Susan Cheever

Susan Cheever is an acclaimed American author, journalist, and educator known for her incisive memoirs, biographies, and works of literary non-fiction. The daughter of celebrated writer John Cheever, she has forged a distinguished career exploring themes of family, addiction, and American literary history. Her work, which includes contributions to publications like The New Yorker and The New York Times, is characterized by its lyrical prose and psychological depth. Cheever has also served as a faculty member at several prestigious institutions, including the Bennington College Writing Seminars.

Early life and education

Susan Cheever was born in New York City to novelist John Cheever and poet Mary Winternitz Cheever, growing up in the suburban milieu of Ossining and Scarborough. Her childhood was marked by her father's literary fame and his private struggles with bisexuality and alcoholism, themes she would later explore in her own writing. She attended the Briarcliff public schools before enrolling at Brown University, where she graduated with a degree in English literature. Her early exposure to the literary circles of New England and Manhattan profoundly influenced her future career path.

Career

Cheever began her career as a journalist, writing for Newsweek and later becoming a columnist for The New York Times. She gained significant recognition for her memoir Home Before Dark, a candid portrait of her father John Cheever that drew upon his private journals and won critical acclaim for its honesty. She expanded her focus to biography with works like My Name Is Bill: Bill Wilson—His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous, examining the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, and American Bloomsbury, a group portrait of Alcott, Emerson, and other transcendentalists in Concord, Massachusetts. Cheever has also served on the faculty of the Bennington College Writing Seminars, The New School, and Columbia University's School of the Arts.

Personal life

Susan Cheever has been married twice, first to writer Calvin Tomkins and later to historian Robert A. Cowley; both marriages ended in divorce. She has two children. Her personal experiences, including her family's history with addiction, have been central subjects in her nonfiction. She has been open about the challenges and legacies of growing up in a famous literary family, themes recurrently examined in her memoirs like Treetops: A Family Memoir. Cheever continues to live and work in New York City, remaining an active figure in American letters.

Works

Cheever's bibliography encompasses memoir, biography, and history. Her major works include the memoirs Home Before Dark and Treetops: A Family Memoir. Her biographical subjects range from literary figures to historical icons, including My Name Is Bill: Bill Wilson—His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous, American Bloomsbury: Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau: Their Lives, Their Loves, Their Work, and E. E. Cummings: A Life. Other notable titles include Desire: Where Sex Meets Addiction, Drinking in America: Our Secret History, and the novel Looking for Work. Her essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, and The Washington Post.

Awards and recognition

Throughout her career, Susan Cheever has received numerous accolades for her contributions to literature and journalism. She has been awarded a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Her book Home Before Dark was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography/Autobiography and received a front-page review in The New York Times Book Review. Cheever's work has also been recognized with awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the New York Foundation for the Arts. She is a frequent speaker at literary festivals and institutions like the 92nd Street Y.

Category:American biographers Category:American memoirists Category:American women journalists Category:Brown University alumni Category:Writers from New York City Category:1943 births Category:Living people