WRITER

Russell Banks

1940 - 2023

Photo of Russell Banks

Icon of person Russell Banks

Russell Earl Banks (March 28, 1940 – January 8, 2023) was an American writer of fiction and poetry. His novels are known for "detailed accounts of domestic strife and the daily struggles of ordinary often-marginalized characters". He drew from his own childhood in the working class, but also from the larger world, such as his years in Jamaica. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Russell Banks has received more than 426,367 page views. His biography is available in 20 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 17 in 2019). Russell Banks is the 4,032nd most popular writer (up from 4,630th in 2019), the 5,277th most popular biography from United States (up from 6,641st in 2019) and the 432nd most popular American Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 430k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 50.18

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 20

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.25

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.67

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

The Darling
Fiction, Animals, Women
2005
Cloudsplitter
american fiction, fiction, Antislavery movements
From book jacket: Narrated by the enigmatic Owen Brown, last surviving son of America's most famous and still controversial political terrorist and martyr, John Brown. Deeply researched, brilliantly plotted, and peopled with a cast of unforgettable characters both historical and wholly invented, **Cloudsplitter** vividly re-creates the antislavery movement of the 1840s and traces it through the brutal guerrilla warfare of Bloody Kansas, culminating in the a haunting, powerful re-creation of Brown's insurrectionary raid on Harpers Ferry.
1998
The sweet hereafter
Fiction, Community life, School bus accidents
1991
Success stories
Short stories
1986
Affliction
Mentally ill, Brothers, Fiction
Wade Whitehouse is an unlikely protagonist of a tragedy. Wade looms in one's mind as a bluecollar American Everyman afflicted by the dark secret of the macho tradition, his tale told by his articulate, equally-scarred younger brother. "Part thriller, part psychological study, part indictment of the American way of violence." Wade Whitehouse is an improbable protagonist for a tragedy. A well-digger and policeman in a bleak New Hampshire town, he is a former high-school star gone to beer fat, a loner with a mean streak. It is a mark of Russell Banks' artistry and understanding that Wade comes to loom in one's mind as a blue-collar American Everyman afflicted by the dark secret of the macho tradition. Told by his articulate, equally scarred younger brother, Wade's story becomes as spellbinding and inexorable as a fuse burning its way to the dynamite.
1989
Rule of the Bone
Fiction, Teenage boys, Teenage boys in fiction
1995

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Russell Banks ranks 4,032 out of 7,302. Before him are José Cadalso, Murray Leinster, Anita Brookner, Katherine Paterson, Bernardus Silvestris, and Gabrielle Wittkop. After him are Rémy Belleau, Alykul Osmonov, Peyo Yavorov, Horst Bienek, Michael Denis, and Arno Holz.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1940, Russell Banks ranks 293. Before him are Sharad Pawar, Philippe Léotard, Conny Plank, Frankie Avalon, Zhuang Zedong, and Grigory Kriss. After him are Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Tony Allen, Lainie Kazan, Giacomo Bulgarelli, Rajendra K. Pachauri, and Renato Pozzetto. Among people deceased in 2023, Russell Banks ranks 354. Before him are Bill Hayden, Wilferd Madelung, Renate Boy, Erkin Koray, Pat McCormick, and Nicolae Neagoe. After him are Zdeněk Mácal, Fay Weldon, Gordon Lightfoot, Juan Carlos Sarnari, Francis Lee, and Princess Marie Gabrielle of Luxembourg.

Others Born in 1940

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 2023

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In United States

Among people born in United States, Russell Banks ranks 5,277 out of 20,380. Before him are Ronnie Radke (1983), Erik Olin Wright (1947), Vanessa Hudgens (1988), William Windom (1923), Peter Lynch (1944), and Virginia Grey (1917). After him are Sacheen Littlefeather (1946), Garrett Hardin (1915), Eric Dane (1972), Nate Archibald (1948), Lyndon LaRouche (1922), and Frank H. Netter (1906).

Others born in United States

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among WRITERS In United States

Among writers born in United States, Russell Banks ranks 432. Before him are Tad Williams (1957), Melissa Mathison (1950), Lloyd Alexander (1924), Syd Field (1935), Elbert Hubbard (1856), and Murray Leinster (1896). After him are V. C. Andrews (1923), Bret Harte (1836), James Redfield (1950), E. B. White (1899), Gary Chapman (1938), and Daniel Silva (1960).

American born Writers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous