A biographical sketch of Sinclair Lewis, novelist playwright, social critic, novelist and American Nobel Prize winner.
Harry Sinclair Lewis, American novelist, playwright, and social critic who gained popularity with satirical novels in the early 1900's. Sinclair Lewis won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930; he was the first American to win the prize. He won the prize because of his vivid and powerful manner of writing coupled with his wit and humor. He wrote 22 novels and three plays. Lewis often criticized the American way of living in a pessimistic manner; his own view of things though was optimistic.
Lewis was born in Sauk Centre, in the heart of Minnesota. Lewis was the third son of a doctor. His mother was the daughter of a Canadian doctor. She died when he was six years old. Lewis' father remarried a year later. Lewis' stepmother read to him often and he was privy to the hundreds of volumes of his father's medical books. At the age of 13 Lewis ran away from home to become a drummer boy in the Spanish-American War. He did not get very far though; his father found him at the railroad depot and took him home.
In 1902 Lewis entered the Oberlin Academy in Ohio, and shortly thereafter moved to Yale University and started writing for the Yale Literary Magazine. During summer vacation one year Lewis traveled to England and then tiring of college he went to Panama to work on the Panama Canal. Lewis also worked as a janitor at Upton Sinclair's Helicon Hall. It was during this time, 1906 - 1907, that Lewis tried his hand at freelance writing. In 1908 he received his Masters of Arts and began working for publishing houses and magazines in Iowa, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Carmel and New York City.
Lewis's first published book was "Hike and the Aeroplane," published in 1912 under the pseudonym Tom Graham. In 1914 Lewis married Grace Livingston Hegger. Grace was an editor at Vogue. During the next two years he worked as an editor and advertising manager at firm of George H. Doran Company, a book publishing company. In 1916 he quit his job to travel around the country with his wife.
After his second novel was published, Lewis committed himself exclusively to writing. He was determined to earn a living with his writing. Lewis gained fame with his novel "Main Street." "Main Street was published in 1920. "Main Street" looks at the optimism and realism within a small-town through the narrow-mindedness of its people. The central character, Carol Kennicott, is a liberated woman, soon ostracized from Gopher Prairie, the main town within the book. "Main Street" it seems is a parallel to Lewis' own life. Lewis' next novel was "Babbitt" (1922). After Babbitt came "Arrowsmith" (1925). Arrowsmith tells of the life of a doctor dealing with the realism of the world around him and the commercialism overtaking the simple life. "Arrowsmith" received a Pulitzer Prize, but Lewis declined it. He stated, "because the award was meant for books that celebrate American wholesomeness, his novels, which are critical, should not be awarded the prize." "Elmer Gantry" (1927) attacked two-faced ministers. "Dodsworth" (1929) and "Ann Vickers" (1933) dealt with corruption within the realms of social services. Lewis' last major work was "It can't Happen Here" (1935). "Kingsblood Royal" (1947) dealt with race relations.
In 1925 Sinclair Lewis divorced his first wife. Three years later he married Dorothy Thompson. Dorothy was a political newspaper columnist. During the 30s Lewis spent most of his time on theatrical works, writing, directing and acting. In 1942 Lewis divorced his second wife. In 1944 his oldest son was killed in World War II in France.
Although Lewis continued to publish books for the next twenty years, his novels seldom captured large audiences. Many things in life had begun to take their toll on Lewis. The death of his oldest son, the divorces, and his battle with alcohol took away from his creativeness. Lewis spent the last years of his life in Europe. He was suffering from very poor health and he died alone in Rome on January 10, 1951.
The Works of Sinclair Lewis:
. Hike And The Aeroplane, 1912
· Our Mr. Wrenn, 1914
· The Trial Of The Hawk, 1915
· The Job, 1917
· The Innocents, 1917
· Free Air, 1919 -
· Main Street, 1920
· Babbitt, 1922 -
· Arrowsmith, 1925
· Mantrap, 1925
· Elmer Gantry, 1927
· The Man Who Knew Coolidge, 1928
· Dodsworth, 1929
· Ann Vickers, 1933
· Work Of Art, 1934
· Jayhawker, 1935
· Selected Short Stories, 1935
· It Can't Happen Here, 1935 -
· Selected Short Stories, 1935
· The Prodigal Parents, 1938 -
· Bethel Merriday, 1940
· Gideon Planish, 1943
· Cass Timberlane, 1945
· Kingsblood Royal, 1947
· The Godseeker, 1949
· World So Wide, 1951
Resources:
Sinclair Lewis: An American Life
Critical Essays on Sinclair Lewis
