Rosellen Brown (born May 12, 1939) is an American author, and has been an instructor of English and creative writing at several universities, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Houston. The 1996 film Before and After was adapted from her novel of the same name.
Early life Brown was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College in 1960 and Brandeis University.
Life and work She has been an instructor of English and creative writing at several universities, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Houston.
The TV adaptation Half A Heart was based on Brown's book of the same name which traces the lives of several people who participated in the civil rights movement and continue to live in its shadow. Before and After was released as a film in 1996. Starring Liam Neeson and Meryl Streep, it was directed by Barbet Schroeder from a screenplay by Ted Tally.
Publications Some Deaths in the Delta and Other Poems, 1970 Whole World Catalog, Teachers and Writers Collaborative, 1972 (co-editor) Street Games (stories), 1974; 1991 The Autobiography of My Mother (novel), 1976 Cora Fry (poems), 1977 Tender Mercies (novel), 1978 The Secret Garden (play adaptation of the novel), 1983 Civil Wars (novel), 1984 Before and After, 1992 A Rosellen Brown Reader: Selected Poetry and Prose, 1992 Inter-Office (short story), 1994 Cora Fry's Pillow Book (poetry), 1994 Half a Heart (novel), 2000 The Lake on Fire (novel), 2018
Awards Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize
See also History of the Jews in Houston
References
External links Annotation of Tender Mercies at the NYU Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database with link to text and audio of author's commentary and reading.