Ruth Ozeki

About

Japanese-American fiction writer, Zen Buddhist leader, and filmmaker. Her award-winning novels include My Year of Meats, All Over Creation, and A Tale for the Time Being.

Before Fame

Her 1995, Sundance Film Festival-screened movie, Halving the Bones, was based on her real-life journey to transfer her deceased grandmother's bones from Japan to the United States.

Trivia

Her numerous honors include the American Book Award, the Kiriyama Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Family Life

She was born in Connecticut to an American father and a Japanese mother. She later married artist Oliver Kellhammer and lived in both New York City and British Columbia, Canada.

Associated With

She and San Francisco Renaissance author Philip Whalen both practiced Zen Buddhism.