Discipline: Literature

Helen Benedict

Discipline: Literature
Region: New York, NY
MacDowell Fellowships: 1987
More: www.helenbenedict.com
Helen Benedict is an American novelist, journalist, and educator, best known for her writings on social injustice and the Iraq War. She is a professor at Columbia University and is the author of seven novels, five books of nonfiction, and a play. Benedict was born in London, England, to parents who were American anthropologists. As a child, she lived in Mauritius and Seychelles, where her parents conducted fieldwork. Seychelles became the setting for Benedict's novel, The Edge of Eden. Her background as a child of anthropologists has informed her work both as a novelist and a journalist. Benedict's novel, Sand Queen, was named a “Best Contemporary War Novel” by Publishers Weekly. As a nonfiction writer, Benedict's coverage of sexual assault in the U.S. military inspired the Academy Award-nominated documentary The Invisible War and instigated a landmark lawsuit against the Pentagon on behalf of victims of military sexual assault. Benedict has published widely and spoken at Harvard University, TED Talks, West Point, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the United Nations, among other campuses and organizations. A recipient of the Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism and the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism, among other awards, Benedict is also recently the author of the book, The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women in Iraq, and a play, The Lonely Soldier Monologues.

Studios

Banks

Helen Benedict worked in the Banks studio.

Banks, an ell on the north end of the Lodge dormitory, was first used as an artist’s studio in 1970. Since then, it has played host to an extraordinary list of writers working in several disciplines. In all seasons, Fellows have enjoyed the pastoral view through the French doors facing a field…

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