Benjamin Moser

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Benjamin Moser
Benjamin Moser with a book manuscript (cropped) 2.jpg
Born (1976-09-14) September 14, 1976 (age 44)
Education
FamilyLaura Moser

Benjamin Moser (born September 14, 1976) is an American writer and translator.[1] For his biography of Susan Sontag, Sontag: Her Life and Work, he received the Pulitzer Prize.

Biography[]

Born in Houston, Moser attended St. John's School and graduated from Brown University with a degree in History. He came to Brown with the intention of studying Chinese, but soon switched to Portuguese, a choice that would have great influence on his subsequent work.[2] He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from Utrecht University. He is the brother of author and progressive political activist Laura Moser.

Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector[]

Moser’s first book, Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector, was published in 2009, and was widely recognized as introducing the Brazilian writer, up till that point largely unknown in the United States, to an international public.

"Despite a cult following of artists and scholars, Lispector has yet to gain her rightful place in the literary canon," wrote Fernanda Eberstadt in The New York Times Book Review. "Benjamin Moser’s lively, ardent and intellectually rigorous biography promises to redress this wrong ... His energetically researched, finely argued biography will surely win Lispector the English-language readership she deserves."[3]

Reviews of the book, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award, were overwhelmingly positive. “This is rich biographical material that gets only richer as Mr. Moser, a translator and a book critic for Harper’s Magazine, begins to unpeel the layers of her complicated life. Why This World sucks you … into its subject’s strange vortex. … [Moser] is a lucid and very learned tour guide, and his book is a fascinating and welcome introduction to a writer whose best work should be better known in this country,” wrote Dwight Garner in the New York Times.[4]

In The New York Review of Books, Lorrie Moore wrote that the book was “impressively researched ... Well-written and remarkable ... He discusses her work in great detail, book after book, with sympathy and insight, and admirably eschews jargon ... Moser is impressive ... in his interest and take on Brazilian politics. Providing authoritative historical backdrop is his forte.”[5]

The book was translated in many countries and was a bestseller in Brazil.

Autoimperialismo[]

In 2016, Moser published a book of essays in Portuguese called (Autoimperialism: Three Essays on Brazil). The book was dedicated to . Ocupe Estelita was an attempt to reclaim Brazilian urban spaces from the corporations that were changing the historic city of Recife, seen as attempts to privatize public space for the benefit of the wealthy. Proceeds from the book were dedicated to the movement.[6] In his book, Moser described the constant violence of Brazilians upon other Brazilians as a form of “autoimperialism.” He described the rhetoric around the construction of the capital of Brasília, the statuary in São Paulo that honors the bandeirantes, and the history of building in Rio de Janeiro that aimed to create a city unconnected to its own past through modern architecture. The book was noted for its harsh criticism of Oscar Niemeyer.[7]

The book received positive reviews [8] and was a bestseller in Brazil.[9]

Sontag: Her Life and Work[]

In 2013, he was named the authorized biographer of the American writer Susan Sontag.[10] In 2019, he published Sontag: Her Life and Work, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 2020.[11] The citation called it "An authoritatively constructed work told with pathos and grace, that captures the writer’s genius and humanity alongside her addictions, sexual ambiguities and volatile enthusiasms.[12]

The book was widely reviewed all over the world and published in many countries.

In ArtForum, Terry Castle wrote: “Benjamin Moser’s Sontag . . . succeeds as it does—magnificently, humanely—by displaying the same intellectual purchase, curiosity, and moral capaciousness to which his subject laid so inspiring and noble a claim over a lifetime. ... Moser’s biography is a stunningly generous gift—to readers, obviously, but also to his subject. He is patient with her, truthful yet tender, recognizing both what was thrilling and what was cursed about her.”[13]

In the Times Literary Supplement, Elaine Showalter wrote: “Engrossing . . . [Sontag] was avid, ardent, driven, generous, narcissistic, Olympian, obtuse, maddening, sometimes loveable but not very likeable. Moser has had the confidence and erudition to bring all these contradictory aspects together in a biography fully commensurate with the scale of his subject. He is also a gifted, compassionate writer.”[14]

