English professor Laura Dassow Walls wins 2018 Phi Beta Kappa book award | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › English professor Laura Dassow Walls wins 2018 Phi Beta Kappa book award English professor Laura Dassow Walls wins 2018 Phi Beta Kappa book award Published: October 08, 2018 Author: Carrie Gates Laura Dassow Walls, the William P. and Hazel B. White Professor of English at the University of Notre Dame, has won the 2018 Christian Gauss Award from Phi Beta Kappa for her biography, "Henry David Thoreau: A Life." The prize, which recognizes outstanding books of literary scholarship, will be presented at a reception in Washington, D.C., in December. “This is a magisterially sympathetic reading of Thoreau’s life as a writer,” said one member of the prize’s selection panel. “Walls’ clear, probing voice lives up to Thoreau’s.” Established in 1776, the Phi Beta Kappa Society is the nation’s most exclusive and prestigious academic honor society. It has chapters at 286 colleges and universities in the U.S. and more than half a million members worldwide — including 17 U.S. presidents, 40 U.S. Supreme Court justices and more than 140 Nobel laureates. “This award is particularly meaningful, as I have been a member of PBK since I graduated from college, from a proud family who could say the same,” Walls said. “For many years, I have admired and benefited from their high aspirations for the best humanistic scholarship across the arts and sciences.” This is the latest in a series of honors for Wall’s critically acclaimed biography, which has seen tremendous success. Most recently, it won the 2017 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for biography.   "Thoreau: A Life" was published on July 12, 2017, to coincide with Thoreau’s 200th birthday — and sold out even before its official publication date. The first comprehensive biography of Thoreau since 1965, it has been praised in reviews by The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, among others, for its nuanced portrayal of its subject and its compelling narrative. “I’m fascinated by the interface between the factual world and the way our imaginations take up that world and create a meaningful narrative,” Walls said. “I’ve always worked on the boundary between literature and science, and I find that boundary becomes even more exciting if you walk that line as an act of artistic creation. “Writing this book, I’m sure, has changed me forever.” Walls, a scholar of American transcendentalism, environmental literature and the intersection of science and literature, received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2010 to begin work on the book. She was awarded a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2015 to complete the project. For an extended interview with Walls, listen to the With a Side of Knowledge podcast produced by the Office of the Provost. Originally published by Carrie Gates at al.nd.edu on Oct. 4. Posted In: University News Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 03, 2022 Congresswoman Liz Cheney to speak at Notre Dame on the future of democracy September 22, 2022 In memoriam: Rev. Richard Warner, C.S.C., longtime leader for Notre Dame, Congregation of Holy Cross September 22, 2022 ND Forum keynote event to feature Emmy Award-winning actors in Theater of War Productions’ presentation of ‘The Suppliants’ in Notre Dame Stadium September 21, 2022 In annual address to faculty, Father Jenkins outlines campus-wide vision for elevating excellence September 15, 2022 Lilly Endowment Inc. grant helps to expand Notre Dame pre-college programs for Hoosier high school students For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn