A person who is far from modern literature may have a question: who is Wolf Tom ?. But advanced readers have long been well aware of this experimenter of prose and journalism, thanks to his fascinating novels and non-fiction books. How did the writer develop?
Family and childhood
Tom Wolfe was born March 2, 1931 in Richmond , Virginia. The father of the future writer was a specialist in the field of agriculture. He conducted research, wrote scientific and popular articles in journals. Mom was a student of the medical faculty. After the birth of her son, she left school.
Tom's childhood was quite typical for the USA: school, active sports. Unless the boy read more than his peers. Since childhood, Tom has decided on a vocation - he wanted to be a writer exclusively. Already at the age of 9, he makes his first attempt to write a biography of Napoleon. Then he creates a book with his own illustrations about the life of Mozart. While studying at the Episcopal School. St. Christopher, he becomes editor of a local newspaper. Even in his youth, he began to play football. Over time, the guy will grow into a semi-professional league.
Education
After school, Wolfe Tom enters the University of Washington and Lee in Lexington. During his studies, he was engaged in publishing the Shenandoah magazine. After graduating from university, Woolf is studying at Yale, where he receives a doctorate in American Studies. The theme of his dissertation is “Communist activists among American writers in 1927–42.” She was quite polemical and even dangerous. And it showed how much Wolfe is ready for the profession of a journalist. After the defense, he was made several proposals to continue his scientific career, but he remembered his dream. His education was only one more obligatory step towards his destiny. He always wanted to be a journalist and became one.
The first steps in journalism
Wolfe Tom makes his first experiments in professional journalism as a student. In 1956, he began to work a little in the newspaper The Republican. After graduation, he accepts an offer from a newspaper in the state of Massachusetts - Springfield Union, where he will work for three years. After that, he was called to the Washington Post. Then he achieved the first significant success. In this newspaper he wrote 315 materials in which he honed and shaped his subsequently famous “baroque” style of writing.
It is then that he begins to experiment with the language and presentation of materials. His new style is built on a clash of opposites. For the review of revolutionary events in Cuba, Wolfe was awarded the Guild of Periodicals Publishers. Colleagues noted him for his humor in writing materials, as well as for successful experiments with the inclusion of fiction in a journalistic text. Wolfe's biographer, James Rosen, called his style “deadline journalism,” full of gritty expressions and social commentary. These signs have become the trademark of the correspondent.
Life in New York
In 1962, Tom Wolfe moved to New York at the invitation of the New York Herald Tribune. Here he focuses on the main trends in society. A man enthusiastically studies the “life styles” of American society, believing that it is through their understanding that one can penetrate both history and all the causes of modern events. The rapidly developing career of a novice journalist was almost interrupted by a protracted strike of newspaper workers. But Esquire magazine’s chief editor, Byron Dowbell, found a way out of this situation. He sent Tom to make a series of materials about the culture of forced cars from California. So, Wulf's bestseller suddenly appeared, making him famous.
New Journalism
In this article, we are trying to understand who Tom Wolf is. Biography, books, reviews, quotes from texts will help to open the audience of this interesting person. His statements become real catchy phrases. They penetrate the speech of young Americans, like advertising slogans. Wolfe himself, while fulfilling the task of the chief editor of Esquire magazine, was so carried away that he wrote a whole book instead of the ordered series of reports. Not knowing what to do with such a voluminous text, he simply sent it to Byron Dowbell. Having read the material, he realized that it would be sacrilege to turn it into a standard journalistic text. And he makes a series of author's reports out of him, which he places in several issues of his journal. Part of the material was published in the New York Store and several other magazines.
Later, these texts are fully published in the form of a separate book with a breathtaking title: “Candy-colored orange-petalled streamlined baby”. The publication became the founder of a new type of literature, which researchers called the "new journalism." It collected sketches and descriptions of the mores of modern American life. Her characters were the stars of show business, sports, fashion industry, as well as millionaires, marginals, hippies and punks. Such a social cut allowed the journalist to see the life of the country in all its diversity and contradictions. For a month the book withstood 4 print runs of print runs - its success was so overwhelming. She became a real guide to modern America. Tom Wolfe found his way and his style in journalism. And then he was already moving in this direction. In 1973, Woolf and his colleagues published a manifesto of "new journalism," which outlines the basic tenets of modern media.
Literary heritage
Wolfe Tom, whose brief biography can be described in two words - “writer and correspondent,” has always sought to create not just journalistic material, but specifically an artistic and documentary work. In a niche found and in his unique manner, he writes the most famous book about the current era: The Electro-Cooling Acid Test. Her goal was to research and describe the cult phenomenon of writer Ken Kesey. But, in the end, it turned into an unusual analysis of modern culture and American society. In order to collect the necessary material, the journalist spent a whole month in the commune "Funny Pranksters", who practiced "expansion of consciousness" using psychotropic drugs. He also collected a lot of additional materials in the form of photos, interviews, audio and video recordings. In 1968, the book saw the light of day. She immediately entered the bestseller list. Later, the Institute of Journalism at New York University entered the book on the list of "One Hundred Best Journalism Workes in the United States in the 20th Century."
All the years of his work as a correspondent, a man always secretly dreamed of writing a novel. And in 1987, the world learned about the new Tom Wolfe - writer. He released The Bonfires of Vanity, a novel about the true life of New York. The publication is often called the best work of a journalist and writer by the name of Tom Wolfe. The author’s books, written later, often repeated the success of the first novel and even exceeded it, but they no longer produced such an effect. Over his fairly long life, Tom Wolfe has written four novels, seven documentaries, and five collections of essays. And today, despite his advanced age, the writer continues to work on the fourth work of art. And perhaps soon his bibliography will expand.
Awards
For his many years of work, Wolfe has repeatedly received various awards. In his luggage - a medal of the National Book Fund, participation in the prestigious Jefferson lecture and a lot of awards. Including the Publishers Guild Award, National Institute of Arts and Culture Award, Don Passos Award and Ambassador.
Tom Wolfe and Cinema
The writer’s books are so popular that Hollywood could not ignore them. In total, three works were filmed: the essay “The Last American Hero” (1973), the publication “Guys What You Need” (1983). The novel “Bonfires of Ambition” also awaited its realization on the screen - the famous director Brian de Palma took up the creation of the film . The main roles in the film were played by such stars as Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith and Bruce Willis. The scripts for all the tapes were written by Wolfe himself. Now two more paintings based on the works of Tom are in production.
Personal life
A journalist whose activities are constantly in sight is trying to hide the details of his personal life. However, it is known that in 1978 he married the art director of the famous Harper's Magazine Sheila Berger. The couple had two children. Today, the Wolf couple continues to live in New York. The wife always understood that the husband needed care and support. She was always his reliable rear.
Interesting Biography Facts
Writer Wolf Tom from an early age attracted attention with a few eccentric acts. So, at the dawn of his journalistic career, he always appeared in public in a snow-white suit. Over time, this became his real brand name. He was repeatedly reproached for the fact that he "stole" the reception from Mark Twain, but he only chuckles in response. By the way, Tom Wolf is called the most famous writer in the United States. In addition, he is among the top ten highest paid prose writers in America.