Maureen Corrigan

July 30, 1955

Long Island City, New York, United States

From 1981 to 1984, Corrigan worked as a Literary critic and English educator. From 1981 to 1987, she was a professor of English at Haverford College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then, at Bryn Mawr College. From 1981 to 1993, Corrigan was a book critic at Village Voice in New York City, and at National Public Radio, she was a book reviewer and commentator in 1989. In 1990, she worked as a professor of English at Georgetown University in Washington. Then, from 1994 to 1996, Corrigan was a book critic at New York Observer in New York City, and mystery critic and columnist at Washington Post, in Washington, in 1993. She also worked as book critic at Newsday in New York City, in 1995, and at Nation, in New York City, in 1996. In 2005, she published a literary memoir, Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books. Currently, she writes for the "Book World" section of The Washington Post, and is a book critic on the NPR radio program Fresh Air. She is also a Critic in Residence and a lecturer in English at Georgetown University. Her specialist subjects include 19th-century British literature, women's literature (with a special focus on autobiographies), popular culture, detective fiction, contemporary American literature, and Anglo-Irish literature.

Maureen Corrigan

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book critic English educator

Background

Maureen Corrigan was born on July 30, 1955, in Long Island City, New York, United States, to John Joseph and Johanna Alice Corrigan.

Education

In 1977, Corrigan received Bachelor of Arts in English from Fordham University. In 1978, she received Master of Arts in English from the University of Pennsylvania, then, a Doctor of Philosophy in English from the University of Pennsylvania in 1987.

Education period of Maureen Corrigan in University Pennsylvania

Career

From 1981 to 1984, Corrigan worked as a Literary critic and English educator. From 1981 to 1987, she was a professor of English at Haverford College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then, at Bryn Mawr College. From 1981 to 1993, Corrigan was a book critic at Village Voice in New York City, and at National Public Radio, she was a book reviewer and commentator in 1989. In 1990, she worked as a professor of English at Georgetown University in Washington. Then, from 1994 to 1996, Corrigan was a book critic at New York Observer in New York City, and mystery critic and columnist at Washington Post, in Washington, in 1993. She also worked as book critic at Newsday in New York City, in 1995, and at Nation, in New York City, in 1996.

In 2005, she published a literary memoir, Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books. Currently, she writes for the "Book World" section of The Washington Post, and is a book critic on the NPR radio program Fresh Air. She is also a Critic in Residence and a lecturer in English at Georgetown University. Her specialist subjects include 19th-century British literature, women's literature (with a special focus on autobiographies), popular culture, detective fiction, contemporary American literature, and Anglo-Irish literature.

Achievements

A professor of English, as well as a widely known book critic, Maureen Corrigan was a contributing editor to the comprehensive volume entitled Mystery and Suspense Writers: The Literature of Crime, Detection, and Espionage, which was published in 1998. In addition to being an Edgar Award finalist, the book was hailed by many critics for its comprehensive look at the mystery and suspense genre. A native of Long Island City, New York, Corrigan is currently teaching at the prestigious Georgetown University.

Corrigan, who is known for her book reviews on the National Public Radio network as well as in periodicals, reflected on the ways books change their readers in her essay collection Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books. Of particular interest to the author are detective fiction - which she believes gives unique insights into issues of social class - women's narratives, and stories of saints. Her essays reveal her as "immensely likable, eclectic, and dynamic," according to Donna Seaman in Booklist, and her book "celebrates the joys of reading in a peppery narrative."

Works

Mystery and Suspense Writers: The Literature of Crime, Detection, and Espionage Mystery and Suspense Writers: The Literature of Crime, Detection, and Espionage

$Leave Me Alone, I\'m Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books Leave Me Alone, I\'m Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books$ So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures

So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures

Around the World in Seventy-Two Days and Other Writings Around the World in Seventy-Two Days and Other Writings

book
- Around the World in Seventy-Two Days and Other Writings
  (This volume, the only printed and edited collection of Bl...)
  2014
- So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures
  (Conceived nearly a century ago by a man who died believin...)
  2014
- Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books
  (In this delightful memoir, the book critic for NPR’s Fres...)
  2007
- Mystery and Suspense Writers: The Literature of Crime, Detection, and Espionage 1998

Membership

Corrigan is a member of the advisory panel of The American Heritage Dictionary and an Advisor to the National Endowment of the Arts "Big Read" project.

Connections

On July 21, 1990, Corrigan married Richard Jay Yeselson. The couple has one child.

Father:: John Joseph Corrigan
Mother:: Johanna Alice (Dobosz) Corrigan
Spouse:: Richard Jay Yeselson

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