Sinclair Lewis

Who was Sinclair Lewis?

Harry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States 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." His works are known for their insightful and critical views of American capitalism and materialism between the wars. He is also 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."

He has been honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a Great Americans series postage stamp.

Famous Quotes:

• Damn the great executives, the men of measured merriment, damn the men with careful smiles, damn the men that run the shops, oh, damn their measured merriment.
• Intellectually I know America is no better than any other country; emotionally I know she is better than every other country.
• Intellectually I know that America is no better than any other country; emotionally I know she is better than every other country.
• The trouble with this country is that there are too many people going about saying, The trouble with this country is...
• Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless.
• Our American professors like their literature clear and cold and pure and very dead.
• Pugnacity is a form of courage, but a very bad form.
• In other countries, art and literature are left to a lot of shabby bums living in attics and feeding on booze and spaghetti, but in America the successful writer or picture-painter is indistinguishable from any other decent businessman.
• What is love? It is the morning and the evening star.
• There are two insults no human will endure. The assertion that he has no sense of humor and the doubly impertinent assertion that he has never known trouble.