@lesliecyoungblood: Ernest James Gaines (January 15, 1933 – November 5, 2019) was an acclaimed American novelist and short story writer known for chronicling the African American experience in rural Louisiana. Early Life and Background • Birthplace: Born in Oscar, Louisiana, on the Riverlake Plantation in Pointe Coupée Parish. • Upbringing: Raised largely by his aunt, Augusteen Jefferson, a disabled woman who crawled on the floor and became his deepest personal and literary influence. • Move to California: At age 15 (in 1948), Gaines moved to Vallejo, California, to join his mother and stepfather because local schools in Pointe Coupée Parish did not offer high school education for Black children. • Military Service: Served in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1955. Education and Career • Higher Education: Earned an Associate of Arts degree from Vallejo Junior College, a Bachelor of Arts in language arts from San Francisco State University (1957), and studied as a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University (1958–1959). • Writing Career: Published his first short story, "The Turtle," in 1956. He later served as Writer-in-Residence Emeritus at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette from 1981 to 2004. • The Ernest J. Gaines Center: Established in 2008 at UL Lafayette to preserve his manuscripts, personal papers, and global literary scholarship. Major Works • Catherine Carmier (1964) • Of Love and Dust (1967) • The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1971) – a sweeping historical novel spanning a century of African American life • In My Father's House (1978) • A Gathering of Old Men (1983) • A Lesson Before Dying (1993) – winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award • Mozart and Leadbelly (2005) • The Tragedy of Brady Sims (2017) Honors and Awards • MacArthur Fellowship (1993) • National Humanities Medal (2000) • National Medal of Arts (2013) • Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters (France) • National Book Critics Circle Award #onthisday #fiction #BlackTikTok

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Monday 12 October 2026 11:09:56 GMT