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Diane AckermanAmerican writer, poet, essayist and naturalist
Date of Birth: 07.10.1948
Country:  USA |
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Biography of Diana Ackerman
Diana Ackerman is an American writer, poet, essayist, and naturalist, best known for her book "A Natural History of the Senses," published in 1990. Her writing style can be characterized as a delicate blend of poetry, historical narrative, and popular science, written in a simple and accessible language.
Early Life and Education
Diana Ackerman was born on October 7, 1948, in Waukegan, Illinois. When she was eight years old, her family relocated to Allentown, Pennsylvania. She earned a Bachelor's degree in English from Pennsylvania State University and completed her Master's and Doctoral degrees at Cornell University in 1978. Her dissertation was supervised by Carl Sagan, an American astronomer and astrophysicist known for his contributions to science popularization.
Teaching Career
Over the years, Ackerman has taught at various universities, including Columbia University in New York City and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She has also taught at the University of Pittsburgh, Washington University in St. Louis, and other colleges.
Personal Life and Accomplishments
In 1970, Diana Ackerman married British-American novelist Paul West, and they currently reside together in New York. Her collection of manuscripts, letters, and documents is preserved in the library of Cornell University.
One of Ackerman's most popular books is "The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story," published in 2007 by W.W. Norton & Company. The book tells the story of Antonina and Jan Żabiński, the directors of the Warsaw Zoo, who turned the zoo into a pig and fur farm to serve as a center for the Polish Resistance after its looting by the Nazis. The Żabińskis saved the lives of several hundred Jewish inhabitants of Warsaw.
Ackerman's book "A Natural History of the Senses" inspired the American popular science documentary series "Nova" to produce five episodes titled "Mystery of the Senses," which aired in February 1995 on PBS.
Diana Ackerman has received numerous awards and honors throughout her career, including an honorary degree from Kenyon College in Ohio, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Orion Award, the John Burroughs Nature Award, and the Lavan Poetry Prize.
