Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Sinclair Lewis" - New World
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[[Image:Lewis-Sinclair-LOC.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Sinclair Lewis]] | [[Image:Lewis-Sinclair-LOC.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Sinclair Lewis]] | ||
| − | '''Sinclair Lewis''' ( | + | '''Sinclair Lewis''' (February 7, 1885 — January 10, 1951) was an [[United States|American]] [[novelist]] and [[playwright]]. In 1930 he became the first American to win the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]], "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humour, new types of characters". His works are known for their insightful and critical views of American society and [[capitalism|capitalist]] values. His style is at times droll, [[satire|satirical]], yet sympathetic. |
| − | |||
==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
| − | Born in [[Sauk Centre, Minnesota]], he began reading books at a young age and kept a diary. A dreamer, at age 13 he unsuccessfully ran away from home, wanting to become a drummer boy in the [[Spanish-American War]]. 1885 Born in | + | Born in [[Sauk Centre, Minnesota]], he began reading books at a young age and kept a diary. A dreamer, at age 13 he unsuccessfully ran away from home, wanting to become a drummer boy in the [[Spanish-American War]]. 1885 Born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota to Dr. Edwin J. Lewis and Emma Kermott Lewis. |
* marries Isabel Warner in 1892. | * marries Isabel Warner in 1892. | ||
* 1902 Attends [[Oberlin College]] in Ohio. | * 1902 Attends [[Oberlin College]] in Ohio. | ||
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* 1906 Spends months doing odd jobs at [[Upton Sinclair]]'s Helicon Hall ([[utopian]] community). | * 1906 Spends months doing odd jobs at [[Upton Sinclair]]'s Helicon Hall ([[utopian]] community). | ||
* He received his [[bachelor's degree]] from [[Yale University]] in 1908. | * He received his [[bachelor's degree]] from [[Yale University]] in 1908. | ||
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He began his writing career by producing romantic poetry, then followed with romantic stories about knights and fair ladies. Lewis's first published book was ''Hike and the Aeroplane'', described as a boy's adventure story which appeared in 1912 under the pseudonym Tom Graham. By 1921 he had six novels published. | He began his writing career by producing romantic poetry, then followed with romantic stories about knights and fair ladies. Lewis's first published book was ''Hike and the Aeroplane'', described as a boy's adventure story which appeared in 1912 under the pseudonym Tom Graham. By 1921 he had six novels published. | ||
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Lewis was known for giving strong characterization to modern working women and for his concern with race. Some of his most famous books were ''[[Main Street (novel)|Main Street]]'' and ''[[Babbitt (novel)|Babbitt]]''. He was awarded the [[Pulitzer Prize]] in 1926 — which he rejected — for ''[[Arrowsmith (novel)|Arrowsmith]]'', a novel about an idealistic [[Physician|doctor]]. ''[[Elmer Gantry]]'' was the story of an opportunistic [[evangelist]], if not an outright [[charlatan]]; it was [[ban (law)|banned]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] and other U.S. cities; ''Main Street'', ''Babbitt'', ''Kingsblood Royal'', and ''Cass Timberlane'' all were banned in their turn. In his Prize lecture, he lamented that "in America most of us — not readers alone, but even writers — are still afraid of any literature which is not a glorification of everything American, a glorification of our faults as well as our virtues," and that America is "the most contradictory, the most depressing, the most stirring, of any land in the world today." | Lewis was known for giving strong characterization to modern working women and for his concern with race. Some of his most famous books were ''[[Main Street (novel)|Main Street]]'' and ''[[Babbitt (novel)|Babbitt]]''. He was awarded the [[Pulitzer Prize]] in 1926 — which he rejected — for ''[[Arrowsmith (novel)|Arrowsmith]]'', a novel about an idealistic [[Physician|doctor]]. ''[[Elmer Gantry]]'' was the story of an opportunistic [[evangelist]], if not an outright [[charlatan]]; it was [[ban (law)|banned]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] and other U.S. cities; ''Main Street'', ''Babbitt'', ''Kingsblood Royal'', and ''Cass Timberlane'' all were banned in their turn. In his Prize lecture, he lamented that "in America most of us — not readers alone, but even writers — are still afraid of any literature which is not a glorification of everything American, a glorification of our faults as well as our virtues," and that America is "the most contradictory, the most depressing, the most stirring, of any land in the world today." | ||
