J.D. Salinger Biography

J.D. Salinger, Novelist
Attr: Lotte Jacobi, Public domain
Born asJerome David Salinger
Known asJ. D. Salinger
Occup.Novelist
FromUSA
SpouseClaire Douglas (1955-1967)
BornJanuary 1, 1919
New York City, New York, USA
DiedJanuary 27, 2010
Cornish, New Hampshire, USA
Aged91 years
Early Life
Jerome David Salinger, popularly called J.D. Salinger, was born on January 1, 1919, in New York City, United States. He was the child of Sol Salinger, a Jewish father who was a successful importer of cheese and meat, and Marie Jilich, a Scottish-Irish Catholic mother who changed her name to Miriam after their marriage. Salinger went to McBurney School, a personal institution on Manhattan's West Side where he began his writing journey by contributing to the school's literary magazine. At 17, he was sent to Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1936.

Education and Early Career
After completing high school, Salinger briefly went to New York University, where he explored his goals of ending up being a star. Displeased with his lack of dedication, his father sent him to Europe, where Salinger worked as an apprentice in a meatpacking plant in Austria prior to returning to the United States. Back home, he went to Ursinus College in Pennsylvania for one term prior to moving to Columbia University in New York, where he studied composing under Whit Burnett, the editor of Story Magazine. In 1940, he released his very first short story, "The Young Folks" in Story Magazine.

World War II and Impact on Salinger's Life
Salinger's composing career was disrupted by World War II. He served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1945, experiencing firsthand the horrors of war and participating in the invasion of Normandy. The war significantly affected his later works, as he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was hospitalized for fight tension. Salinger utilized writing as a method for treatment, which eventually culminated in one of his most popular works, "For Esmé - with Love and Squalor", published in 1950 in The New Yorker. This story portrayed a shocked soldier forging a bond with a girl, showing his own experiences during the war.

Literary Success: The Catcher in the Rye
In 1951, Salinger's unique, "The Catcher in the Rye", was published by Little, Brown and Company. The novel ended up being an instantaneous success and narrated the life of 16-year-old Holden Caulfield, a defiant teen who had problem with disillusionment, disobedience, and cynicism in post-World War II America. The novel's styles of innocence, credibility, and identity immediately resonated with teenagers and young adults and is considered one of the most crucial works of 20th-century American literature.

Later On Works and Personal Life
Salinger continued to release short stories in his profession, many of which were released in The New Yorker. A few of these stories included the Glass family, a fictional family of incredibly smart, reflective, and complicated brother or sisters. The stories revolved around the brother or sisters' struggles with loss, popularity, and spirituality. Salinger published a collection of these stories entitled "Nine Stories" in 1953, followed by "Franny and Zooey" in 1961 and "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters, and Seymour: An Introduction" in 1963.

Throughout his life, Salinger wed three times. His very first marital relationship was to French psychologist Sylvia Welter in 1945, however it ended in divorce in 1947. In 1955, he wed Claire Douglas, with whom he had 2 children, Margaret Ann and Matt. This marital relationship ended in divorce in 1967. In 1988, Salinger married Colleen O'Neill, a previous nurse with whom he lived a reclusive life in Cornish, New Hampshire, up until his death.

Reclusive Lifestyle and Death
From the late 1950s onward, Salinger led an increasingly personal life, shunning the public eye and refraining from releasing any new product after 1965. He retreated to his home in Cornish, New Hampshire, where he continued to write for his own satisfaction. Although there have actually been reports of unpublished works stored in his house, no new Salinger works have actually been released given that his death.

On January 27, 2010, J.D. Salinger passed away of natural causes at his house in Cornish, New Hampshire, at the age of 91. His literary legacy, especially his novel "The Catcher in the Rye", continues to captivate readers and remains an essential text in the American literary canon.

Our collection contains 24 quotes who is written / told by Salinger.

Related authors: Lisa Loeb (Musician), Cliff Fadiman (Author), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete)

J.D. Salinger Famous Works:
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24 Famous quotes by J.D. Salinger

Small: Im sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody
"I'm sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody"
Small: Im sick of just liking people. I wish to God I could meet somebody I could respect
"I'm sick of just liking people. I wish to God I could meet somebody I could respect"
Small: All morons hate it when you call them a moron
"All morons hate it when you call them a moron"
Small: The worst thing that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy c
"The worst thing that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly"
Small: People never notice anything
"People never notice anything"
Small: You take somebody that cries their goddam eyes out over phoney stuff in the movies, and nine times out
"You take somebody that cries their goddam eyes out over phoney stuff in the movies, and nine times out of ten they're mean bastards at heart"
Small: They didnt act like people and they didnt act like actors. Its hard to explain. They acted more like th
"They didn't act like people and they didn't act like actors. It's hard to explain. They acted more like they knew they were celebrities and all. I mean they were good, but they were too good"
Small: People never believe you
"People never believe you"
Small: Mothers are all slightly insane
"Mothers are all slightly insane"
Small: Its really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs
"Its really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs"
Small: Its funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and theyll do practically anything yo
"It's funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they'll do practically anything you want them to"
Small: It was a very stupid thing to do, Ill admit, but I hardly didnt even know I was doing it
"It was a very stupid thing to do, I'll admit, but I hardly didn't even know I was doing it"
Small: If a girl looks swell when she meets you, who gives a damn if shes late? Nobody
"If a girl looks swell when she meets you, who gives a damn if she's late? Nobody"
Small: Im the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life
"I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life"
Small: Im quite illiterate, but I read a lot
"I'm quite illiterate, but I read a lot"
Small: I was about half in love with her by the time we sat down. Thats the thing about girls. Every time they
"I was about half in love with her by the time we sat down. That's the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty... you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are"
Small: I dont exactly know what I mean by that, but I mean it
"I don't exactly know what I mean by that, but I mean it"
Small: I dont even like old cars. Id rather have a goddam horse. A horse is at least human, for Gods sake
"I don't even like old cars. I'd rather have a goddam horse. A horse is at least human, for God's sake"
Small: I am a kind of paranoid in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy
"I am a kind of paranoid in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy"
Small: How long should a mans legs be? Long enough to touch the ground
"How long should a man's legs be? Long enough to touch the ground"
Small: How do you know youre going to do something, untill you do it?
"How do you know you're going to do something, untill you do it?"
Small: He had a theory, Walt did, that the religious life, and all the agony that goes with it, is just someth
"He had a theory, Walt did, that the religious life, and all the agony that goes with it, is just something God sics on people who have the gall to accuse Him of having created an ugly world"
Small: Goddam money. It always ends up making you blue as hell
"Goddam money. It always ends up making you blue as hell"
Small: An artists only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone elses
"An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else's"