J.D. Salinger 1919-2010

January marks the month for both the birth and death of the reclusive author J. D. Salinger. He was born in New York, January 1, 1919 and died January 27, 2010. In his most famous work, The Catcher in the Rye, the angry protagonist Holden Caulfield narrates his adventures when he runs away from boarding school and finds his way to New York City.

Salinger had attended Valley Forge Military Academy which became the model for Caulfield's Pencey Prep. After graduation Salinger drifted through life until he found his calling as an author. He submitted stories to the mass-circulated magazines hoping to one day be published in the New Yorker. Finally the New Yorker accepted his story about young rebellious Holden Caulfield. The novel The Catcher in the Rye was finally published in 1953 to critical acclaim.

Salinger did not enjoy his popularity and guarded his privacy with a shotgun. He became the ultimate anti-celebrity and even went as far as having his picture removed from the dust jackets of his books.
He said "I love to write, but I write just for myself and my own pleasure."

CDPL has copies of his books plus a biography of elusive author.


Sources:

Lacayo, Richard. J.D. Salinger, Dies: Hermit Crab of American Letters, http://www.time.com/time/printout/ 0,8816,1957492,00.html, 1/5/2011..

DeCourcy, Anne, Why did J.D. Salinger spend the last 60 years hid in a shed writing love notes to teenage girls?, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1246881, 1/5/2011.