Biography of Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951)

Sinclair Lewis

Sinclair Lewis was the first American to win a Nobel Prize for Literature. He is best known for his works Main Street and Babbitt. He earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination for both of these works and later declined to accept a Pulitzer for Arrowsmith. He was a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

He was born Harry Sinclair Lewis in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, and although he was proud of his Midwestern hometown, he traveled a great deal in order to expose himself to many aspects of American life. After graduating from Yale University in 1908, he began his career as a writer of romantic stories and poetry. As he traveled, though, he sought to address issues concerning the powerless individuals in society, including women and minority groups. In his book entitled Sinclair Lewis, Sheldon Norman Grebstein asserts that Lewis "was the conscience of his generation and he could well serve as the conscience of our own." He is best remembered for his satiric criticism of American society and values.

He married twice (once to Grace Hegger and once to Dorothy Thompson) and divorced twice. He died in Rome, Italy, of heart disease and is now buried in his birth town of Sauk Centre.