Barbara Kingsolver: A Living Legend

It is amazing that Barbara Kingsolver, born in 1955, is such a prominent figure in her own time. Most writers, like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe, do not become popular or considered influential American writers until after their deaths. At just 55 years old Barbara has published 13 novels, and become one of the most influential writers of our time (Kingsolver). Her accomplishments are endless and one must wonder what type of a person becomes such a renowned writer.

Barbara Kingsolver lived in Maryland until the age of 2 when she moved to Kentucky(Kingsolver). As a child she was encouraged to read and she read anything and everything around (Kingsolver). Barbara's parents wanted her to experience and explore the world around her, even letting her bring home 'pets' from the woods and keep them in the home (Kingsolver). When Barbara was eight years old she started to write in a journal, the earliest spark in her interest of writing (Kingsolver). She was actually was published at a very young age when her essay "Why We Need a New Elementary School" was published in the newspaper after winning an essay contest (Kingsolver). Her father moved the family to the Congo with no electricity or running water so he could provide medical care to the people of the newly Democratic country (Kingsolver). Through this experience Barbara learned a lot and even though the children of the village didn't speak English they still played together (Kingsolver).

Barbara Continued her education in 173 when she attended DePauw University, Indiana (Kingsolver). She originally went there for piano but soon changed he major to biology(Kingsolver). For many years her career was centered around science and she didn't even want her colleagues to know she was writing (Kingsolver). She started to do freelance writing and worked still on articles on science (Kingsolver). She didn't pursue her career as a freelance writer full time until 1985. Within the next twenty-five years her writing career flourished.

The Bean Trees, Barbara's first published novel, was written during the late nights of her pregnancy (Kingsolver). That was just the beginning to her career as a writer. She has since written twelve more books and been awarded many prizes (Kingsolver). She has been on the New York Time's Bestseller List, received The Orange award, and now her books are essential to school curriculum's around the county (Kingsolver). You can read her books in more than two dozen languages and she is known all around the world.

Barbara is passionate about the world around her and travels to see more of it. She has had vast experiences through all the places she has lived, visited and experienced. Most of what authors write about comes from experiences they have had and the more vast the experiences the more versatile the author. Barbara Kingsolver has become a living literary legend.





Works Cited
Kingsolver, Barbara. "Brief Biography Barbara Kingsolver." Barbara Kingsolver The Authorized Site. 2010. Web. 19 Aug. 2010. .

Author Research: Nathaniel Hawthorne

The year was 1804 when Nathaniel Hawthorne was born n Salem, Massachusetts(Liukkonen). His family had a long History in Salem even dating back to the Salem Witch Trials where his relative was a judge (Liukkonen). Hawthorne's mother was not always present throughout his childhood and lived a life of seclusion until her death (Liukkonen). Later, the Hawthorne Family moved to Maine, where Nathaniel attended Bowdion (Liukkonen). At the age of 21 Hawthorne started working as writer (Liukkonen). Through Hawthorne's young college days and his initial start as a writer he grew to know many important people. His college friend, Franklin Pierce eventually became President of the United States (Liukkonen). The more people Hawthorne met the easier it would become for him to break-out as a writer.

Hawthorne was very critical of his writing. He was even known to burn his unsold copies of his first books, and didn't believe himself to be a professional (Liukkonen). FANSHAWE (1828), Hawthorne's first novel, was based on his college experience and after Hawthorne paid out-of-pocket to publish the novel, it did not do well so he burned the remaining copies (Liukkonen). Hawthorne even wrote about his astonishment that anyone would want to read his works about his life in his Sketch, The Custom House, the introduction to The Scarlet Letter. Despite his doubts, Hawthorne was a talented writer and even was recognized by Edgar Allan Poe (Liukkonen).

In 1842, Hawthorne's family did not attend his wedding to, bride, Sophia Peabody (Liukkonen). After their marriage Hawthorne began to look for other work as his writer's salary would not be enough to support his family (Liukkonen). This caused Hawthorne to work in many places he did not like doing jobs he did not enjoy (Liukkonen). Hawthorne completed some 37 works throughout his life most of which were not published until after his death (Liukkonen). Hawthorne mostly wrote about himself and his life experiences, though not all of his books were autobiographical. The majority of his novels were fiction and based on his own experiences. each time Hawthorne moved to a new location or acquired a new job it was a new experience for him to write about.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a humble man who desired his peers approval. He was devastated when his books would not do well, though he never expected they would. he was a dedicated husband and though his true passion was for writing he would still work to try to provide for his family. Hawthorne died after returning to the United States from a stay in Europe(Liukkonen). He was appointed as a consul by the president to England(Liukkonen). After he serve four years in England he spent a stay in Italy before returning to the United States (Liukkonen). Throughout Hawthornes sixty years of life her met many people and encountered a variety of situations that all helped to make him a better writer. From his education to his upbringing and family life all of these things made Nathaniel Hawthorne the famous writer we still talk about today some hundred years later.







Works Cited
Liukkonen, Petri. "Nathaniel Hawthorne." Www.kirjasto.sci.fi. 2008. Web. 19 Aug. 2010. .

Image
http://www.grimshaworigin.org/images/NorthAmerica/hawthorne1870-2.jpg