Nicole Fleetwood, a professor of American studies and art history in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University New Brunswick received the National Book Critics Circle Award in the criticism category. The National Book Critics Circle awards are given each year and honor literature published in the United States in six categories – autobiography, biography, criticism, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Professor Fleetwood won the award for her book, Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration (Harvard University Press, 2020). The book, which took nine years to complete, is based on scores of interviews with incarcerated people and their families, prison staff, activists, and other observers. It explores the importance of people in prison creating art as a means to survive incarceration.
“It means a lot to be recognized by the NBCC, especially in the category of criticism. Some of my favorite authors have received this award, like Zadie Smith and Maggie Nelson,’’ Profesor Fleetwood said. “Most importantly, it means so much to have the artists featured in the book recognized for their incredible contributions to contemporary art and social justice.”
Dr. Fleeetwood joined the faculty at Rutgers University in 2005. She is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in modern thought and literature from Stanford University.
