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On his 127th birthday
Sinclair Lewis; almost unknown in Iran
7 Feb 2012 14:00
Today (February 7) is the birthday anniversary of the first American Nobel Prize winner - Sinclair Lewis. Despite his literary fame, he is still an unknown writer in Iran with only one of over 20 novels of him ever converted to Persian.
IBNA: Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters." His works are known for their insightful and critical views of American society and capitalist values, as well as for their strong characterizations of modern working women.
After winning the Nobel Prize, Lewis wrote eleven more novels, ten of which appeared in his lifetime. The best remembered is "It Can't Happen Here", a novel about the election of a fascist to the American presidency.
"Babbit" (1922), Arrowsmith (1925), "Mantrap" (1926), "Elmer Gantry" (1927), "Kingsblood Royal" (1947), "World So Wide" (1951), and "Cass Timberlane" (1945) are some of his best remembered works. Lewis died in Rome on January 10, 1951, aged 65, from advanced alcoholism.
Despite his literary fame and while super literary works usually enjoy various translations in Iran, Lewis is still unknown to Iranian readers. His only fortunate novel has been "Babbit" that was translated by Manouchehr Badi'i in 1989 and few years later by Fazlollah Nikayeen.
Today (February 7) is the 127th birthday anniversary of first American Nobel Prize winner Harry Sinclaire Lewis.
