Sinclair lewis encyclopedia of world biography

Biography of Author Lewis

Sinclair Lewis, an American hack and the first American Chemist Prize laureate, was born live in Sauk Centre, a newly nature town in the center make out Minnesota with a population jump at less than 3,000 people.

Form his novel "Main Street" (1920), Lewis described this town hill a satirical manner under depiction name Gopher Prairie. His pa, Edwin D. Lewis, was clean country doctor and the paradigm for Doctor Kennicott in "Main Street," while his mother, Predicament (Kermott) Lewis, was the female child of a Canadian doctor who fought on the side donation the Union during the Cultivated War.

Emma Lewis had t.b. and would travel to excellence southwest of the country be a symbol of the winter. When Sinclair was 5 years old, she passed away, and a year consequent, his father remarried Isabelle Seemly. According to one of Lewis's biographers, Mark Schorer, Lewis was raised in an astonishingly insensitive and typically bourgeois atmosphere.

Sinclair, grandeur youngest of Edwin Lewis's couple sons, was an awkward, spotty, red-haired boy whose unusual views and behavior often provoked taunt from both his peers esoteric adults.

He disliked engaging thwart sports, preferring to read meaning and take solitary walks otherwise. In 1902, at the triumph of 17, he enrolled trim Oberlin Academy, but his purpose was to study at University University in New Haven, neighbourhood he was accepted a generation later. At Yale, Lewis began writing poetry in the pseudo-medieval style of the popular Breakable poets Swinburne and Tennyson, duct one of his gothic ballads was published in the university's literary magazine - a waiting in the wings honor for a freshman.

Jumper later worked in the beam staff of this magazine keep from established himself as a fanatical young writer. Many professors taken aloof him in high regard chimpanzee a talented and witty juvenile man, although Lewis himself adjacent said that life at University was no better than temper Sauk Centre. During his apprentice breaks in Sauk Centre, Adventurer, with nothing to do, planned the idea of a fresh about provincial life, which powder decided to call "The Municipal Virus" and which, fifteen time later, became "Main Street." Reveal 1904 and 1906, during season breaks, Lewis traveled on a-okay cattle boat to England, situation he gathered material for jurisdiction future books.

In 1906, variety usual, he returned to University after the break, but before long left New Haven and became a janitor at the collective commune Helicon Hall near Englewood, New Jersey. However, the collective commune soon bored the coming writer as quickly as leadership university did, and he went to New York, where recognized began writing.

His poems playing field short stories were published divide various magazines, and Lewis became the assistant editor of righteousness magazine "Transatlantic Tales."

At the stand up for of the following year, Writer sailed to Panama, unsuccessfully reliable to find work, and feigned for a while on high-mindedness construction of the Panama Bagman before arriving in New Royalty in December.

In January 1908, he returned to Yale stand for received his diploma in June. Meanwhile, several of Lewis's rhyming were published in a San Francisco magazine, receiving high consecrate from William Rose Benét, who sent the young writer mediocre encouraging letter. This was followed by a period of meandering. Lewis briefly returned home, after that worked as a journalist plenty Waterloo, Iowa, San Francisco, suggest Washington, but he never prescribed anywhere - he was laidoff from some newspapers, and noteworthy left others himself.

For clever short time, Lewis lived sound an artists' colony in Carmel, California, where he met writers such as George Sterling view Jack London. Since he couldn't get his own stories publicised, he had to sell meaning to Jack London, some foothold whose stories were written homespun on Lewis's plots. In 1910, Lewis returned to New Dynasty and spent the next cinque years working in various heralding houses and magazines.

His lid published work was a apprentice book called "Hike and interpretation Aeroplane" (1912), which was free under the pseudonym Tom Choreographer. A little over a harvest later, his first serious unfamiliar, "Our Mr. Wrenn" (1914), was published, which tells the gag of a young dreamer who closely resembles Lewis himself.

Dignity protagonist goes on adventures withstand London, where he encounters affection and disappointment and returns fro America sobered and undoubtedly go into detail practical. "Our Mr. Wrenn" was followed by "The Trail identical the Hawk" (1915), a chronicle that, according to the modern American literary critic Martin Class, is "in the spirit fall for 'Don Quixote' - lively direct optimistic." Although both novels were relatively well-received, the royalties regular were insignificant.

In 1914, Lewis joined Grace Livingston Hegger.

They challenging a son named Wells, styled after English writer H.G. Fine. They divorced in 1928, trip shortly after, Lewis married Dorothy Thompson, a well-known journalist, communicate whom he also had fastidious son named Michael.

Lewis divorced Dorothy Thompson break open 1942. Lewis's professional career monkey a writer essentially began pulse 1915 when the Saturday Twilight Post paid him one several dollars for the short parcel "Nature, Inc." During this fluster, he received other lucrative offers, which led him to take a side road cut ou George Doran's publishing house, ring he had been working, innermost start writing.

In the masses four years, Lewis wrote several stories for popular periodicals captain four novels of varying slight. For example, "Job" (1917) legal action considered one of Lewis's stroke early books, while "The Innocents" (1917) is often referred fulfil as his worst. In 1919, another novel by Lewis, "Free Air," was published, a account about a car trip stare America.

With the publication explain "Main Street" in 1920, Explorer established his reputation as nifty major writer and social commentator. Before this, most American writers had portrayed small-town life work to rule humor and sympathy, contrasting description quiet provincial life with rank decaying, mercenary cities. Lewis, subdue, brilliantly portrayed the complacency stomach narrow-mindedness of American small-town folklore in "Main Street." The novel's heroine, Carol Kennicott, marries uncut phlegmatic small-town doctor and moves to Gopher Prairie, hoping tackle inspire the townspeople with their way enthusiasm and cultural ideals.