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Main Street was published by Alfred Harcourt on Oct. 23, 1920 and sold 200,000 copies within a few months. By 1951 it sold two million copies in the United States. It was the first American novel to become a success by criticizing popula culture. Main Street was published during a time when American culture was being questioned. World War I had just ended; prohibition was an issue and women were declared legally equal to men. | Main Street was published by Alfred Harcourt on Oct. 23, 1920 and sold 200,000 copies within a few months. By 1951 it sold two million copies in the United States. It was the first American novel to become a success by criticizing popula culture. Main Street was published during a time when American culture was being questioned. World War I had just ended; prohibition was an issue and women were declared legally equal to men. | ||
"Americans were questioning themselves about what their country really stood for, what its place in history would be and should be," said Richard Lewis in his book about Lewis. Main Street | "Americans were questioning themselves about what their country really stood for, what its place in history would be and should be," said Richard Lewis in his book about Lewis. Main Street | ||
In 1928 he married journalist [[Dorothy Thompson]] and in 1930 their son [[Michael Lewis (actor)|Michael Lewis]] was born. | In 1928 he married journalist [[Dorothy Thompson]] and in 1930 their son [[Michael Lewis (actor)|Michael Lewis]] was born. | ||
| − | + | The restless Lewis traveled much, and in the 1920s would spend time with other great artists in the [[Montparnasse]] Quarter in [[Paris, France]] where he would be photographed by [[Man Ray]]. His last great work was ''[[It Can't Happen Here]]'', a [[speculative fiction|speculative]] novel about the election of a [[fascist]] [[President of the United States|U.S. President]]. | |
| − | The restless Lewis traveled much, and in the | ||
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Alcohol played a dominant role in his life; he died of advanced alcoholism in [[Rome]]. | Alcohol played a dominant role in his life; he died of advanced alcoholism in [[Rome]]. | ||
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He created the fictional cities of [[Gopher Prairie, Minnesota]] and [[Zenith, Winnemac]]. | He created the fictional cities of [[Gopher Prairie, Minnesota]] and [[Zenith, Winnemac]]. | ||
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==Quotation== | ==Quotation== | ||
"I love America, but I don't like it." | "I love America, but I don't like it." | ||
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"This is America - a town of a few thousand, in a region of wheat and corn and dairies and little groves. The town is, in our tale, called 'Gopher Prairie, Minnesota'. But its Main Street is the continuation of Main Streets everywhere." | "This is America - a town of a few thousand, in a region of wheat and corn and dairies and little groves. The town is, in our tale, called 'Gopher Prairie, Minnesota'. But its Main Street is the continuation of Main Streets everywhere." | ||
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"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." | "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." | ||
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"Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless." | "Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless." | ||
| − | |||
