James A. Michener

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James A. Michener, 1991

James Albert Michener (born February 3, 1907 in New York City , † October 16, 1997 in Austin , Texas ) was an American writer .

Life

Michener, 1985

Michener's parents are unknown. According to his papers, he was born in New York on February 3, 1907, but his date and place of birth are not actually known.

As an orphan , Michener grew up with his foster mother Mabel Michener in Doylestown , Pennsylvania . He initially worked as a teacher and as a lecturer. During the Second World War , during his deployment in the South Pacific, he wrote his first book The South Seas , a collection of loosely connected short stories , on the Vanuatu island of Espiritu Santo . For this book he received the Pulitzer Prize in 1948 . It was the later Broadway - Musical South Pacific .

Michener wrote numerous other novels, mostly historical novels, many of which deal with life in a particular country or US state from its inception to the present. These novels are based on historically correct information, while most of the main characters are fictional. While researching his works, he traveled a lot and carefully explored the countries he described.

Many of his works, such as Hawaii and Colorado Saga , were filmed with world stars such as Marlon Brando , Grace Kelly , James Garner , Charlton Heston , Julie Andrews , Max von Sydow , Richard Chamberlain , Lynn Redgrave , Timothy Dalton , Glenn Close and many others, with in in most cases Michener himself wrote the script . Michener also wrote the scripts for a number of television series.

In 1989 he encouraged his Canadian publisher McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada to use the proceeds of his novel Journey ( Klondike ) in an annual award that recognizes the best short story by a young author. The Journey Prize is one of the most important Canadian literary prizes today.

Michener died of uremia after completing his two-year dialysis treatment on his own a week earlier . His three marriages were childless and he donated over $ 100 million to charities, universities, museums, and libraries.

Works (selection)

  • The South Seas - Tales of the South Pacific (1946)
  • Return to paradise - tales (ger .: Return to Paradise ) (1947)
  • Spring Fire (Engl .: The Fires of Spring ) (1949)
  • The Bridges at Toko-Ri (ger .: Bridges at Toko-Ri ) (1953)
  • Sayonara (1954) filmed in 1957 by Joshua Logan under the title Sayonara with Marlon Brando
  • The bridge of Andau (Engl .: The Bridge at Andau ) (1957); as paperback: Knaur Taschenbuch, Munich 1985 ISBN 3-426-01265-0
  • Damn in Paradise - Stories ( Rascals in Paradise ) (1957)
  • Hawaii (1959)
  • Caravans night (ger .: caravans ) (1963)
  • The source (Engl .: The Source ) (1965)
  • Iberia (1968)
  • The Children of Torremolinos ( The Drifters ) (1971)
  • Kent State (1971)
  • The Colorado Saga ( Centennial ) (1974)
  • The Bay ( Chesapeake ) (1978)
  • Promised Earth (Engl .: The Covenant ) (1980)
  • Star Hunter (English: Space ) (1982)
  • Mazurka (English: Poland ) (1983)
  • Texas (1985)
  • Space - A man reaches for the stars ( James A. Michener's Space ) (1985), 5-part miniseries (or 13 episodes)
  • Patriots (English: Legacy ) (1987)
  • Alaska (1988)
  • Klondike (English: Journey ) (1989)
  • Caribbean (1989)
  • Havana together with John Kings (English: Six Days in Havanna ) (1989)
  • The eagle and the raven (1990)
  • Dresden, Pennsylvania ( The Novel ) (1991)
  • Mexico (1992)
  • Florida terminus (English: Recessional ) (1994)

The world is my home , an autobiographical work , was published in 1992 . He also published some works on Japanese copperplate engravings with his last wife, Mari Sabusawa Michener, a native of Japan, and held various political offices.

The University of Texas is home to the Michener Art Collection , a museum for contemporary art.

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ according to autobiography
  2. ^ Journey Prize
  3. ↑ according to the booklet of the DVD Colorado Saga
personal data
SURNAME Michener, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Michener, James Albert (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer
DATE OF BIRTH February 3, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH October 16, 1997
Place of death Austin (Texas)