Susan Sontag Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Susan Sontag
OCCUPATION: Scholar, Women's Rights Activist, Anti-War Activist, Academic Author, Journalist
BIRTH DATE: January 16, 1933
DEATH DATE: December 28, 2004
EDUCATION: University of Chicago, Harvard University, Oxford College
PLACE OF BIRTH: New York City, New York
PLACE OF DEATH: New York City, New York

Best Known For

Susan Sontag was a critical essayist, cultural analyst, novelist and filmmaker. She wrote On Photography, Illness as Metaphor, The Volcano Lover and In America.

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Susan Sontag

APA Style

Susan Sontag. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 10:51, May 24, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/susan-sontag-9488814.

Harvard Style

Susan Sontag. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/susan-sontag-9488814 [Accessed 24 May 2013].

MLA Style

"Susan Sontag." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 24 2013, 10:51 http://www.biography.com/people/susan-sontag-9488814.

MHRA Style

"Susan Sontag," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/susan-sontag-9488814 [accessed May 24, 2013].

Chicago Style

"Susan Sontag," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/susan-sontag-9488814 (accessed May 24, 2013).

CBE/CSE Style

Susan Sontag [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 24] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/susan-sontag-9488814.

Bluebook Style

Susan Sontag, http://www.biography.com/people/susan-sontag-9488814 (last visited May 24, 2013).

AMA Style

Susan Sontag. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/susan-sontag-9488814. Accessed May 24, 2013.

Synopsis

Susan Sontag was born on January 16, 1933, in New York City. In 1964, she gained recognition for her essay “Notes on Camp.” She directed her own film, Duet for Cannibals, in 1969. Her critical essays On Photography (1976) and Illness as Metaphor (1978) only increased her popularity, as did her novels The Volcano Lover (1992) and In America (2000). Sontag died on December 28, 2004 in New York City.

Early Life

Critic and writer Susan Sontag was born on January 16, 1933 in New York City, New York. She grew up in Arizona and Los Angeles, took degrees from the University of Chicago and Harvard, then did postgraduate work at Oxford before settling in New York City to teach and write.

Career Highlights

She first gained attention with her essay, "Notes on Camp" (1964), and went on to publish several novels including The Volcano Lover (1992) and In America (2000), but she is best known for her critical essays and cultural analyses such as On Photography (1976) and Illness as Metaphor (1978). She also directed her own film, Duet for Cannibals (1969). The nature of her concerns and writings have gained her the reputation as America's answer to "Continental intellectuals." Her son by an early marriage, David Rieff, is the author of Los Angeles, Capital of the Third World (1991).