About Seymour Chatman
Lived 1928 – 2015 (aged 87). Seymour Chatman was an American literary critic, writer, journalist, film critic, university teacher and philologist.
Seymour Chatman (August 30, 1928 – November 4, 2015) was an American film and literary critic and professor emeritus of rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley.
He is one of the most significant figures of American narratology (theory of narrative), regarded as a prominent representative of its structuralist branch.
Personal life Seymour Chatman was married three times, to Evelyn (divorced in 1964), Sidsel (divorced circa 1970), and Barbara. He has three children, Emily Chatman Duffy, an artist, Jennifer Chatman, a professor and dean of the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, and Mariel Chatman Lassalle, a lawyer and diplomat working for the US Department of State. He has four granddaughters, Ava, Sonya, Noemie, and Anais.
Published works Chatman's work includes: The Later Style of Henry James (1972) Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film (1978) Michelangelo Antonioni, or, the Surface of the World (1985) Coming to Terms. The Rhetoric of Narrative in Fiction and Film (1990) Reading Narrative Fiction (1993) Michelangelo Antonioni: The Complete Films (2004) with Paul Duncan
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Important facts
People in Seymour Chatman's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Seymour Chatman?
American film and literary critic (1928–2015)
When was Seymour Chatman born?
Seymour Chatman was born on 30 August 1928 in Detroit.
When did Seymour Chatman die?
Seymour Chatman died on 4 November 2015 in Berkeley.
What was Seymour Chatman's occupation?
Seymour Chatman was a literary critic, writer, journalist, film critic, university teacher and philologist.
What nationality was Seymour Chatman?
Seymour Chatman was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Seymour Chatman. https://biography.guide/seymour-chatman/
MLA: "Seymour Chatman." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/seymour-chatman/.
Chicago: "Seymour Chatman." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/seymour-chatman/.
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