Naomi Wallace

Naomi Wallace (born 1960) is an American playwright, screenwriter and poet from Kentucky. She is widely known for her plays, and has received several distinguished awards for her work. Naomi Wallace was born in Prospect, Kentucky, to Henry F. Wallace, a photojournalist and correspondent for Time and Life magazines, and Sonja de Vries, a Dutch justice and human rights worker.Wallace obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hampshire College. She then received two master's degrees from the University of Iowa. Currently, she divides her time between Kentucky and the Yorkshire Dales in Northern England (UK), where she lives with her partner, Bruce McLeod, with whom she has three children.

Wallace has taught English literature, poetry and play writing at her alma maters, Yale University, UCLA, Illinois State University, Merrimack College, American University of Cairo, Vrije University of Amsterdam and other institutions. She has also worked with women in the criminal justice system, and is a member of Showing up for Racial Justice. She has been called "a dedicated advocate for justice and human rights in the U.S. and abroad, and Palestinian rights in the Middle East," and her writing described as "muscular, devastating, and unwavering."