Website created by Taylor Altman in the Fall of 2015
Dorothy was born on April 11, 1949 in Greenville, SC
Dorothy is an avid storyteller, author, and feminist activist.
Cavdweller is a 2004 film based on Dorothy Allison's second novel.
Dorothy was born on April 11, 1949 in Greenville, SC
ALL ABOUT DOROTHY ALLISON
Watch a video about Allison's life
“Behind the story I tell is the one I don't.
Behind the story you hear is the one I wish I could make you hear.Behind my carefully buttoned collar is my nakedness, the struggle to find clean clothes, food, meaning, and money. Behind sex is rage, behind anger is love, behind this moment is silence, years of silence.”
-Dorothy Allison, Two or Three Things I Know for Sure
“I fell into shame like a suicide throws herself into a river. (253)”
-Dorothy Allison, Bastard Out of Carolina
Click below for a video outline
According to David Marsh, Dorothy Allison was born in Greenville, South Carolina and spent most of her childhood there (Marsh 1). Allison refers to herself as the "bastard daughter of a white woman from a desperately poor family" ("A Question of Class"). Allison recalls growing up with crime-committing family members and feeling like an outsider to society, very similar to Bone in Bastard Out of Carolina ("A Question of Class")
Allison's first novel, Bastard Out of Carolina, was a huge success. It was a "finalist for the 1992 National Book Award, won the Ferro Grumley prize, an ALA Award for Lesbian and Gay Writing, became a best seller, and an award-winning movie" (Marsh 1). This movie was such a hit, it was translated into over a dozen languages (Marsh 1). Cavedweller, her second novel, was also a national bestseller, "NY Times Notable book of the year, finalist for the Lillian Smith prize, and an ALA prize winner" (Marsh 1). Cavedweller was also turned into a film and play.