My real travelling has been sitting in Pullman smoking cars, in a Minnesota village, on a Vermont farm, in a hotel in Kansas City or Savannah, listening to the normal daily drone of what are to me the most fascinating and exotic people in the world - the Average Citizens of the United States, with their friendliness to strangers and their rough teasing, their passion for material advancement and their shy idealism, their interest in all the world and their boastful provincialism - the intricate complexities which an American novelist is privileged to portray. | My real travelling has been sitting in Pullman smoking cars, in a Minnesota village, on a Vermont farm, in a hotel in Kansas City or Savannah, listening to the normal daily drone of what are to me the most fascinating and exotic people in the world - the Average Citizens of the United States, with their friendliness to strangers and their rough teasing, their passion for material advancement and their shy idealism, their interest in all the world and their boastful provincialism - the intricate complexities which an American novelist is privileged to portray. | ||
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==Works== | ==Works== | ||
| − | + | * 1912 ''[[Hike and the Aeroplane]]''. | |
| − | + | * 1914 Marries Grace Hegger. ''[[Our Mr.Wrenn]]'' published. | |
| − | * | + | * 1917 ''[[The Job (novel)|The Job]]'' and ''[[The Innocents (novel)|The Innocents]]'' published. Son, Wells, born. |
| − | * | + | * 1919 ''[[Free Air]]'' published. |
| − | * | + | * 1920 ''[[Main Street (novel)|Main Street]]'' published, first major commercial success. |
| − | * | + | * 1922 ''[[Babbitt (novel)|Babbitt]]''. |
| − | * | + | * 1925 ''[[Arrowsmith (book)|Arrowsmith]]''. |
| − | * | + | * 1926 ''[[Mantrap (Novel)|Mantrap]]''. Awarded [[Pulitzer Prize]] for ''Arrowsmith'' but refuses it. Father dies. |
| − | * | + | * 1927 ''[[Elmer Gantry]]''. |
| − | * | + | * 1928 ''[[The Man Who Knew Coolidge]]''. Divorces Grace Hegger, marries journalist [[Dorothy Thompson]]. |
| − | * | + | * 1929 ''[[Dodsworth]]''. |
| − | * | + | * 1930 Son Michael born. Awarded [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] on November 5 (first American to be so honored). |
| − | * | + | * 1933 ''[[Ann Vickers]]'' |
| − | * | + | * 1934 ''[[Work of Art]]''. Assists Sidney Howard in adapting ''[[Dodsworth]]'' to the stage. |
| − | * | + | * 1935 ''[[It Can't Happen Here]]'' and ''[[Selected Stories]]''. |
| − | * | + | * 1936-1942 Writes several plays and acts in a few of them. |
| − | * | + | * 1938 ''[[The Prodigal Parents]]''. |
| − | * | + | * 1940 ''[[Bethel Merriday]]''. Teaches briefly at [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]]. |
| − | * | + | * 1942 Divorces [[Dorothy Thompson]]. |
| − | * | + | * 1943 ''[[Gideon Planish]]''. |
| − | * | + | * 1944 Lt. Wells Lewis killed by sniper in Piedmont Valley, France (near [[Alsace-Lorraine]]) during [[World War II|WW II]]. |
| − | * | + | * 1945 ''[[Cass Timberlane]]''. |
| − | * | + | * 1947 ''[[Kingsblood Royal]]''. |
| − | * | + | * 1948 |
| − | * | + | * 1949 ''[[The God Seeker]]''. |
| − | * | + | * 1951 Dies in Rome of heart disease. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, MN. ''[[World So Wide]]'' published posthumously. |
| − | * | ||
| − | * | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
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* Mark Schorer, ''Sinclair Lewis: An American Life,'' 1961. | * Mark Schorer, ''Sinclair Lewis: An American Life,'' 1961. | ||
* D. J. Dooley, ''The Art of Sinclair Lewis,'' 1967. | * D. J. Dooley, ''The Art of Sinclair Lewis,'' 1967. | ||
| Line 79: | Line 61: | ||
* Stephen R. Pastore, ''Sinclair Lewis: A Descriptive Bibliography,'' 1997. | * Stephen R. Pastore, ''Sinclair Lewis: A Descriptive Bibliography,'' 1997. | ||
SOURCE: http://lilt.ilstu.edu/separry/lewis.html | SOURCE: http://lilt.ilstu.edu/separry/lewis.html | ||
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http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1930/lewis-autobio.html retrieved March 13, 2007 | http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1930/lewis-autobio.html retrieved March 13, 2007 | ||
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http://www.saukherald.com/ftp/lewis/stories.html retrieved March 13, 2007. | http://www.saukherald.com/ftp/lewis/stories.html retrieved March 13, 2007. | ||
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==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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*[http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/l/lewis/sinclair/ Online collection of works] | *[http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/l/lewis/sinclair/ Online collection of works] | ||
* {{gutenberg author| id=Sinclair+Lewis | name=Sinclair Lewis}} | * {{gutenberg author| id=Sinclair+Lewis | name=Sinclair Lewis}} | ||
| Line 91: | Line 69: | ||
