I Write to Find Out What I am Thinking

A sentence by Didion, whether it sticks to 39 characters or articulates possibilities in multiple dependent clauses, is always a marvel of magical thinking. * The Guardian *An incisive observer of American politics and culture for more than forty-five years, Didion’s distinctive blend of spare, elegant prose and fierce intelligence has earned her books a place in the canon of American literature * National Book Foundation *

JOAN DIDION (1934-2021) was born in Sacramento, California. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, Didion moved to New York and began working for Vogue. She went on to write five novels and ten nonfiction books, as well as co-authoring screenplays with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, for The Panic in Needle Park, Play It as It Lays, and A Star is Born, among others. Her memoir The Year of Magical Thinking won the National Book Award for Nonfiction. In 2007, she was awarded the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. In 2013, she was awarded a National Medal of Arts and Humanities by President Barack Obama, and the PEN Centre USA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.