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John Knowles

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For other people named John Knowles, seeJohn Knowles (disambiguation).
John Knowles
Born(1926-09-16)September 16, 1926
Fairmont, West Virginia,U.S.
DiedNovember 29, 2001(2001-11-29)(aged 75)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida,U.S.
EducationYale University
Phillips Exeter Academy
OccupationWriter
Known forPeace Breaks Out(1981)
A Separate Peace(1959)
AwardsWilliam Faulkner Foundation Award(1961) Rosenthal Award of the National Institute of Arts and Letters.

John Knowles(/noʊlz/;September 16, 1926 – November 29, 2001) was an American novelist best known forA Separate Peace(1959).

Biography

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Knowles was born on September 16, 1926,[1]inFairmont, West Virginia,[2]the son of James M. Knowles, a purchasing agent fromLowell, Massachusetts,and Mary Beatrice Shea Knowles fromConcord, New Hampshire.His father was a coal company executive, which earned an income that afforded the family a comfortable living.[3][4]As a youth, Knowles would remark that he could write just as well as the stories fromThe Saturday Evening Post.[5]

Knowles attended St. Peter's High School in Fairmont from 1938 to 1940, before he continued atPhillips Exeter AcademyinExeter, New Hampshire,and graduated in 1945. Following his time at Phillips Exeter, Knowles spent eight months serving in theUS Army Air Forcesat the end ofWorld War II.

Knowles graduated fromYale Universityas a member of the class of 1949. At Yale, Knowles contributed stories to campus humor magazineThe Yale Record[6]and served on the board of theYale Daily Newsduring his sophomore, junior, and senior years, notably as editorial secretary during his senior year. He was a record-holding varsity swimmer during his sophomore year.[citation needed]

Early in his career, Knowles wrote for theHartford Courantand was assistant editor forHolidaymagazine. With encouragement fromThornton Wilder,he concurrently began writing novels.[7]

Knowles died on November 29, 2001, nearFort Lauderdale, Florida.[1]

A Separate Peace

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A Separate Peacewas first published in London bySecker and Warburgin 1959. Published in New York in 1960 byMacmillan,it is his most celebrated work.

The novel is based upon Knowles's experiences atPhillips Exeter Academy.The Devon School, the book's setting, is a thinly-veiled fictionalization of Exeter, with both campus and town easily recognizable. Although the plot is not autobiographical, elements of the novel stem from personal experience, including Knowles's membership in asecret societyand his suffering a foot injury while he jumped from a tree during society exercises. In his essay "A Special Time, A Special Place," Knowles wrote, "The only elements inA Separate Peacewhich were not in that summer were anger, violence, and hatred. There was only friendship, athleticism, and loyalty. "[8]

The secondary character Finny (Phineas) is the friend of the main character Gene. Knowles has stated that he modeled Finny onDavid HackettfromMilton Academy,whom he met when both attended a summer session at Phillips Exeter Academy. Hackett was a friend ofRobert F. Kennedyunder whom he later served in theUS Justice Department.A student, Phineas Sprague, lived in the same dormitory as Knowles during the summer session of 1943 and may have inspired the character's name.

In his memoirPalimpsest,Gore Vidalacknowledged that he and Knowles simultaneously attended Phillips Exeter Academy, though Vidal was two years ahead of Knowles. Vidal stated that Knowles told him the character Brinker was based on him. "We have been friends for many years now," Vidal said, "and I admire the novel that he based on our school days,A Separate Peace."[9]

Awards

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Knowles won thePEN/Faulkner Award for Fictionand the Rosenthal Award of theNational Institute of Arts and Letters.

Selected works

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  • "A Turn with the Sun" (short story),Story: The Magazine of the Short Story,Number 4, 1953
  • "Phineas" (short story),Cosmopolitan,May, 1956
  • A Separate Peace(novel), London, Secker & Warburg, 1959; New York, Macmillan Co., 1960
  • Morning in Antibes(novel), New York, Macmillan, 1962
  • Double Vision; American Thoughts Abroad,New York, Macmillan, 1964
  • Indian Summer,New York, Random House, 1966
  • Phineas. Six Stories,New York, Random House, 1968
  • The Paragon(novel), New York, Random House, 1971
  • "Rapture of the Deep" (short story), 1972
  • Spreading Fires,New York, Random House, 1974
  • A Vein of Riches,Boston, Little Brown, 1978
  • Peace Breaks Out(novel), New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1981
  • A Stolen Past,New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983
  • The Private Life of Axie Reed,New York: John Knowles, 1986
  • A Special Time, A Special Place,Exeter Bulletin,1995 (autobiographical note on internet)

References

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  1. ^abHonan, William H.(December 1, 2001)."John Knowles, 75, Novelist Who Wrote 'A Separate Peace'".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedOctober 25,2021.
  2. ^Zielinski, Graeme (December 1, 2001)."John Knowles".The Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.RetrievedOctober 25,2021.
  3. ^Rowe, Gabriell. "John Knowles." Magill's Survey of American Literature. EBSCO. Web. 3 Nov. 2010
  4. ^Zielinski, Graeme (December 1, 2001)."John Knowles".The Washington Post.
  5. ^Frankman, Helen (1985).A History of Marion County.Fairmont, West Virginia: Marion County Historical Society, Inc. p. 24.
  6. ^Bloom, Harold, ed. (2009)Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations: John Knowles'sA Separate Peace. Infobase Publishing. Chronology, p. 111.
  7. ^"John Knowles Biography | List of Works, Study Guides & Essays | GradeSaver".www.gradesaver.com.
  8. ^John Knowles."A Special Time, A Special School".RetrievedApril 4,2012.
  9. ^"John Knowles".www.goodreads.com.
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Wikiquote has quotations related toJohn Knowles.
  • John Knowles Papers.Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
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