Pulitzer Prizes in Arts Awarded

``Proof,'' which debuted off-Broadway last May, was considered one of the favorites for the honor, along with three-time Pulitzer winner Edward Albee's ``The Play About the Baby.'' The award for biography went to David Levering Lewis for the second volume of his biography of civil rights leader W.E.B. Du Bois, ``W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and The American Century, 1919-1963.'' His prize marked the first time that the second volume of a previous Pulitzer winner also won the award. Lewis's first volume on Du Bois, covering his life from 1868-1919, won in 1994. Lewis' prize marked the first time that the second volume of a previous Pulitzer winner also won the award. The Pulitzer for history went to Joseph J. Ellis for his book,``Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation.'' Ellis, a professor of history at Mount Holyoke College, has written five other books on the American Revolution. The Pulitzer for fiction was awarded to Michael Chabon for ``The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,'' a fanciful tale about comic books. His wife began screaming ``Michael! Michael!'' after receiving word of his prize at their Berkeley, Calif., home. Stephen Dunn won the poetry prize for his volume of original verses, ``Different Hours,'' his 11th collection. The Pulitzer for general non-fiction was awarded to Herbert P.Bix for ``Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan.'' Bix,widely published in the world of Asian study, provoked a rethinking of the Japanese emperor's role in the 20th century, particularly during World War II, with his work. The music prize was given to John Corigliano for ``Symphony No. 2 for String Orchestra.'' The winning piece was a rearrangement of a string quartet he wrote in 1995.