Nelson Algren

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Nelson Algren

Nelson Algren (born March 28, 1909 in Detroit , Michigan , † May 9, 1981 in Sag Harbor , New York ) was an American writer .

Life

Nelson Algren grew up in Chicago . Its first story was published in 1933. His breakthrough came with his novel The Man with the Golden Arm ( "The Man with the Golden Arm"), of the 1950 his National Book Award earned.

Lou Reed wrote the song of the same name in 1970 for a planned musical version of the 1956 novel A Walk on the Wild Side , which was also filmed in 1961 . After the project was never realized, he recorded the song in 1972 for his album Transformer . Walk on the Wild Side became one of his most famous songs.

On May 9, 1981, Nelson Algren was about to celebrate his acceptance into the American Academy of Arts and Letters , but he died shortly before the first guests arrived. According to legend, he was found lying on the kitchen floor with a whiskey glass in hand. Wolf Wondratschek quotes one of the party guests in an obituary for Algren published in 1987 as saying: “He mixed the drinks. Now at least he doesn't have to rinse the glasses anymore. "

Algren was temporarily in a relationship with the French writer Simone de Beauvoir . Her letters to Nelson Algren appeared in 1997 under the title A Transatlantic Love - Letters to Nelson Algren 1947–1964 . When de Beauvoir died in 1986, she was buried with a ring given to her by Algren.

Works

  • 1935 - Somebody in Boots ("The Puss in Boots ")
  • 1942 - Never Come Morning ("Night Without Tomorrow")
  • 1947 - The Neon Wilderness ("In the Neon Jungle")
  • 1949 - The Man with the Golden Arm ("The Man with the Golden Arm")
  • 1956 - A Walk on the Wild Side ("Wilderness of Life")
  • 1981 - The Devil's Stocking ("Calhoun - Novel of a Crime"), edited and translated by Carl Weissner, Frankfurt, Verlag Zweiausendeins

Film adaptations

Web links

Wikiquote: Nelson Algren  - Quotes
personal data
SURNAME Algren, Nelson
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer
DATE OF BIRTH March 28, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Detroit , Michigan
DATE OF DEATH May 9, 1981
Place of death Sag Harbor , New York