Joan Didion – Literary Titan Joan Didion Dies at 87

Joan Didion: American novelist, journalist, and essayist Joan Didion, a resounding voice in American literature who vividly captured the 1960s and California through her insightful and beautiful writing, died at her Manhattan home on Thursday. Her age was 87.

According to an email from Knopf executive Paul Bogaards, a publisher of the writer, her cause of death was Parkinson’s disease. Hilton Als, another writer close to the writer, confirmed the news via Instagram. A black square with the simple caption “Joan Didion” was posted by him. 12.5.34–12.23.21.”

Among the country’s most trenchant writers, Didon was an astute observer. In a statement, Penguin Random House said that “she has received numerous awards for her fiction, commentary, and memoirs.”

Didion’s Death after his Husband and Daughter

Didion’s death comes 18 years after her husband, John Gregory Dunne, died of a heart attack at the age of 71 in 2003. A long-time V.F. special correspondent, Dunne’s brother is Dominick Dunne.

Didion’s daughter, Quintana Roo Dunne, died from pancreatitis and septic shock two years later.

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Joan Didion Biography

From 1956 to 1963, Didon worked as a copywriter and editor for Vogue magazine after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley. Her first novel, Run River (1963), examines the disintegration of a Californian family during this period. In 1964, she returned to California with her husband, writer John Gregory Dunne, whom she met in New York City. She established her reputation as an essayist and confirmed her preoccupation with the forces of disorder in Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968), a collection of magazine columns. Didion continued to analyze the turbulent 1960s in her second collection, The White Album (1979). In the essays that make up After Henry (1992; also published as Sentimental Journeys), decay is a major theme.
Among Didion’s other works are the short novels Play It as It Lays (1970), A Book of Common Prayer (1977), Democracy (1984), and The Last Thing He Wanted (1996; film 2020), as well as the essays Salvador (1983), Miami (1987), and Where I Was From (2003). Political Fictions (2001) collected essays on U.S. politics, including the presidential election of 2000. She also wrote screenplays with her husband, such as Panic in Needle Park (1971), Play It as It Lays (1972; an adaptation of her novel), A Star Is Born (1976; with others), True Confessions (1981), and Up Close and Personal (1996).

Joan Didion Won National Book of Award

Didion wrote fiction, nonfiction, and screenplays over the course of her lengthy career, becoming renowned for her linguistic froideur, sharp insights, and provocative yet elegant prose. However, her most intimate subjects remained unwritten. She won the 2005 National Book Award for Nonfiction for The Year of Magical Thinking, her book about coping with the unexpected death of her husband. Blue Nights (2011) saw her dealing with the death of her child as well.

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