Larry Woiwode

Larry Woiwode (born October 30, 1941, Carrington, North Dakota, U.S.—died April 28, 2022, Bismarck, North Dakota) was an American writer whose semi-autobiographical fiction reflects his early childhood in a tiny town on the western North Dakota plains, where five generations of his family had lived.

Woiwode first published fiction while at the University of Illinois, which he attended from 1959 to 1964. His short stories and poetry later appeared in such magazines as Harper’s, Partisan Review, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker. Beginning in 1965, The New Yorker gave a first reading to all his work, an arrangement that lasted for several decades. Woiwode taught and led writing workshops at Dartmouth College and various universities, including the State University of New York at Binghamton, where (1985–88) he was a full professor and director of the writing program.

Woiwode’s critically acclaimed first novel, What I’m Going to Do, I Think (1969), is a study of a newly married couple. Beyond the Bedroom Wall: A Family Album (1975) is a multigenerational saga of a North Dakota family; Born Brothers (1988) continues the story of Charles and Jerome Neumiller, characters from Beyond the Bedroom Wall who also appear in The Neumiller Stories (1989). Poppa John (1981) concerns an out-of-work television actor, and Indian Affairs (1992) is a sequel to What I’m Going to Do.

Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.

SIGN UP

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Britannica Quiz

Classic Children’s Books Quiz

In 1977 Woiwode’s collected poems were published in Even Tide, and a volume of short stories, Silent Passengers, appeared in 1993. He wrote several essay collections, including Words for Readers and Writers (2013), and a children’s book, The Invention of Lefse (2011). He also wrote several biographies, including A Legacy of Passion (2022), about the Scheel family, founders of a retail chain. What I Think I Did (2000) and A Step from Death (2008) are memoirs.

Woiwode was the recipient of numerous honours, including a Guggenheim fellowship (1971). In 1995 he received the Award of Merit Medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters for distinction in the art of the short story. That year he was also named poet laureate of North Dakota.