In The New Republic, Leslie Jamison wrote: “Utterly riveting and consistently insightful . . . The book takes this larger-than-life intellectual powerhouse—formidable, intimidating, often stubbornly impersonal in her work—and makes her life-size again . . . fascinating.”[15]

In an interview, Moser said that he "was told that this was the most reviewed book of the year" it was published, 2019.[16]

Frans Hals op de tweesprong[]

In 2020, Moser was invited to give the Joost Zwagerman Lecture in the Netherlands. The resulting work, published in Dutch and English as Frans Hals op de tweesprong/Frans Hals at the Crossroads, was a reading of the late work of Frans Hals, particularly the suite of group portraits preserved in the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem.[17]

Clarice Lispector translation project[]

Following his publication of Why This World, Moser was named Series Editor at New Directions Publishing for a new translation of the complete works of Clarice Lispector.[18] The ongoing project, which now stretches to eleven volumes, was carried out with a team of translators, with Moser contributing several translations of his own.

The series has been recognized for its contribution toward the increased readership of Lispector. "The revival of the hypnotic Clarice Lispector has been one of the true literary events of the 21st century," wrote in The New York Times.[19]

For his work as biographer, editor, and translator of Clarice Lispector, Moser was awarded the Prize for Cultural Diplomacy from the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations in 2016.[20]

Journalism[]

Moser served as New Books Columnist for Harper's Magazine from 2009 to 2011,[21] and was a Bookends columnist at The New York Times Book Review. [22]

Moser is currently a Contributing Writer at The Nation.[23]

Translations[]

A polyglot, Moser has published many translations, mainly from Portuguese. He has also published translations from French.[24]

Personal life[]

He has lived in Brazil, the Netherlands, France, and Italy.[25] He currently lives in the Netherlands[26] and in France.[27] His partner is the Dutch novelist Arthur Japin.[28]

Awards and honors[]

Bibliography[]

Author[]

  • Benjamin Moser, Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector, Oxford University Press (2009)/Haus Publishing Limited, ISBN 978-0-19-538556-4 (US), 978-1906598426 (UK)
  • Benjamin Moser, Clarice, uma biografia, Cosac Naify (2009).
  • Benjamin Moser, Autoimperialismo: três ensaios sobre o Brasil, Planeta, 2016
  • Benjamin Moser, Sontag: Her Life and Work, Ecco 2019.
  • Benjamin Moser, Frans Hals op de tweesprong, Arbeiderspers, 2020.

Editor and translator[]

  • Clarice Lispector, The Hour of the Star, trans. Benjamin Moser. New Directions (2011) ISBN 978-0-8112-1949-5 (US).
  • Clarice Lispector, Água Viva, trans. Stefan Tobler. New Directions (2012) ISBN 978-0-8112-1990-7 (US)
  • Clarice Lispector, A Breath of Life, trans. Johnny Lorenz. New Directions (2012) ISBN 978-0-8112-1962-4 (US)
  • Clarice Lispector, Near to the Wild Heart, trans. Alison Entrekin. New Directions (2012) ISBN 978-0-8112-2002-6 (US)
  • Clarice Lispector, The Passion According to G.H., trans. Idra Novey. New Directions (2012) ISBN 978-0-8112-1968-6 (US)
  • Clarice Lispector, The Complete Stories, trans. Katrina Dodson. New Directions (2015) ISBN 978-0-8112-1963-1 (US)
  • Clarice Lispector, The Chandelier, trans. Benjamin Moser and Magdalena Edwards. New Directions (2018) ISBN 978-0-8112-2313-3 (US)
  • Clarice Lispector, The Besieged City, trans. Johnny Lorenz. New Directions (2019) ISBN 978-0-8112-2671-4 (US)
  • Clarice Lispector, An Apprenticeship or the Book of Pleasures, trans. Stefan Tobler. New Directions (2020).
  • Clarice Lispector, The Woman Who Killed the Fish, trans. Benjamin Moser. New Directions (2022).