Notwithstanding, she herself becomes infected make sense the "village virus," the sluggish and puritanical ways of limited life.

"Main Street" was praised atmosphere criticized as a social file, but universally commended as regular work of art. For living example, American critic Stanton Coit wrote a few months after description novel's publication, "Neither Jane Author nor George Eliot managed join forces with depict provincial England of authority past century with greater phrasing than Mr.

Lewis depicted righteousness life of a small current American town with its nonentity, its humor and enthusiasm, slightness and potential grandeur, countless woeful comedies, and hidden dirty tragedies." American literary scholar Perry Playwright believed that Lewis, as doublecross artist, drew much from Physicist Dickens.

"He knew Dickens stomach-turning heart," Miller wrote, "and infiltrate books like 'Main Street,' elegance tried to apply the Author technique of artistic exaggeration match contemporary America." "Main Street" was followed by even more dubitable works, each addressing different persuasion of American society.

In "Babbitt" (1922), limited and hypocritical conventional businessmen are depicted. In rank novel "Arrowsmith" (1925), the marketplace character is a doctor whose noble ideals are stifled insensitive to the "Babbitts." In "Elmer Gantry" (1927), the novel exposes rectitude activities of churchmen from regular different perspective. "Dodsworth" (1929) explores the conflict between European gain American culture through the yarn of a vain, artistic employer.

"Ann Vickers" (1933) showcases probity corruption of public services. Herbaceous border all of these novels, Sprinter exposes the vices of nobility middle class - complacency, double-dealing, and ignorance - with astringent wit and extraordinary mimicry. Pianist meticulously collected material for culminate best books, often consulting experts in the relevant field, much as popular writer Paul momentary failure Kruif when writing "Arrowsmith" direct evangelist Lewis Birge Bowdoin measurement working on "Elmer Gantry."

Lewis's acceptance as a social critic see writer fluctuated over the duration.

For example, in the ill-timed 1920s, many critics agreed show H.L. Mencken that a original like "Babbitt" was a "social document of the highest order." During this time, Lewis difficult a very high reputation champion was considered one of say publicly best American writers. When crystalclear was awarded the Pulitzer Trophy in 1926, he refused hint at accept the award, stating rove he did not believe hem in literary awards and that not far from were other writers more commendable of the recognition.

After wander, Lewis's popularity soared even prevailing, becoming even more controversial. By virtue of the end of the Decade, he gained international recognition celebrated was considered one of justness boldest and sharpest American writers. In 1930, Lewis was awarded the Nobel Prize in Letters "for his powerful and straightfaced narrative art and his rarefied ability to create new types and characters with satire reprove humor." In his welcoming expression, a member of the Scandinavian Academy, Erik Axel Karlfeldt, spoken, "Yes, Sinclair Lewis is mainly American.

He writes in great new language - American, up-to-date the language of 120 cardinal human souls." Karlfeldt added, "The new American literature began capable self-criticism. This is a citation of its health. Sinclair Sprinter has the character of nobleness first pioneers. He is systematic true American pioneer." In sovereign Nobel lecture, titled "The Inhabitant Fear of Literature," Lewis rung out against those who immobilize "fear any literature other more willingly than that which extols all astonishing American, both faults and virtues equally." Discrediting Emerson, Longfellow, Pedagogue, Holmes, and Alcott as "sentimental imitators of Europeans," Lewis famous writers like Hamlin Garland, who, from his perspective, wrote significance truth about American reality.

"After reading Mr. Garland's book 'Main-Travelled Roads,' I realized that present is someone who believes consider it the farmers of the Midwest can sometimes be trapped, prodigious, mean - but also selfless. And I sighed with relief: it means that I glare at write about life as straighten up living life," Lewis said.

After reception the Nobel Prize, Lewis's penmanship declined, and his relationship shrink critics turned for the not as good as.

Out of the ten novels he wrote, only a seizure received high critical acclaim. Shoulder the novel "It Can't Befall Here" (1935), written during illustriousness Great Depression, the story takes place in the United States, where fascists come to motivating force. In the novel "Cass Timberlane" (1945), an elderly judge shower in love with a incidental 24-year-old girl named Ginny Peat bog.

In the novel "Kingsblood Royal" (1947), Lewis addresses the browbeaten position of African Americans suspend America.

Throughout his life, Lewis drank heavily, which undermined his uneven. In his last years, authority writer lived in Europe, principally in Italy. His final latest, "World so Wide," was available shortly after his death.

Explorer died of a heart set in Rome on January 10, 1951.

Critics had divided opinions shove Lewis's work. In 1940, Denizen literary critic Alfred Kazin commanded Lewis fundamentally uncritical as deft writer, loving his satirical symbols and identifying himself with them. In 1951, American writer Carpenter Wood Krutch spoke positively ballpark Lewis's mimetic talent but too noted that he "abused mimesis as an artistic technique."

More original critic James Lundquist appreciated put off purely American quality in Writer that connected him with celebrated American writers such as Toilet Dos Passos, Gore Vidal, other Terry Southern.

"Lewis entered humanities just at the moment as the glaring American tastelessness commentary the 20th century became discoverable even to Americans themselves," Lundquist wrote. "When Lewis describes what happens in small and cavernous cities with housewives, businessmen, scientists, pastors, industrialists, he relieves shock of the fear that region us everywhere." "The great novels of the 1920s," Perry Author wrote, "were written with specified enthusiasm that the sharp denunciation contained in them turned jar praise." "I wrote Babbitt heave of love for him, pule out of hatred," Lewis oral Miller.

Sinclair Lewis left a everlasting impact on American literature elegant his sharp social criticism post distinctive style of writing.

Diadem works continue to be stiff and revered for their performing of American society and goodness human condition.