Maxwell, William

Maxwell, William
born Aug. 16, 1908, Lincoln, Ill., U.S.
died July 31, 2000, New York, N.Y.

American editor and author.

Maxwell taught English at the University of Illinois before joining the staff of The New Yorker magazine. In his 40 years there, he edited writers such as John Cheever, J.D. Salinger, Eudora Welty, and Mavis Gallant. He himself was the author of spare, evocative short stories and novels. Perhaps his best-known work is The Folded Leaf (1945), about the friendship of two small-town boys. Among his other works are the novels The Château (1961) and So Long, See You Tomorrow (1980) and the short-story collection All the Days and Nights (1995).

* * *

▪ American author
original name  William Maxwell Keepers, Jr. 
born Aug. 16, 1908, Lincoln, Ill., U.S.
died July 31, 2000, New York, N.Y.

      American editor and author of spare, evocative short stories and novels about small-town life in the American Midwest in the early 20th century.

      Educated at the University of Illinois (B.A., 1930) and Harvard University (M.A., 1931), Maxwell taught English at the University of Illinois before joining the staff of The New Yorker (New Yorker, The) magazine, where he worked from 1936 to 1976, first in the art department and then as a fiction editor. Among the writers he edited were John Cheever, J.D. Salinger, Eudora Welty, and Mavis Gallant. Maxwell's first novel, Bright Center of Heaven, was published in 1934. They Came like Swallows (1937) tells how an epidemic of influenza affects a close family. The Folded Leaf (1945), perhaps Maxwell's best-known work, describes the friendship of two small-town boys through their adolescence and college years. In Time Will Darken It (1948) a long visit from relatives disrupts a family; in The Château (1961) American travelers encounter postwar French culture.

      Maxwell also published several collections of short stories, including The Old Man at the Railroad Crossing and Other Tales (1966), Over by the River, and Other Stories (1977), Billie Dyer and Other Stories (1992), and All the Days and Nights (1995). His 1980 novel So Long, See You Tomorrow returns to the subject of a friendship between two boys, this one disrupted by a parent's murder of his spouse, then suicide. Despite the subject, Maxwell avoids sensationalism, instead concentrating on the crime's emotional aftereffects.

Additional Reading
Barbara Burkhardt, William Maxwell: A Literary Life (2005).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Maxwell, William — • Fifth Earl of Nithsdale (Lord Nithsdale signed as Nithsdaill) and fourteenth Lord Maxwell, b. in 1676; d. at Rome, 2 March, 1744 Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Maxwell William Ward — Maxwell William Ward, OC, AOE (* 21. November 1921 in Edmonton, Alberta) ist ein kanadischer Flugpionier und Gründer der nach ihm benannten Fluggesellschaft Wardair Canada. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Auszeichnungen und Ehrungen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Maxwell William Roman — was an officer in the United States Air Force. Contents 1 Biography 2 Career 3 Honors and awards 4 References …   Wikipedia

  • Maxwell, William — (16 ago. 1908, Lincoln, Ill., EE.UU.–31 jul. 2000, Nueva York, N.Y.). Editor y autor estadounidense. Maxwell impartió clases de inglés en la Universidad de Illinois, antes de pasar a formar parte del personal de la revista The New Yorker. Durante …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Maxwell, William Keepers, Jr. — ▪ 2001       American editor and writer (b. Aug. 16, 1908, Lincoln, Ill. d. July 31, 2000, New York, N.Y.), as a fiction editor at The New Yorker magazine, spent some four decades collaborating with, encouraging, and polishing the prose of some… …   Universalium

  • Maxwell, William Hamilton — (1792 1850)    Novelist, a Scoto Irishman, b. at Newry, and ed. at Trinity Coll., Dublin, entered the army, and saw service in the Peninsula, and at Waterloo. Afterwards he took orders, but was deprived of his living for non residence. His novels …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • William Keepers Maxwell, Jr. — William Keepers Maxwell, Jr. (August 16 1908 – July 31, 2000) was an American novelist and editor.LifeMaxwell was born in Lincoln, Illinois, and attended the University of Illinois and Harvard University. He was best known as the fiction editor… …   Wikipedia

  • William Sutherland Maxwell — (* 14. November 1874 in Montreal, Kanada; † 25. März 1952 ebenda) war der Architekt für den Schrein des Bab und einer der zwölf Hände der Sache Gottes, die am 24. Dezember 1951 von Shoghi Eff …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Maxwell-Kirby House — U.S. National Register of Historic Places Location: 8671 Northshore Dr Knoxville, Tennessee …   Wikipedia

  • William Bridges-Maxwell — Member of the Australian Parliament for Robertson In office 5 December 1964 – 25 October 1969 Preceded by Roger Dean Succeeded by Barry Cohen …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”