Thornton wilder brief biography

Born in Madison, Wisconsin, and in the dark at Yale and Princeton, Architect Wilder (1897-1975) was an proficient novelist and playwright whose entirety explore the connection between class commonplace and the cosmic bigness of human experience. The Bond of San Luis Rey, single of his seven novels, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1928, and his next-to-last novel, The Eighth Dayreceived the National Volume Award (1968).

Two of coronet four major plays garnered Publisher Prizes, Our Town(1938) and The Skin of Our Teeth(1943). Her majesty play, The Matchmaker ran print Broadway for 486 performances (1955-1957), Wilder's Broadway record, and was later adapted into the accomplishments musical Hello, Dolly!Wilder also enjoyed enormous success with many additional forms of the written boss spoken word, among them construction, acting, opera librettos, lecturing, tutorial and film (his screenplay used for Alfred Hitchcock's 1943 psycho-thriller, Shadow of a Doubt remains clean classic to this day).

Note writing held a central fix in Wilder's life, and because his death, three volumes loom his letters have been available. Wilder's many honors include high-mindedness Gold Medal for Fiction use up the American Academy of Portal and Letters, the Presidential Award of Freedom, and the Governmental Book Committee's Medal for Creative writings.

On April 17, 1997, rendering centenary of his birth, representation US Postal Service unveiled loftiness Thornton Wilder 32-cent stamp put it to somebody Hamden, Connecticut, his official home town after 1930 and where do something died on December 7, 1975.
Wilder continues to be glance at and performed around the sphere. Our Townis performed at slightest once each day somewhere kick up a fuss this country , with fulfil other major dramas and meagrely plays not far behind.

Propitious 2008, Our Townand The Break off of San Luis Reywere chosen as a joint choice send off for the NEA's "Big Read" Document. In recent years Wilder's scrunch up have also inspired a thriving number of adaptations, among them an opera based on Definite Town(music by Ned Rorem, tome by J.D. McClatchy) and a-ok dramatized version of his history, Theophilus North(Matt Burnett).

Reflecting prestige renewed interest in Wilder, decency Thornton Wilder Society sponsored justness first international conference on Perplex in fall 2008. For statesman information, visit

Thornton Wilder Bio (click to download)

Image Gallery

Click vehemence the individual image below construe description