Difference between revisions of "Sinclair Lewis"
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| − | '''Sinclair Lewis''' was an American novelist of the jazz age. His writing style | + | '''Sinclair Lewis''' was an American novelist of the jazz age. His writing style was realist/modernist. He won the Pulitzer Prize (which he refused, claiming that that prizes awarded to authors stifled individuality) for his 1925 novel ''Arrowsmith'', then in 1930 became the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (which he accepted), for his 1922 novel ''[[Babbitt]]''. Lewis also wrote ''[http://www.answers.com/topic/elmer-gantry-criticism Elmer Gantry]'', the story of a corrupt and materialistic [[minister]], and ''[[It Can't Happen Here]]'', the story of an American fascist state. |
Lewis studied at [[Yale University]], becoming an [[atheist]]<ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,881224,00.html Religion: Atheist's Oath]," ''Time'', August 20, 1928</ref> and "card-carrying [[socialist]]." He lived for a time at "a sort of [[commune]]" started by [[Upton Sinclair]], the future Socialist Party candidate for governor of California. When [[Jack London]], the socialist candidate for mayor of Oakland, California, went to Yale to speak for socialism, Lewis met him.<ref>Gore Vidal, "[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2805 The Romance of Sinclair Lewis]," ''The New York Review of Books'', Vol. 39, No. 16 (October 8, 1992)</ref> | Lewis studied at [[Yale University]], becoming an [[atheist]]<ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,881224,00.html Religion: Atheist's Oath]," ''Time'', August 20, 1928</ref> and "card-carrying [[socialist]]." He lived for a time at "a sort of [[commune]]" started by [[Upton Sinclair]], the future Socialist Party candidate for governor of California. When [[Jack London]], the socialist candidate for mayor of Oakland, California, went to Yale to speak for socialism, Lewis met him.<ref>Gore Vidal, "[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2805 The Romance of Sinclair Lewis]," ''The New York Review of Books'', Vol. 39, No. 16 (October 8, 1992)</ref> | ||
Revision as of 17:57, October 18, 2009
Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist of the jazz age. His writing style was realist/modernist. He won the Pulitzer Prize (which he refused, claiming that that prizes awarded to authors stifled individuality) for his 1925 novel Arrowsmith, then in 1930 became the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (which he accepted), for his 1922 novel Babbitt. Lewis also wrote Elmer Gantry, the story of a corrupt and materialistic minister, and It Can't Happen Here, the story of an American fascist state.
Lewis studied at Yale University, becoming an atheist[1] and "card-carrying socialist." He lived for a time at "a sort of commune" started by Upton Sinclair, the future Socialist Party candidate for governor of California. When Jack London, the socialist candidate for mayor of Oakland, California, went to Yale to speak for socialism, Lewis met him.[2]
By 1909 Lewis was at the artists' colony in Carmel, California, along with his classmate William Rose Benét. Benét would be one of 50 "dupes and fellow travelers" featured by Life magazine attending the 1949 "Cultural and Scientific Conference for World Peace," hosted by the Communist-front National Council of Arts, Sciences, and Professions, "dominated by intellectuals who fellow-travel the Communist line," attended by delegates from Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, and providing "a sounding board for Communist propaganda."[3]
Lewis was very heavily influenced by George Bernard Shaw.[4]
Notes
- ↑ "Religion: Atheist's Oath," Time, August 20, 1928
- ↑ Gore Vidal, "The Romance of Sinclair Lewis," The New York Review of Books, Vol. 39, No. 16 (October 8, 1992)
- ↑ "Dupes and Fellow Travelers Dress Up Communist Fronts," Life, vol. 26, No. 14, (April 4, 1949), p. 43
- ↑ Martin Bucco, "Bernard Shaw in Sinclair Lewis, SHAW The Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies, Volume 21, 2001, pp. 133-141