James Kilgo

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James Kilgo (1941-2002) was an American essayist and novelist, known for writing about nature. He was a professor at the University of Georgia.

Contents

Early life and education

Kilgo was born June 27, 1941, in Darlington, South Carolina to John Simpson Kilgo and Caroline Lawton. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Wofford College in 1963, then a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in American Literature from Tulane University in 1965 and 1972 respectively. [1] [2]

Career

In 1967, Kilgo began teaching at the University of Georgia, where he remained until his retirement in 1999. [3] He released his debut book, an essay collection titled Deep Enough for Ivorybills, with Algonquin Books in 1988, [4] followed by six other non-fiction and fiction texts, including Inheritance of Horses (1994), The Blue Wall (1996), Daughter of My People (1998), [5] The Hand-Carved Creche and other Christmas Memories (1999), [6] The Colors of Africa (2003), [7] and Ossabaw (2004), the last of which were published post-humously. His 1998 novel Daughter of My People won the 2000 Townsend Prize for Fiction. [8] Kilgo was inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame in 2011. [1]

Personal life

Kilgo married Jane Guillory on August 27, 1963. The couple had three children. [2]

Kilgo died from cancer on December 8, 2002, in Athens, Georgia. [1] [9]

Publications

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "James Patrick Kilgo". Georgia Writers Hall of Fame . Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Arrants, Julia (August 9, 2022). "Kilgo, James Patrick". South Carolina Encyclopedia . Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  3. "Kilgo, James 1941-2002". Encyclopedia.com . Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  4. "Deep Enough Ivorybil by James Kilgo". Publishers Weekly . February 1, 1989. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  5. "Daughter of My People by James Kilgo". Publishers Weekly . May 4, 1998. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  6. "The Hand-Carved Creche". Kirkus Reviews . November 15, 1999. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  7. Hayden, Ruth (April 1, 2008). "REVIEW: Colors of Africa". Georgia Library Quarterly. 45 (1). doi:10.62915/2157-0396.1188. ISSN   2157-0396.
  8. "Townsend Prize for Fiction". New Georgia Encyclopedia.
  9. "James Kilgo, 61, Who Wrote on Nature". The New York Times . December 30, 2002. Retrieved January 5, 2025.

Further reading