Louis Adamic

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Louis Adamic

Louis Adamic (born March 23, 1899 in Praproče pri Grosupljem , today Slovenia , † September 4, 1951 in Milford , New Jersey , USA ) was a journalist and writer. He wrote about the fate of the American minorities, especially the immigrants at the beginning of the 20th century.

Life

In 1913 he emigrated to the USA. In 1918 he was granted citizenship of the United States. In his first book, Laughing in the Jungle (1932), he described the American melting pot , which, in his opinion, failed.

With the help of a Guggenheim grant , he undertook a year-long trip to Yugoslavia in 1933 and 1934 . There he was able to visit his Slovenian family, but also met leading politicians and artists of the kingdom on his subsequent tour through all parts of the country. As a result of his journey, The Native's Return was published in 1934 . The book, a mixture of travelogue and socio-political essay, stood out for its harsh criticism of King Alexander's dictatorship .

Back in the United States, he wrote Grandsons (1935), Cradle of Life (1936) and the novel The House in Antigua (1937). In My America (1938), which contains both memoirs and socio-philosophical considerations, he describes his vision of a united America that overcomes ethnic tensions. From 1940 he was editor of the magazine Common Ground , which dealt with the multiethnic culture of America. During and after the Second World War he supported Josip Broz Tito's communist movement. At times he was a member of the IWW .

On September 4, 1951, he was found shot dead. There have been suspicions of murder based on his political views, but the official cause of death is suicide .

Works

  • Laughing in the jungle. The Autobiography of an Immigrant in America. Harper & Brothers, London / New York 1932.
  • The Native's Return. An American Immigrant Visits Yugoslavia And Discovers His Old Country. Harper & Brothers, London / New York 1934.
  • Dynamite - History of the Class Struggle in the USA (1880-1930) . Munich: Trikont-Verlag, 1974. ISBN 978-3-920385-66-2 .
  • My America: 1928-1938 . Da Capo Press, ISBN 0-306-70801-9 .

literature

  • Henry A. Christian: Louis Adamic and the American Dream, in: The Journal of General Education XXVII (1975), 2, pp. 113-123.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biography on Slovenska biografija (Slovenian, accessed December 15, 2013)
  2. ↑ University of Minnesota, Imigration History Research Center (September 29, 2008)
personal data
SURNAME Adamic, Louis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American journalist and writer
DATE OF BIRTH March 23, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Praproče pri Grosupljem
DATE OF DEATH 4th September 1951
Place of death Milford , New Jersey