Balducci, Carolyn
Feb. 13, 1946 –
Place of Birth: Pelham, NY
Place of Principal Residence: Ann Arbor, MI
Biography:
Carolyn Feleppa Balducci was born in Pelham, NY to Ernest and Rosaria Feleppa. She first got her interest in writing through art, being both an avid reader and an artist. During her education at Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart in Purchase, NY she wavered between focusing on studio art and English. In the end, she chose studio art, but her interest in writing lived on. “As electives, I took a couple of creative writing courses,” Balducci said. “My best marks were in The History of the English Language — go figure!” After graduation Balducci taught Creative Writing at the University of Michigan. She became interested in theater and started translating plays, as well as writing her own for university productions. Years later Balducci felt the need to become more involved in her hometown, Montauk, and took up the job of program director for the Montauk library. Her job included organizing local actors to do dramatic readings, a task that required catering plays to the interest of the community as well as using the talents of acting companies to their best advantage. One of her translated plays, In Times of War by David Alan Moore, was performed by Stage Left in Chicago. Balducci has written books, articles, poems, plays, and screenplays. Currently she focuses her time on writing stage plays and screenplays.
Selected works:
- Margaret Fuller, A Life of Passion and Defiance (1991)
- A Self-Made Woman: the Life of Nobel Prize Winner Grazia Deledda (1975)
- Earwax (1972)
- Giovanni the Fearless (1971)
Awards:
- ALA Notable Book Award
- S.I.A.E. commendation for contributions to Italian theater in America
- Grants from Michigan Council for the Arts and Ohio Program in the Humanities
- American Library Association ‘Guest Editor’
- Mademoiselle Magazine ‘Who’s Who’
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work:
Working at University of Michigan sparked an interest in Balducci to get involved in writing and translating dramatic works, an occupation she continues today.