Grace Paley

Poet

Birthday December 11, 1922

Birth Sign Sagittarius

Birthplace New York

DEATH DATE Aug 22, 2007 (84)

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About

An American author of short stories and poems, she is best known for her acclaimed stories, "Goodbye and Good Luck" and "The Used-Boy Raisers." Her 1994 work, Collected Stories, was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

Before Fame

She attended Hunter College and briefly studied with W.H. Auden at The New School for Social Research. She later taught at Sarah Lawrence College, Columbia University, and Syracuse University.

Trivia

During the Vietnam War era, she became a prominent political activist and pacifist.

Family Life

Her parents were Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants to New York, and she grew up speaking Russian and Yiddish. She was married twice: to Jess Paley and Robert Nichols. With her first husband, she had two children: Nora and Danny.

Associated With

New York governor Mario Cuomo named her the first official writer of New York State in 1989.