Prokosch, Frederic

Prokosch, Frederic

▪ American writer
born May 17, 1908, Madison, Wis., U.S.
died June 6, 1989, Plan-de-Grasse, France

      American writer who became famous for his early novels and whose literary stature subsequently rose as his fame declined.

      The precocious son of a respected linguist-philologist and a concert pianist, Prokosch spent his childhood in the United States, Germany, France, and Austria. By the age of 18 he had received an M.A. degree from Haverford (Pennsylvania) College (1926); he received a Ph.D. from Yale University (1933) and a second M.A. from the University of Cambridge (1937). Prokosch's first novel, The Asiatics (1935), was the picaresque story of a young American who travels from Beirut, Lebanon, across vivid Asian landscapes to China, encountering a variety of distinctive individuals along the way; it won wide acclaim and was translated into 17 languages. His other novels of the 1930s—another journey-tale, The Seven Who Fled (1937), and Night of the Poor (1939)—were also well received. Meanwhile, with his own press, he published many of his poems. His fourth novel was one of his best known—The Skies of Europe (1941), which includes a portrait of Adolf Hitler (Hitler, Adolf) as a failed artist.

      During World War II, Prokosch was cultural attaché of the American Legation in Sweden, and he remained in Europe after the war. His reputation continued to flourish, and there he wrote most of his 16 novels, including two more journey-novels, Storm and Echo (1948) and Nine Days to Mukalla (1953), and The Missolonghi Manuscript (1968), a fictional biography of Lord Byron (Byron, George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron). He published four collections of poems and translated the poetry of Euripides, Louise Labé (Labé, Louise), and Friedrich Hölderlin (Hölderlin, Friedrich). His final work, Voices (1983), was a memoir of his encounters with leading 20th-century literary figures, including T.S. Eliot (Eliot, T.S.) and Thomas Mann (Mann, Thomas), who were among his admirers.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Frédéric Prokosch — Frederic Prokosch Frederic Prokosch est un écrivain américain de langue anglaise, né le 17 mai 1908 dans le Wisconsin, décédé le 6 juin 1989 à Grasse, dans le sud de la France, où il s était retiré. Romancier, poète, critique littéraire, il était …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Frederic Prokosch — (May 17 1908 – June 6 1989) was an American writer, known for his novels, poetry, memoirs and criticism. He was also a distinguished translator.His novels The Asiatics and The Seven Who Fled were bestsellers in the 1930s. The drama in both these… …   Wikipedia

  • Frederic Prokosch — (* 17. Mai 1908 in Madison, Wisconsin; † 6. Juni 1989 in Grasse (Quartier „Le Plan“), Dept. Alpes Maritimes ) war ein US amerikanischer Schriftsteller, der Romane, Lyrik, literarische Übersetzungen und Essays publizierte. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Frederic Prokosch — est un écrivain américain de langue anglaise, né le 17 mai 1908 dans le Wisconsin, décédé le 6 juin 1989 à Grasse, dans le sud de la France, où il s était retiré. Romancier, poète, critique littéraire, il était aussi traducteur. Sommaire 1… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Frederic Prokosch — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Frederic Prokosch (Madison, Wisconsin, 17 de mayo de 1908 Plan de Grasse, Alpes Marítimos, 2 de junio de 1989) Novelista y poeta americano. Biografía Hijo de una pianista y de un eminente filólogo austriaco, realizó… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Prokosch — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Eduard Prokosch (1876 1938), österreichischer Linguist Erich Prokosch, österreichischer Orientalist Frederic Prokosch (1908–1989), amerikanischer Schriftsteller Gertrude Prokosch Kurath (1903–1992),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Eduard Prokosch — (* 15. Mai 1876 in Eger, Böhmen; † 11. August 1938 in New Haven (Connecticut), USA [1]) war ein Linguist. Er war Vater von Gertrude Prokosch Kurath, Frederic Prokosch und Walther Prokosch. Prokosch studierte bis 1897 Jura in Prag und Wien und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Eduard Prokosch — Eduard Prokosch, (15 May 1876 1938) was a historical linguist who specialized in Indo European and, specifically, Proto Germanic studies. He was the father of Frederic Prokosch.Prokosch was born in Eger, Bohemia (modern Cheb, Czech Republic) and… …   Wikipedia

  • Liste der Biografien/Pr — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Lepidopterist — Ein Lepidopterologe ist eine Person, die Schmetterlinge (Lepidoptera) untersucht und erforscht. Die Schmetterlinge sind eine Ordnung der Insekten. Bekannte Lepidopterologen (Auswahl) Jean Baptiste Boisduval Henry Doubleday Edmund Brisco Ford… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”