The author of "Continents Adrift" and "Cloud Slayer" has "passed away peacefully at his home in upstate New York," writer Joyce Carol Oates announced Sunday morning.
"All of his work was exceptional," she praised on Twitter.
Novelist, short story writer and poet, Russell Banks loved to tell the hardships of the working class through characters who struggle with poverty, drug addiction, class and race issues.
The author won the John-Dos-Passos prize in 1995 and many other awards.
Two of his works have also been the subject of films widely acclaimed by critics.
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