*[http://www.english.ilstu.edu/separry/sinclairlewis/default.html Sinclair Lewis Society] | *[http://www.english.ilstu.edu/separry/sinclairlewis/default.html Sinclair Lewis Society] | ||
*[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1930/lewis-autobio.html Autobiography] | *[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1930/lewis-autobio.html Autobiography] | ||
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{{Nobel Prize in Literature Laureates 1926-1950}} | {{Nobel Prize in Literature Laureates 1926-1950}} | ||
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{{Sinclair Lewis}} | {{Sinclair Lewis}} | ||
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<!--- see http://www.idahowelshsociety.org/welshamerican.htm ---> | <!--- see http://www.idahowelshsociety.org/welshamerican.htm ---> | ||
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[[category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]] | [[category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]] | ||
{{credits|111749005}} | {{credits|111749005}} | ||
Revision as of 04:40, 14 March 2007
Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 — January 10, 1951) was an American novelist and playwright. In 1930 he became the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humour, new types of characters". His works are known for their insightful and critical views of American society and capitalist values. His style is at times droll, satirical, yet sympathetic.
Biography
Born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, he began reading books at a young age and kept a diary. A dreamer, at age 13 he unsuccessfully ran away from home, wanting to become a drummer boy in the Spanish-American War. 1885 Born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota to Dr. Edwin J. Lewis and Emma Kermott Lewis.
- marries Isabel Warner in 1892.
- 1902 Attends Oberlin College in Ohio.
- 1903-1906 Attends Yale University, serves as editor of Literary Magazine, works on cattleboats during two summers.
- 1906 Spends months doing odd jobs at Upton Sinclair's Helicon Hall (utopian community).
- He received his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1908.
He began his writing career by producing romantic poetry, then followed with romantic stories about knights and fair ladies. Lewis's first published book was Hike and the Aeroplane, described as a boy's adventure story which appeared in 1912 under the pseudonym Tom Graham. By 1921 he had six novels published. Lewis was known for giving strong characterization to modern working women and for his concern with race. Some of his most famous books were Main Street and Babbitt. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1926 — which he rejected — for Arrowsmith, a novel about an idealistic doctor. Elmer Gantry was the story of an opportunistic evangelist, if not an outright charlatan; it was banned in Boston and other U.S. cities; Main Street, Babbitt, Kingsblood Royal, and Cass Timberlane all were banned in their turn. In his Prize lecture, he lamented that "in America most of us — not readers alone, but even writers — are still afraid of any literature which is not a glorification of everything American, a glorification of our faults as well as our virtues," and that America is "the most contradictory, the most depressing, the most stirring, of any land in the world today." Main Street was published by Alfred Harcourt on Oct. 23, 1920 and sold 200,000 copies within a few months. By 1951 it sold two million copies in the United States. It was the first American novel to become a success by criticizing popula culture. Main Street was published during a time when American culture was being questioned. World War I had just ended; prohibition was an issue and women were declared legally equal to men. "Americans were questioning themselves about what their country really stood for, what its place in history would be and should be," said Richard Lewis in his book about Lewis. Main Street In 1928 he married journalist Dorothy Thompson and in 1930 their son Michael Lewis was born. The restless Lewis traveled much, and in the 1920s would spend time with other great artists in the Montparnasse Quarter in Paris, France where he would be photographed by Man Ray. His last great work was It Can't Happen Here, a speculative novel about the election of a fascist U.S. President. Alcohol played a dominant role in his life; he died of advanced alcoholism in Rome. He created the fictional cities of Gopher Prairie, Minnesota and Zenith, Winnemac.
