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July 28, 2016

James McPherson, First African American to Win Pulitzer for Fiction, Dies at 72
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And the first African-American author to win the Pulitzer Prize for
fiction has died at the age of 72. James Alan Mc Pherson was awarded the
Pulitzer in 1978 for his book "Elbow Room." Mc Pherson grew up attending
segregated schools in Georgia. He graduated from Harvard Law School. He
pursued fiction instead of law after winning a short story contest. He
was professor emeritus at the Iowa Writer's Workshop at the time of his
death.


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