With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Philip Roth
Fiction
1933 – 2018
In 1959, Roth became one of the rising stars of American fiction with the publication of “Goodbye, Columbus,” which won the National Book Award and was turned into a feature film. Known for exploring Jewish and American identity, he often did so in graphic and provocative ways. He has written over 30 books.
- Biography/Description of Work
Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1933, and grew up in a Jewish middle class family. His literary career began at Bucknell University where he started a magazine in which some of his short stories appeared. After graduation, he served in the US Army, and later earned a master’s degree in English literature at the University of Chicago. He won the National Book Award for “Goodbye, Columbus” in 1959, and had his first bestseller with “Portnoy’s Complaint” in 1969. He earned a second National Book Award in 1995 for “Sabbath’s Theatre” and a Pulitzer Prize for American Pastoral (1999). Known for being reclusive, Roth spent much of his time at his Warren home and studio.
- Sources view
- [ http://www.biography.com/people/philip-roth-9465081#major-works ]
Lehman, Eric D. and Amy Nawrocki. 2014 Literary Connecticut. Charleston: The History Press. - Associated Resource(s)