Nelson Algren
Sign in to saveAlso known as Nelson Ahlgren Abraham
American novelist, short story writer (1909-1981)
Key facts
- Born
- Nelson Ahlgren Abraham , ( 1909-03-28 ) March 28, 1909, Detroit, Michigan , U.S.
- Died
- May 9, 1981 (1981-05-09) (aged 72), Long Island , New York , U.S.
- Occupation
- Writer
- Education
- University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign ( BA )
- Genre
- Novel , short story
- Notable awards
- National Book Award , 1950
- Spouse
- Amanda Kontowicz ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1937 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1946 ) Betty Ann Jones ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1965 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1967 )
- Partner
- Simone de Beauvoir (1947–1964)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Nelson
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Detroit
- Place of death
- New York City
- Occupation
- novelist
- Employer
- Iowa Writers' Workshop
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Award
- National Book Award
- Image
- Nelson Algren NYWTS.jpg
Show 5 more facts
- member of
- American Academy of Arts and Letters
- Commons category
- Nelson Algren
- date of birth
- 1909-03-28
- date of death
- 1981-05-09
- unmarried partner
- Simone de Beauvoir
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~27 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Nelson Algren (born Nelson Ahlgren Abraham; March 28, 1909 – May 9, 1981) was an American writer. His 1949 novel The Man with the Golden Arm won the National Book Award and was adapted as the 1955 film of the same name.
Algren articulated the world of "drunks, pimps, prostitutes, freaks, drug addicts, prize fighters, corrupt politicians, and hoodlums". Art Shay singled out a poem Algren wrote from the perspective of a "halfy," street slang for a legless man on wheels. Shay said that Algren considered this poem to be a key to everything he had ever written. The protagonist talks about "how forty wheels rolled over his legs and how he was ready to strap up and give death a wrestle."
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Nelson Algren” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.