John Updike, 1932-2009“I would write ads for deodorants or labels for catsup bottles, if I had to. The miracle of turning inklings into thoughts and thoughts into words and words into metal and print and ink never palls for me.”
—John Updike (1932-2009), Pulitzer Prize-winning
novelist and essayist, died yesterday at 76, 1967
“He used to say that when he wrote he was aiming for ‘a vague little spot a little to the east of Kansas.’ He became famous for his breathtaking descriptions, which could make anything — toilets, mudholes, worn carpet — seem oddly beautiful. In one of his short stories, he found God in a pigeon feather.”
“I’m a plugger. Even the way Rabbit sits in front of his Linotype machine day after day reminds me of myself, of the way I sit in front of the typewriter. Writing does not require any drive — it’s like saying a chicken requires drive to lay an egg.”
novelist and essayist, died yesterday at 76, 1967
“He used to say that when he wrote he was aiming for ‘a vague little spot a little to the east of Kansas.’ He became famous for his breathtaking descriptions, which could make anything — toilets, mudholes, worn carpet — seem oddly beautiful. In one of his short stories, he found God in a pigeon feather.”
—Joe Posanski, sportswriter, Kansas City Star, 1/27/09
“I’m a plugger. Even the way Rabbit sits in front of his Linotype machine day after day reminds me of myself, of the way I sit in front of the typewriter. Writing does not require any drive — it’s like saying a chicken requires drive to lay an egg.”
—John Updike comparing himself to Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, 1972
(Click for NYTimes obit.)
(Click here for “John Updike: A Life in Letters” video interview.)
(See selected headlines on Updike.)
Today in History
1997: South African police admit to killing Stephen Biko; 1986: Space shuttle Challenge explodes on lift-off; 1973: Vietnam cease-fire; 1964: Soviets shoot down U.S. jet; 1959: Vince Lombardi hired as Packers coach; 1956: Elvis’ first TV appearance; 1916: Louis Brandeis appointed to Supreme Court; 1598: Sir Francis Drake dies off Panama
(See History.com)
I had never heard of John Updike until I saw he died yesterday. I looked up some of his quotes and things he has accomplished in his life and I think it's safe to say he was a wonderful writer!!
ReplyDeleteMy husband says I'll end up using my J degree to write prize winning menus for Micky D's -- I can relate. (Is it PC to say "my husband says?"
ReplyDeleteI did the same as Lauren.
ReplyDeleteSad I couldn't appreciate him in the moment.