Russell Banks Obituary

Russell Earl Banks was an American writer who specialized in fiction and poetry. Banks was born on March 28, 1940 and died from cancer on January 7, 2023. He was 82 years.

Born in Newton, Massachusetts, Banks started to write when he was living in Miami in the late-1950s.

A prolific author of 21 works of fiction and nonfiction, his books have been translated into twenty languages and have received numerous international prizes and awards.

His main works include the novels Continental Drift, Rule of the Bone, Cloudsplitter, The Sweet Hereafter, and Affliction, with the latter two novels made into feature films in 1997 (The Sweet Hereafter and Affliction).

His recent works are ‘A Permanent Member of the Family’ and the 2021 novel Foregone, in which an American filmmaker who fled to Canada during the Vietnam war looks back on his impulsive youth.

Banks was known for bringing his own blue-collar background to bear in his writing.

He delved into the psychological pressure of life in economically depressed towns in the Northeast, their stark reality often shadowed by the majestic Adirondacks of northern New York State.

He was a member of the International Parliament of Writers and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

He is survived by his wife Chase Twichell and daughters Caerthan Banks and Maia Banks.