While our committee resisted the impulse to conform to a particular aesthetic or worldview, it did seem that many biographies were deeply rooted in American soil that required years of research to till. We aspire to assemble a glorious arrangement-a quintet of blooms that reflect the wildly varied human experiences represented in the verdant garden of biography. A clutch of peony, begonia, or orchid stems…each may be lovely, an exemplar in its own way. Shaping a shortlist seems quite like arranging a bouquet. I think any reader is bound to find something to appeal to their tastes. That comes through in the shortlist, I think. Biographies are ambitious in structure and form, and focus beyond the pale, stale, and male.
Figures-or groups-once regarded marginal are now being discovered or reappraised with new evidence and interpretation. As the world opens and libraries, archives and places where history happened are becoming more accessible. You’ve been chair of the judging panel for a while, so you’re in a great position to tell us whether it has been a good year for biography.
It’s a pleasure to have you back, Elizabeth-this time to discuss the National Book Critics Circle’s 2023 biography shortlist. Foreign Policy & International Relations.
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