Quotation
"I love America, but I don't like it." "This is America - a town of a few thousand, in a region of wheat and corn and dairies and little groves. The town is, in our tale, called 'Gopher Prairie, Minnesota'. But its Main Street is the continuation of Main Streets everywhere." "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." "Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless." My real travelling has been sitting in Pullman smoking cars, in a Minnesota village, on a Vermont farm, in a hotel in Kansas City or Savannah, listening to the normal daily drone of what are to me the most fascinating and exotic people in the world - the Average Citizens of the United States, with their friendliness to strangers and their rough teasing, their passion for material advancement and their shy idealism, their interest in all the world and their boastful provincialism - the intricate complexities which an American novelist is privileged to portray.
Works
- 1912 Hike and the Aeroplane.
- 1914 Marries Grace Hegger. Our Mr.Wrenn published.
- 1917 The Job and The Innocents published. Son, Wells, born.
- 1919 Free Air published.
- 1920 Main Street published, first major commercial success.
- 1922 Babbitt.
- 1925 Arrowsmith.
- 1926 Mantrap. Awarded Pulitzer Prize for Arrowsmith but refuses it. Father dies.
- 1927 Elmer Gantry.
- 1928 The Man Who Knew Coolidge. Divorces Grace Hegger, marries journalist Dorothy Thompson.
- 1929 Dodsworth.
- 1930 Son Michael born. Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature on November 5 (first American to be so honored).
- 1933 Ann Vickers
- 1934 Work of Art. Assists Sidney Howard in adapting Dodsworth to the stage.
- 1935 It Can't Happen Here and Selected Stories.
- 1936-1942 Writes several plays and acts in a few of them.
- 1938 The Prodigal Parents.
- 1940 Bethel Merriday. Teaches briefly at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- 1942 Divorces Dorothy Thompson.
- 1943 Gideon Planish.
- 1944 Lt. Wells Lewis killed by sniper in Piedmont Valley, France (near Alsace-Lorraine) during WW II.
- 1945 Cass Timberlane.
- 1947 Kingsblood Royal.
- 1948
- 1949 The God Seeker.
- 1951 Dies in Rome of heart disease. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, MN. World So Wide published posthumously.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Mark Schorer, Sinclair Lewis: An American Life, 1961.
- D. J. Dooley, The Art of Sinclair Lewis, 1967.
- Martin Light, The Quixotic Vision of Sinclair Lewis, 1975.
- Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 31.3, Autumn 1985, special issues on Sinclair Lewis.
- Sinclair Lewis at 100: Papers Presented at a Centennial Conference, 1985.
- Martin Bucco, Main Street: The Revolt of Carol Kennicott, 1993.
- James M. Hutchisson, The Rise of Sinclair Lewis, 1920-1930, 1996.
- Glen A. Love, Babbitt: An American Life.
- Stephen R. Pastore, Sinclair Lewis: A Descriptive Bibliography, 1997.
SOURCE: http://lilt.ilstu.edu/separry/lewis.html http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1930/lewis-autobio.html retrieved March 13, 2007 http://www.saukherald.com/ftp/lewis/stories.html retrieved March 13, 2007.
External links
- Online collection of works
- Works by Sinclair Lewis. Project Gutenberg
- his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humour, new types of characters.
- Sinclair Lewis Society
- Autobiography
|
1926: Grazia Deledda | 1927: Henri Bergson | 1928: Sigrid Undset | 1929: Thomas Mann | 1930: Sinclair Lewis | 1931: Erik Axel Karlfeldt | 1932: John Galsworthy | 1933: Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin | 1934: Luigi Pirandello | 1936: Eugene O'Neill | 1937: Roger Martin du Gard | 1938: Pearl S. Buck | 1939: Frans Eemil Sillanpää | 1944: Johannes Vilhelm Jensen | 1945: Gabriela Mistral | 1946: Hermann Hesse | 1947: André Gide | 1948: T. S. Eliot | 1949: William Faulkner | 1950: Bertrand Russell |
Template:Sinclair Lewis
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