Barbara Kingsolver Biography

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Dictionary of Literary Biography on Barbara Kingsolver

Barbara Kingsolver renews the Western literary landscape by debunking the myths of individuality and self-determination. Her heroines lead meaningful lives by relying on compromise and community. Kingsolver's work reflects the real West in which she lives—a West populated by people with different values, histories, and worldviews. Her devotion to social justice and her commitment to activism shape her vision. As she writes in High Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now or Never (1995), “Good art is political, whether it means to be or not, insofar as it provides the chance to understand points of view alien to our own.” The points of view of single mothers, Guatemalan refugees, children, and even a hermit crab are among those Kingsolver presents to her readers. She has enjoyed both critical acclaim and wide readership and has been nominated four times for the ABBY (American Booksellers Book of the Year) award by booksellers. She is a writer of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, but as she told interviewer Donna Perry, if she had to categorize herself by genre, she would pick storytelling.

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