Alison Bechdel

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Alison Bechdel (born September 10, 1960 in Lock Haven , Pennsylvania ) is an American comic book artist and author. At first she was best known for the series Dykes To Watch Out For . In 2006, her drawn autobiography Fun Home became a bestseller in the United States.

Alison Bechdel, 2006

life and work

Alison Bechdel was born in Lock Haven, a small town in western Pennsylvania. Her Catholic parents were both teachers and the family also ran a funeral home . Alison Bechdel's brother is the musician John Bechdel.

She graduated from Oberlin College in 1981 , having previously attended Simon's Rock College , and moved to New York City .

After several unsuccessful attempts at various art schools, she began drawing comics on a freelance basis. Her series Dykes to Watch Out For (German, for example: lesbians to watch out for ) appeared regularly from summer 1983 in the feminist newspaper Womannews . After a year, the very successful series was also adopted by other newspapers. In the comic strip there is a catalog of criteria for assessing the roles women play in feature films. It has since become known as the Bechdel test .

From 1990 onwards, Alison Bechdel devoted himself entirely to drawing comics and moved to the vicinity of Burlington (Vermont) .

In February 2004 she married her long-time (since 1992) partner Amy Rubin in San Francisco . However, all same-sex marriage ceremonies in San Francisco at the time were later invalidated by the California Supreme Court . Bechdel and Rubin separated in 2006.

In the same year she had a surprising bestseller with Fun Home , her graphic novel- style autobiography . The book, in which she deals with her childhood and youth, and especially with her relationship with her father, was enthusiastically received and was on the New York Times bestseller list for two weeks . Several magazines named it one of the best books of 2006, and Time Magazine named it one of the best books of 2007.

While Bechdel was previously more of a cult author through her comics, she became a successful author in mainstream American literature through Fun Home .

Awards

  • 1991: Lambda Literary Award for New, Improved Dykes To Watch Out For
  • 1993: Lambda Literary Award for Dykes to Watch Out For: The Sequel
  • 1994: Lambda Literary Award for Spawn of Dykes to Watch Out For (Category: Humor )
  • 1999: Lambda Literary Award for The Indelible Alison Bechdel; Confessions, Comix, and Miscellaneous Dykes to Watch Out for (Category: Lesbian biography / autobiography )
  • 2004: Lambda Literary Award for Dykes and Sundry Other Carbon-Based Life-Forms to Watch Out For (Category: Humor )
  • 2007: Stonewall Book Award for Fun Home
  • 2007: Lambda Literary Award for Fun Home (Category: Lesbian Memoir / Biography )
  • 2014: MacArthur Fellowship

Works

Original editions

German editions

Web links

Commons : Alison Bechdel  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

proof

  1. ↑ Anne Hemmes: Women Who Talk to Women . Süddeutsche.de. November 8, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
  2. ↑ Die Welt : "Papa is Gay, Papa is Dead," Fun Home review , March 1, 2008, with reference to this Wikipedia article
personal data
SURNAME Bechdel, Alison
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American comic book artist and author
DATE OF BIRTH September 10, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Lock Haven , Pennsylvania