William Styron

William Styron (1925-2006) was born in Virginia, USA, into a family with roots tracing back to the colonial era. In his youth, he was influenced by the prose of fellow Southern writer Thomas Wolfe and dreamed of becoming an author. He served as a second lieutenant in the Marines during World War II and found himself in Okinawa in 1945, awaiting the U.S. invasion of Japan—a mission he did not expect to survive, but which ultimately never took place. He later studied at Duke University and began working as an editor at the publishing house McGraw-Hill, from which he was soon dismissed for "not having a proper appearance, not wearing a hat, and reading the New York Post." With the support of his family, he managed to complete his first novel, "Lie Down in Darkness," at the age of 26, earning the Prix de Rome from the American Academy. This was followed by "The Long March" in 1957 and "Set This House on Fire" in 1960. His famous and much-discussed "The Confessions of Nat Turner" in 1961 earned him the Pulitzer Prize and the Howells Medal from the American Academy. More than a decade of silence followed until 1979, when he made a sensation with "Sophie's Choice." The book received the American Book Award and was adapted into a film starring Meryl Streep in a stunning role. In 1982, he published the essay collection "The Quiet Dust and Other Writings," and in 1993, three short stories titled "A Tidewater Morning." Preceding this, in 1989, was the chronicle of his personal battle with depression, titled "Darkness Visible," which was read by audiences and critics as one of his most captivating books. A liberal thinker, Styron never missed an opportunity to engage in public affairs. In the 1990s, he joined others in opposing Disney's plans to establish a theme park at the Manassas National Battlefield site in northern Virginia, a project that was eventually canceled. Alongside Arthur Miller and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, he participated in a delegation of writers who visited President Castro in 2000 and was a close friend of Kurt Vonnegut and the younger E.L. Doctorow. In his later years, numerous accolades placed him among the leading writers of his generation. He passed away from pneumonia on November 1, 2006, at the age of 81.