Reviews[]

  • Benjamin Moser (Feb 2009). "Art is : the audacity of still life". Harper's. 318 (1905): 75–80, 82. Reviews Quentin Buvelot. The still lifes of Adriaen Coorte, 1683-1707. Waanders.

References[]

  1. ^ "Great Homes and Destinations". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
  2. ^ Teng, Emily (2020-05-19). "'I had a chance on something random': Benjamin Moser's journey from Brown to Pulitzer Prize". Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  3. ^ Eberstadt, Fernanda (2009-08-19). "Untamed Creature". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  4. ^ Garner, Dwight (August 11, 2009). "Writer's Myth Looms as Large as the Many Novels She Wrote" – via NYTimes.com.
  5. ^ Moore, Lorrie. "The Brazilian Sphinx | by Lorrie Moore | The New York Review of Books". ISSN 0028-7504. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  6. ^ "O Brasil sempre foi vítima de si mesmo".
  7. ^ "Polêmico, biógrafo de Clarice Lispector lança livro e critica 'mitos' brasileiros - 29/05/2016 - Serafina - Folha de S.Paulo". www1.folha.uol.com.br. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  8. ^ "O 'autoimperialismo' é brasileiro - 04/07/2016 - Leão Serva - Colunistas". Folha de S.Paulo. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  9. ^ "Rodrigo Casarin - Livro mais vendido na Flip até aqui é de Benjamin Moser; Ana C. é segunda". paginacinco.blogosfera.uol.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  10. ^ "Benjamin Moser to Write Sontag Biography". New York Times. 2013-02-27. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  11. ^ "'Sontag' Review: A Slave to Seriousness". Wall Street Journal.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "Sontag: Her Life and Work, by Benjamin Moser (Ecco)". www.pulitzer.org.
  13. ^ "Terry Castle". www.artforum.com.
  14. ^ "Stronger than a man - Book Review - Biography". TLS. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  15. ^ Jamison, Leslie (2019-09-12). "The Remaking of Susan Sontag". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  16. ^ Seaton, Matt; Moser, Benjamin. "Desperately Not Seeking Susan | by Benjamin Moser". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  17. ^ "Joost Zwagerman Lecture". Frans Hals Museum. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  18. ^ "New Directions Resurrects Clarice Lispector with New Translations". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  19. ^ Sehgal, Parul (2018-03-27). "'The Chandelier' Offers an Early Glimpse of Clarice Lispector's Power". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  20. ^ "01/07/2016 - Americano que biografou Clarice recebe Prêmio Itamaraty de Diplomacia Cultural".
  21. ^ "Harper's Magazine Names Benjamin Moser as New Books Columnist". Reuters. 2009-01-08. Archived from the original on 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
  22. ^ "Bookends". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  23. ^ Room, Press (2021-05-07). "'The Nation' Names Benjamin Moser as Contributing Writer". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  24. ^ Lévy, Bernard-Henri (2009-10-13). Left in Dark Times: A Stand Against the New Barbarism. Translated by Moser, Benjamin.
  25. ^ "Benjamin Moser". Fondazione delle Arti Venezia. 5 April 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  26. ^ Foreman, Liza (2008-01-23). "Living in a Dutch Town House". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  27. ^ Jong, Laura de (2020-07-23). "Wat leest schrijver Benjamin Moser deze zomer in zijn huis in Frankrijk?". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  28. ^ "Financial Times". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  29. ^ "National Book Critics Circle Announces Finalists for Publishing Year 2014". National Book Critics Circle. January 19, 2015. Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  30. ^ "Americano que biografou Clarice recebe Prêmio Itamaraty de Diplomacia Cultural". 2016-07-02.
  31. ^ "John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | Benjamin Moser". Retrieved May 5, 2017.

External links[]

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