orig. Chloe Anthony Wofford
born Feb. 18, 1931, Lorain, Ohio, U.S.
U.S. writer.
She studied at Howard and Cornell universities, taught at various universities, and worked as an editor before publishing The Bluest Eye (1970), a novel dealing with some of the shocking realities of the lives of poor blacks, and Sula (1973). The brilliant Song of Solomon (1977) brought her national attention. Her later novels include Tar Baby (1981), Beloved (1987, Pulitzer Prize), Jazz (1992), and Paradise (1998). The African American experience, particularly that of women, is the principal theme of her fiction. Her use of fantasy, her sinuous poetic style, and her interweaving of mythic elements give her stories texture and great power. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.