernism, the nineteen-thirties, Henry Miller, and 'Tropic of Cancer.'
One of the best and most challenging books about Orwell is by the socialist literary critic Raymond Williams. As a critic - and, in some ways, as a figure, at least within the academy - Williams was what England had in the generation after Orwell, and toward the end of his life, he became more critical of his predecessor.
Being a Russian oligarch these days isn't easy. The best and brightest of them are in exile or in jail; others, after feasting on leverage during the commodities boom, now have tummies full of debt.