Biography
Born in Los Angeles, California, Smiley grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, and graduated from John Burroughs School. She obtained an A.B. in literature at Vassar College (1971), then earned an MA at the University of Iowa (1975), M.F.A. (1976) and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. While working towards her doctorate, she also spent a year studying in Iceland as a Fulbright Scholar. From 1981 to 1996 she was a professor of English at Iowa State University, teaching undergraduate and graduate creative writing workshops, and continuing to teach there even after relocating to California.
Read more about this topic: Jane Smiley
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“There never was a good biography of a good novelist. There couldn’t be. He is too many people, if he’s any good.”
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