Sinclair Lewis
Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first author from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was awarded "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters." Lewis wrote six popular novels: Main Street (1920), Babbitt (1922), Arrowsmith (1925), Elmer Gantry (1927), Dodsworth (1929), and It Can't Happen Here (1935).
Sinclair Lewis | |
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Lewis in 1930 | |
| Born | Harry Sinclair Lewis February 7, 1885 Sauk Centre, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | January 10, 1951 (aged 65) Rome, Italy |
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| Alma mater | Yale University |
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| Notable awards | Nobel Prize in Literature (1930) |
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| Children | 2 |
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His works were critical of American capitalism and materialism during the interwar period. Lewis is respected for his strong characterizations of modern working women. H. L. Mencken wrote of him, "[If] there was ever a novelist among us with an authentic call to the trade ... it is this red-haired tornado from the Minnesota wilds."