Lucy Sante Explained
Lucy Sante (formerly Luc Sante; born May 25, 1954) is a Belgian-born American writer, critic, and artist. She is a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books. Her books include Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York (1991).
Biography
Born in Verviers, Belgium, Sante migrated to the United States in the early 1960s. She attended school in New York City, first at Regis High School in Manhattan and later at Columbia University from 1972 to 1976;[1] due to several incompletes and outstanding library fines, she did not take a degree. Since 1984 she has been a full-time writer. Sante worked in the mailroom and then as assistant to editor Barbara Epstein at The New York Review of Books. She became a regular contributor there, writing about film, art, photography, and miscellaneous cultural phenomena, as well as book reviews.[2] [3]
Her books, include Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York (1991), a non-fiction book documenting the life and politics of lower Manhattan from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century;[4] [5] [6] Evidence (1992),[6] the autobiographical The Factory of Facts (1998), Walker Evans (1999), Kill All Your Darlings: Pieces 1990-2005 (2007), Folk Photography (2009), and The Other Paris (2015). She co-edited, with writer[7] Melissa Holbrook Pierson, O. K. You Mugs: Writers on Movie Actors (1998); Pierson was her former wife. Sante translated and edited Félix Fénéon's Novels in Three Lines (2007) for the New York Review Books (NYRB) series.
In the early 1980s, she wrote lyrics for the New York City-based band The Del-Byzanteens.[8] Sante wrote the text for Take Me To The Water: Immersion Baptism In Vintage Music And Photography, a collection of historical photos of American baptismal rites, published by Dust-to-Digital in 2009.[9]
She taught in the Columbia MFA writing program. Sante now lives in Ulster County, New York, and teaches writing and the history of photography at Bard College.
Personal life
She lived as a man until announcing on September 20, 2021, that she was transitioning to being a woman. She wrote on her Instagram account: "Yes, this is me, and yes, I am transitioning–I have joined the other team. Yes, I've known since at least age 11 but probably earlier and yes, I suppressed and denied it for decades.... I started...hormone replacement therapy in early May....You can call me Lucy (but I won't freak out if you misgender me) and my pronoun, thankyouverymuch, is she."[10] In February 2022 she wrote an essay in the magazine Vanity Fair explaining her transition at almost 70 years old.[11] Her 2024 memoir, , follows her process of coming out.
Sante has been married twice, and has one son.
Publications
Original text
- Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York. Macmillan, 1991. .
- Evidence (1992)
- The Factory of Facts (1998)[12]
- The first chapter is available online.[13]
- The Unknown Soldier (short story, 1998)[14]
- Walker Evans (1999)
- Kill All Your Darlings: Pieces 1990-2005 (2007)
- Folk Photography: The American Real-Photo Postcard, 1905–1930 (2009)[15]
- Take Me To The Water: Immersion Baptism In Vintage Music And Photography (2009)
- The Other Paris (2015)[16]
- Beastie Revolution - Beastie Boys Book - Chapter 2 - Spiegel & Grau (2018)
- Maybe the People Would Be the Times (2020)
- Nineteen Reservoirs (2022)[17]
- (2024)[18] [19] [20]
Editor
Translator
- Félix Fénéon's Novels in Three Lines (2007)[21]
- "Beastie Revolution", Beastie Boys Book, Random House Audio (2018) – voice recording
Exhibitions
- James Fuentes Gallery, 2020[22]
Awards and honors
External links
-
- February 7, 2009 . Roll Deep . https://web.archive.org/web/20090207021203/http://www.guernicamag.com/interviews/677/roll_deep/ . dead . Luc . Sante . . Suzanne Menghraj.
Notes and References
- Web site: Phil Kline '75 Columbia College Today. 2022-01-20. www.college.columbia.edu.
- News: 2006-08-10 . New York Review of Books .
- News: O'Kelly . Lisa . 'This secret that crippled me for 50 years has been lifted': Lucy Sante on becoming a trans woman at 67 . 9 March 2024 . . 9 March 2024.
- Web site: 2022-02-06. Down and Dirty : LOW LIFE: Lures and Snares of Old New York, By Luc Sante (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27.50; 414 pp., illustrated). 29 September 1991. Los Angeles Times.
- News: Hanna. Rubin. 2022-02-06. New York Seedy. The New York Times. 29 September 1991. 0362-4331.
- News: Karen. Schoemer. 2022-02-06. Lowlife: It's a Life. The New York Times. 21 February 1993. 0362-4331.
- Web site: Contemporary Authors Online . Gale . 2009 . Farmington Hills, Michigan .
- Kellman, Andy (n.d.) The Del-Byzantines, Allmusic.com, retrieved April 9, 2014
- Web site: Take Me To The Water: Immersion Baptism In Vintage Music And Photography. April 26, 2009. March 5, 2015. Dust-to-Digital. March 2, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150302140053/http://www.dust-digital.com/water/. dead.
- CUD-VjJlo3s . Lucy . Sante . September 22, 2021 . September 19, 2021 . luxante . I have been shilly-shallying about this long enough..
- 2022-01-20 . On Becoming Lucy Sante . 2022-05-02 . Vanity Fair . en-US.
- News: New York Times . September 26, 2021 . In the Flea Market of the Mind . March 8, 1998 . W.S. . Di Piero .
- News: New York Times . September 26, 2021 . The Factory of Facts: Chapter One . Luc . Sante .
- News: The Unknown Soldier . September 25, 2021. .
- News: September 25, 2021 . New York Times . The Reading Life: Postcards From the Edge . January 15, 2010 . Dwight . Garner .
- News: New York Times . September 25, 2021 . 'The Other Paris', by Luc Sante . October 30, 2015 . Molly . Haskell.
- News: How New York City Got Its Fresh Water . The New York Times . August 8, 2022 . Garner . Dwight .
- News: Garner . Dwight . 2024-02-03 . What It's Like to Transition in Your Late 60s . 2024-02-27 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
- Web site: February 21, 2024 . A gender-swapping photo app helped Lucy Sante come out as trans at age 67 . National Public Radio.
- Web site: Swanson . Carl . 2024-02-09 . Lucy Sante: Here She Comes Now . 2024-02-27 . Vulture . en.
- News: New York Times . September 24, 2021 . Haiku Journalism . Marilyn . Johnson . September 2, 2007 .
- News: Steinhauer. Jillian. Heinrich. Will. Schwendener. Martha. August 19, 2020. 3 Art Gallery Shows to See Right Now. en-US. The New York Times. August 20, 2020. 0362-4331.
- Web site: September 23, 2021 . Luc Sante, 1989 Winner in Nonfiction . Whiting Foundation .
- Web site: September 24, 2021 . Luc Sante . John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.
- Web site: September 24, 2021 . Award Winner: Luc Sante . American Academy of Arts and Letters .
- Web site: Grammy winners, Anthology of American Folk Music . March 5, 2015. Grammy.
- Web site: September 24, 2021 . 2010 Infinity Award: Writing . International Center of Photography . February 23, 2016 .
- Web site: November 28, 2023 . The New York Public Library's Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers Announces 2012-2013 Fellows . NYPL .