Ishmael.org

Ishmael Companion: Beyond Civilization -- resources for teachers and readers

BC Reading Group Guide: About Daniel Quinn

Quinn's writing life, spanning more than 40 years, has been an inspiration to aspiring writers everywhere. Before beginning work on the book that would ultimately make him famous, he wrote advertising copy, scripts for audio and filmstrip productions, math and science textbooks, encyclopedia articles, short stories, and children's books. Focus and success came late. He was 56 when he won the half-million-dollar Turner Tomorrow Fellowship for his novel Ishmael, a book which itself has had an extraordinary career. Originally thought to have little future, it slowly gained popularity among readers after its publication in 1992, finding its way into four editions, dozens of printings, twenty languages, and hundreds of classrooms all over North America, from mid-school to graduate school, where it continues to be used in courses as varied as history, geography, biology, economics, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, religion, and literature.

Quinn was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, studied at St. Louis University, the University of Vienna, and Loyola of Chicago. After more than two decades in Chicago, one in New Mexico, and one in Austin, Texas, he and his wife, Rennie, now live in Houston, where he's at work on a new book.

BC Reading Group Guide Part 1: About Beyond Civilization
BC Reading Group Guide Part 2: Questions For Discussion
BC Reading Group Guide Part 3: About Daniel Quinn

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