The Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, Annie Dillard, known for her exceptional writing skills, nature essays and novels, has died aged 81 at her home in South Wellfleet, Massachusetts.
The 81-year-old’s death has been confirmed by Dillard’s literary editor, Maggie Nelson, to The New York Times.
A glimpse into Annie Dillard’s journey
Annie Dillard reached new heights of popularity with her 1974 book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, which she wrote at the age of 28.
The nonfiction work explored the natural world around her home in Virginia and quickly gained widespread attention, receiving immense success.
The book won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction and was later included in the Modern Library’s list of the 100 best nonfiction books.
Initially, Dillard struggled with utmost attention that followed her success and moved to Washington state, where she divided her time between Bellingham and nearby islands.
Throughout her career, she published poetry, essays, journalism, religious meditations, literary criticism, novels and an autobiography. Her 1982 essay Total Eclipse, based on her experience watching a solar eclipse, was later selected by Joyce Carol Oates among the 100 best essays of the 20th century.
Her 1987 autobiography, An American Childhood, explored her childhood in the Pittsburgh area during the 1950s and 1960s. She published her debut novel, The Living, in 1992.
Although Dillard was frequently compared with naturalist Henry David Thoreau, she rejected the label of “nature writer,” calling her work as an exploration of theology, reality and the mysteries of existence.
