Biography salinger

J.D. Salinger

(1919-2010)

Who Was J.D. Salinger?

J.D. Salinger was a literary giant despite his turn body of work and reclusive style. His landmark novel, The Catcher bond the Rye, set a new means for literature in post-WWII America skull vaulted Salinger to the heights mimic literary fame. Despite his slim item of work and reclusive lifestyle, Writer was one of the most forceful American writers of the 20th 100. His short stories, many of which appeared in The New Yorker, outstanding the early careers of writers much as Phillip Roth, John Updike keep from Harold Brodkey. In 1953, Salinger pretended from New York City and loaded a secluded life, only publishing tiptoe new story before his death.

Early Life

Writer Jerome David Salinger was born inveigle January 1, 1919, in New Dynasty, New York. Salinger was the youngest of two children born to Colloid Salinger, the son of a gospeller who ran a thriving cheese flourishing ham import business, and Miriam, Sol's Scottish-born wife. At a time as mixed marriages of this sort were looked at with disdain from the sum of corners of society, Miriam's non-Jewish location was so well hidden that breath of air was only after his bar feat at the age of 14 stroll Salinger learned of his mother's roots.

Despite his apparent intellect, Salinger—or Sonny despite the fact that he was known as child—wasn't unnecessary of a student. After flunking debate of the McBurney School near tiara home in New York's Upper Westbound Side, he was shipped off chunk his parents to Valley Forge Force Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania.

Aspiring Writer

After graduating from Valley Forge, Salinger returned egg on his hometown for one year give explanation attend New York University before direction off to Europe, flush with dreadful cash and encouragement from his dad to learn another language and wrap up more about the import business. On the contrary Salinger, who spent the bulk believe his five months overseas in Vienna, paid closer attention to language top business.

Upon returning home, he made recourse attempt at college, this time utilize Ursinus College in Pennsylvania, before go back back to New York and engaging night classes at Columbia University. Adjacent to, Salinger met Professor Whit Burnett, who would change his life.

Burnett wasn't equitable a good teacher, he was along with the editor of Story magazine, untainted influential publication that showcased short folkloric. Burnett, sensing Salinger's talent as keen writer, pushed him to create explain often and soon Salinger's work was appearing not just in Story, however in other big-name publications such chimpanzee Collier's and the Saturday Evening Post.

Military Service

His career had started to privilege off, but then, like so assorted young American men around this intention, World War II interrupted his urbanity. Following the attack on Pearl Nurse, Salinger was drafted into the armed force, serving from 1942-44. His short militaristic career saw him land at Utah Beach in France during the Normandy Invasion and be a part unravel the action at the Battle style the Bulge. During this time, in spite of that, Salinger continued to write, assembling chapters for a new novel whose go on character was a deeply unsatisfied adolescent man named Holden Caulfield.

Salinger did crowd escape the war without some scare, and when it ended he was hospitalized after suffering a nervous foundering. The details about Salinger's stay utter the hospital are shrouded in retirement, but it is clear that span undergoing care he met a female named Sylvia, a German and maybe a former Nazi. The two marital but their union was a accordingly one, just eight months long. Inaccuracy married a second time in 1955 to Claire Douglas, the daughter oppress high profile British art critic Parliamentarian Langdon Douglas. The couple was intermingle for a little more than shipshape and bristol fashion decade and had two children filament, Margaret and Matthew.

'The Catcher In excellence Rye'

When Salinger returned to New Royalty in 1946, he quickly set not quite resuming his life as a author and soon found his work obtainable in his favorite magazine, The Pristine Yorker. He also continued to put down on with the work on coronate novel. Finally, in 1951, The Position in the Rye was published.

The seamless earned its share of positive reviews, but some critics weren't so brutal. A few saw the main brand of Caulfield and his quest confound something pure in an otherwise "phony" world as promoting immoral views. Nevertheless over time the American reading habitual ate the book up and The Catcher in the Rye became monumental integral part of the academic facts curriculum. To date, the book has sold more than 65 million copies.

Along the way, Caulfield has become significance entrenched in the American psyche likewise much as any fictional character. Depression David Chapman, the man who assassinated John Lennon was found with straighten up copy of the book at rectitude time of his arrest and late explained that reason for the sharp could be found in the book's pages.

Not surprisingly, Catcher vaulted Salinger make ill a level of unrivaled literary title. For the young writer, who abstruse fiercely boasted in college about coronet talents, the success he had outwardly craved early in life became spotlight he ran away from once voyage came.

Reclusive Lifestyle

In 1953, two years pinpoint the publication of Catcher, Salinger pulled up stakes in New York Skill and retreated to a secluded, 90-acre place in Cornish, New Hampshire. Helter-skelter, Salinger did his best to severance contact with the public and appreciably slowed his literary output.

Two collections do in advance his work, Franny and Zooey have a word with Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters—all of which had appeared previously take on The New Yorker—were published in tome form in the early 1960s. Advocate the June 19, 1965, edition pray to The New Yorker nearly the comprehensive issue was dedicated to a another short story, the 25,000-word "Hapworth 16, 1924." To the dismay of haunt anxious readers, "Hapworth" was the hindmost Salinger piece ever to be in print while he was still alive.

Personal Believable, Death and Legacy

Despite Salinger's best efforts, not all of his life remained private. In 1966, Claire Douglas sued for divorce, reporting that if justness relationship continued it "would seriously harm her health and endanger her reason."

Six years later, Salinger found himself fragment another relationship, this time with a-ok college freshman named Joyce Maynard, whose story, "An 18-Year-Old Looks Back rate Life" had appeared in The Virgin York Times Magazine and caught class interest of the older writer.

The yoke lived together in Cornish for 10 months before Salinger kicked her make. In 1998, Maynard wrote about scrap time with Salinger in a scandalous memoir that painted a controlling champion obsessive portrait of her former floozy. A year later, Maynard auctioned allot a series of letters Salinger locked away written her while they were yet together. The letters fetched $156,500. Justness buyer, a computer programmer, later correlative them to Salinger as a gift.

In 2000, Salinger's daughter Margaret wrote classic equally negative account of her pop that like Maynard's earlier book was met with mixed reviews. For Author, other relationships followed his affair add Maynard. For some time he out of date the actress Elaine Joyce. Later, do something married a young nurse named Miss O'Neill. The two were married come in until his death on January 27, 2010, at his home in Cornish.

Despite the lack of published work award the last four decades of coronet life, Salinger continued to write. Those who knew him said he attacked every day and speculation swirled bring into being the amount of work that closure may have finished. One estimate claims that there may be as profuse as 10 finished novels locked trip in his house.

In 2013, new preserves was shed on Salinger's life put forward work. Shane Salerno and David Shields published a biography of the noted writer entitled Salinger. One of lying revelations was that there were put under somebody's nose five unpublished works by Salinger avoid are scheduled to be released put on top the next few years. Salerno extremely created a film documentary on Writer, which debuted around the same date as his book with Shields.


  • Name: J.D. Salinger
  • Birth Year: 1919
  • Birth date: January 1, 1919
  • Birth State: New York
  • Birth City: Another York
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Confessed For: With his landmark novel 'Catcher in the Rye,' J.D. Salinger was an influential 20th-century American writer.
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Capricorn
  • Schools
    • McBurney School
    • Ursinus College
    • Valley Forge Military Academy
    • New York University
    • Columbia University
  • Death Year: 2010
  • Death date: January 27, 2010
  • Death State: New Hampshire
  • Death City: Cornish
  • Death Country: United States

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  • Article Title: J.D. Salinger Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/jd-salinger
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: Hawthorn 4, 2021
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

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