'Writing the books that endure'

 

“I hope to be remembered for writing books about social justice that also have enough aesthetic value to endure as works of literature.” – Jonathan Kozol 

 

Born in Boston in September of 1936, Kozol is best known for his books on public education in the United States starting with Death at an Early Age about his first year as a teacher in the Boston Public Schools.  Winner of a National Book Award the book has been continuously in print since its publication in 1968.selling more than 2 million copies in the U.S. and Europe alone.

 A graduate (with highest honors) from Harvard, he was selected for a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University and then “self-studied” writing with accomplished authors like William Styron, Richard Wright and other American expatriates living and writing in Paris at the time.  

 

After returning to the States he tutored children, worked on his writing technique, and then did the year teaching that led to his multiple award-winning first book. 

 

His book Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America also earned multiple prizes including the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award and the Conscience-in-Media Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors.   Still going strong, he published his 18th book, The End to Inequality: Breaking Down the Walls of Apartheid Education in America, in 2024.

  

“I don't know if anything I write will endure," Kozol said. "But I do try to write it as a narrative that will not only challenge but also entice the reader into the lives of children.”