In the XX century, literature reached a qualitatively new level, giving the world more than a dozen masterpieces.
We decided to recall the names of those who made the greatest contribution to its development, collecting a list of 10 famous American writers of the 20th century.
10. Ken Kesey
Ken Kesey - One of the main writers of the era of "Beatlemania" and hippies. His work was not just in demand among the participants of these parties, but had a direct impact on them.
He was born in 1935 and lived for 66 years, having died in 2001. If not for premature death, then he probably could have contributed to the development of culture in the zero.
His most famous work is the novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,” written in 1962. A year later, Dale Wasserman directed a play based on his motives, and in 1975 Milos Forman made the same film, which became a classic. The film adaptation has collected a whole scattering of awards, including 5 Oscar statuettes in major nominations, which previously only one film managed (“It happened one night” in 1934).
9. Ray Bradbury
This writer for his long life (he lived 91 years) has created over 800 works, including plays, short stories, poems and novels. Despite the fact that most of his work is fantasy, fairy tales and even parables, he is considered a classic of the science fiction genre.
The first truly resounding success in his writing career was Roman "Martian Chronicles"(1950), which made his name famous among sci-fi fans.
Further, in 1953, the book “The World Saw”451 ° Fahrenheit”, Finally confirming Bradbury’s talent. In 1957, the story "The World"Dandelion Wine», Sharply different in mood from other works. In many ways, the autobiographical story is riddled with personal experiences by the authors, which was not expected of him in those years, but was appreciated.
Many books Ray Bradbury were filmed, including in the USSR and Russia, and the best-known movie from HBO anti-utopia “451 ° Fahrenheit” in 2018 with Michael B. Jordan in the title role can be called.
8. William Faulkner
William Faulkner was a true master of new American literature, writing several immortal works. From his pen came 19 novels, which is not so much, but this was enough to receive the Nobel Prize in literature and two Pulitzer Prizes in the same field.
He began to send his works to magazines at the age of 19, and these were love poems. His first successful novel "Noise and rage"He wrote much later.
Based on his books, more than four dozen films have been shot, most of which date back to the middle of the last century. If you take a newer one, the drama of James Franco “When I Died” immediately comes to mind according to the book of the same name by Faulkner. The picture was released in 2013 and was awarded the nomination "For a special look" at the Cannes Film Festival.
7. Harper Lee
This writer lived 90 years, having written in her whole life only 2 novels (and a few more essays), but this was enough to perpetuate the name Harper lee.
«To Kill a Mockingbird"- one of the greatest books in the history of American literature, sold over 40 million copies and repeatedly screened (the 1962 film won several Oscars).
Thank you for this work, it is worth saying not only to the writer, but also to her friends. They gave her an annual paid vacation so that she could not work and devote herself completely to literature, as a result of which a draft of the Mockingbird appeared.
6. Truman Capote
Short story "Breakfast at Tiffany's"And the documentary novel"Cold-blooded murder»For authorship Truman Capote - a literary classic that will not lose its relevance in a few hundred years.
He wrote "Cold Blood Murder" on the basis of his own investigation into the murder of a farmer's family in Kansas, in which he was assisted by Harper Lee (several films were even shot about this, in one of which was "Capote", the role of Lee was played by Sandra Bullock).
Based on Tiffany's Breakfast, director Blake Edwards in 1961 directed the film of the same name with Audrey Hepburn in the title role.
5. Francis Scott Fitzgerald
One of the brightest representatives of the “lost generation” in literature lived only 44 years, but managed to leave behind at least 2 works that are known throughout the world.
«The Great Gatsby"And"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"Are outstanding in and of themselves, and excellent films have been shot on them.
We must not forget about his stories about the era of jazz of the 20s of the last century in the USA, and the term “era of jazz” was coined by the author himself.
4. Jerome D. Salinger
The writer was born in 1919 and began to write his first stories at school. By the time World War II began, he was not yet widely known, but had already been published in magazines.
Despite the fact that due to his health he was not fit for military service, Salinger nevertheless managed to make his way to the front as a volunteer. In his personal diary, he wrote that he was at the right time in the right place, since there is a war for the future of mankind.
After the Second World War, in 1951 he published "Catcher in the rye”And the book instantly becomes a bestseller: 60 million copies sold were a huge number for those years. Even now, annually about 250,000 copies are swept from the shelves of bookstores.
3. Theodore Dreiser
In life Theodore Dreiser nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature, but never received it. Some believe that the reason for this was his manner "open abscesses of society"In their books.
He wrote realistically and truthfully, for which he regularly received angry comments from critics who reproached him for immorality. The literary world of the late XIX - early XX centuries was not ready for such revelations, but readers adored it.
"Jenny Gerhardt", "American History", "The Prince Who Was a Thief" - These and many other works formed the basis of the script for films, the best of which were shot in the middle of the last century.
If you're not afraid of the old-fashioned picture, then the 1952 Sister Kerry and the 1933 Jenny Gerhardt are definitely worth the time.
2. Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway, unlike Dreiser, received his "Nobel Prize", as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Literature.
He became famous not only for his books, but for a life full of adventure. He was not yet 20 years old when he returned from World War I as an adult man with medals and wounds. At the front, he formed as a person, and as a writer he was “born” in Paris, where he moved in 1921.
«The Old Man and the Sea"(An excellent cartoon by Alexander Petrov in 1999 was filmed on this story),"For whom the Bell Tolls"(There is the same drama of Sam Wood of 1943),"Kilimanjaro Snow"(Filmed by Henry King with Gregory Peck in the title role) is only a small fraction of his work.
1. Stephen King
The "King of Horrors" in September will turn 72 years old, but he is not going to rest, continuing to create. It is difficult to describe it with a couple of sentences, since only a lot of time can be spent on listing his stories: Dark Tower, Misery, Escape from the Shawshank, Mist, Stay with Me and other books and films on them all know.
At the moment, he is perhaps the most often filmed author: regularly in the media there is information about the shooting of the next film / series based on King's stories.