Patty Friedmann calls New Orleans home – always has, since she was born here in 1946. After graduating from Newman School, she headed off to Smith College, then picked up a master’s from Temple and did doctoral work at the University of Denver. But New Orleans kept calling her back.
Her writing? It’s been called darkly comic, wickedly funny, and sometimes just plain wicked. When “Secondhand Smoke” landed on Oxford American’s list of the 30 Most Underrated Southern Books – right there with “Gone With the Wind” and “Deliverance” – she figured maybe she was doing something right.
She started publishing back in ’91 with “The Exact Image of Mother” from Viking, and hasn’t stopped since. Over a dozen novels later, plus essays scattered through Newsweek, Publishers Weekly, and Oxford American, she’s still mining the rich, complicated veins of New Orleans life. The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society gave her their ALIHOT Award (A Legend in Her Own Time) in 2017, which sits nicely on her shelf next to the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and various other shiny things.
Ask her why she writes, and she’ll tell you straight: “vindication and vindictiveness.” No prettying it up. Her characters live in the real New Orleans – where “hardscrabble black Pigeontown meets stuffy white Tulane,” where people are messy and complicated and sometimes awful and sometimes wonderful, often all at once.
When Katrina hit, it knocked the words right out of her for a while. “What do you do when New Orleans has been your palette, and you’re not sure about your definition of New Orleans anymore?” she asked. Eventually, she found her way back to the page, because that’s what writers do. They write through it.
These days, she lives with what she calls “an annoying philodendron,” has two kids and three grandkids, and continues to write stories that capture this impossible, irresistible city in all its contradictions.
Key aspects of her background and work
- Darkly comic style: Friedmann’s works often blend humor with poignant themes, creating a unique and sometimes devastating reading experience.
- New Orleans focus: Her writing deeply reflects the culture, characters, and atmosphere of New Orleans, exploring both the city’s beauty and its challenges.
- Notable novels: Her acclaimed novels include “Eleanor Rushing”, “Secondhand Smoke”, “Too Jewish”, and “One Knife, One Fork, One Spoon”.
- Recognition and awards: She’s received various honors, including being selected for Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers, Borders Original Voices, and BookSense 76, and received the 2017 ALIHOT Award from the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society.
- Short stories and essays: Beyond novels, Friedmann has published short stories and essays in numerous journals and magazines, including Oxford American, Newsweek, and The Short Story.
- Other works: She also authored the comedic book “Too Smart to Be Rich” which was syndicated by the New York Times.
- Literary legacy: Her children, in conjunction with One Book One New Orleans and other organizations, established the Patty Friedmann Writing Competition to honor her scholarly contributions and support emerging writers.
- Personal life: She is a sixth-generation New Orleanian, born in 1946. She has two children and three grandchildren. She has been married twice.
Patty Friedmann’s writing offers a unique perspective on the human condition, often through the lens of life in New Orleans, and her work continues to be recognized and celebrated within the literary community.