Nelson Algren

James A. Lewin (Shepherd College)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

Born 28 Mar 1909
Died 9 May 1981
Activity 1935-1981

Places

Born in United States
Active in United States

Activities

Primary

Novelist
Story-writer

Other

Autobiographer
Journalist
Letter-writer/ Diarist
Man/ Woman of Letters
Poet
Travel writer

Resources

Algren's Works

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Marginalized but not forgotten, Nelson Algren remains one of the most underrated authors of American literature. Algren published five novels, a volume of short stories, three books of nonfiction, and a book length essay

Chicago: City on the Make

. The recipient of numerous grants and prizes, including the first National Book Award in 1950 for

The Man with the Golden Arm

and the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Merit in 1974, he defined literature as “a protest made against the legal apparatus by a conscience in touch with humanity.”

Yet most academic critics have ignored Algren. Except for a coterie of enthusiasts and fellow writers, the current generation of readers has rarely heard of his work. The irony is that Algren represents American idealism at its

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2746 words

Citation: Lewin, James A.. "Nelson Algren". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 June 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=78, accessed 23 November 2024.]