J. D. Salinger - 1919
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Londonderry High School in Londonderry, New Hampshire
I. Biography
J.D. Salinger was born in New York City, on January 1, 1919. He was the second of two children of a Jewish importer and a Scottish mother. During his childhood, he attended many private preparatory schools all of which he was expelled from until he finally graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in 1936.
Salinger then attended writing classes at Columbia University under professor Whit Burnett. Then, in 1942, Salinger enrolled in the military and served until the end of WWII. Salinger served his military time in France and carried a typewriter around in the back of his jeep at all times.
His 1951 novel, The Catcher in the Rye brought on Salinger's fame. With that fame came both praise and criticism. Salinger's 1951 novel was criticized for its use of language and its social criticism. The novel became the center of many censorship campaigns. In reaction to the attention delivered to him by his first novel, Salinger moved to the remote town of Cornish, New Hampshire.
In 1955, Salinger married Claire Douglas, from whom he was later divorced.
II. Influences
Salinger's major influence was his writing instructor at Columbia University, Whit Burnett. Under Salinger produced his first major literary work, an influential periodical published in Story.
III. Works By Salinger
The Catcher in the Rye (1951)
Nine Stories (1953)
For Esme—With Love and Squalor (1953)
Franny (1955)
Zooey (1957)
Franny and Zooey (1961)
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters (1955)
Seymour: An Introduction (1959)
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters; and Seymour: An Introduction (1963)
The Complete Uncollected Short Stories of J.D. Salinger (1974)
IV. Web Links
Salinger Home PageV. Bibliography
French, Warren. "J.D. Salinger." Dictionary of Literary Biography. Jeffrey Helterm and Richard Layman. Detroit. 1978. "J.D. Salinger." American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies. Leonard Unger.
New York. Charles Scribners Sons. 1974. "J.D. Salinger." Grolier Incorporated . 4 August 2000. Online. Internet.
This essay was submitted by a student of Elizabeth H. Juster, a teacher at Londonderry High School in Londonderry, New Hampshire.
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