Hello.
Here's a brief biography of humorist Peter De Vries:
"Perhaps Illinois's pre-eminent modern literary humorist, DeVries was
born in 1910 in Chicago. After odd jobbing during the Depression,
DeVries ended up an editor at the famous Poetry magazine in 1938;
after four years he ended up at the New Yorker, where he found fame.
Before he died in 1993 he published some two dozen novels. One, Tunnel
of Love (1954), earned him praise as "something of a national humorist
laureate." DeVries in his prime was compared to Oscar Wilde, P.G.
Wodehouse, and Evelyn Waugh (the early, funny Waugh). Unusual for such
funny works, he wrote his novels in a highly intellectual or at least
mental style that relied on puns, goofy aphorisms, and word games.
DeVries set some of his stories in his home state--the hero, more or
less, of Consenting Adults is Ted Peachum of the fictional Pocock,
Illinois--but the real setting for his stories was the treacherous
landscape of the suburban mind. His persistent themes were the
difficulties of marriage and of religion, which pose similar dilemmas
to the faithful."
source: Prairie.org
http://www.prairie.org/detours-Humor/features/Il_Humor4.html
From Contemporary Authors:
Peter De Vries
1910-1993
Personal Information: Family: Born February 27, 1910, in Chicago,
Illinois, United States; died of pneumonia, September 28, 1993, in
Norwalk, CT; son of Joost (a furniture warehouse owner) and Henrietta
(Eldersveld) De Vries; married Katinka Loeser (a writer), October 16,
1943; children: Jan, Peter Jon, Emily (deceased), Derek. Education:
Calvin College, A.B., 1931; attended Northwestern University, summer,
1931. Politics: Democrat. Memberships: National Institute of Arts and
Letters, American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Career: Writer and editor. Editor of community newspapers, Chicago,
IL, 1931; candy vending machine operator, taffy apple peddler,
lecturer, and radio actor, Chicago, 1931-38; freelance writer,
1931-93;
# Poetry magazine, Chicago, associate editor, 1938-42, co-editor,
1942-44;
# The New Yorker, staff member, 1944-87. Balch Lecturer, University of
Virginia, Charlottesville, 1962; lecturer, 1968 Sophomore National
Literary Festival, University of Notre Dame; lecturer during 1960s at
several universities in Germany as part of a U.S. State
Department-sponsored program."
source: Contemporary Authors
Available by subscription or through public libraries:
http://www.galegroup.com/servlet/ItemDetailServlet?region=9&imprint=000&titleCode=GAL2&type=4&id=110195
More about De Vries' wife Katinka Loeser:
KATINKA LOESER
" On October 16, 1943, she married the writer Peter DeVries. After
1948, the family lived in Westport, Connecticut. They had five
children: Jan, Peter, Jon, Emily, and Derek. Emily died of leukemia in
September 1960."
source: uiowa.edu
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/MSC/ToMsC650/MsC649/IAAUTH_loeser.html
De Vries was the author of several dozen novels.
Use the Library of Congress catalog to view the titles of his books,
beginning with "Angels can't do better" (1944).
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=local&CMD=010a+44007949&CNT=10+records+per+page
[Click on the name "De Vries, Peter, 1910-1993" in the catalog record
to see the rest of his books].
search strategy:
"peter devries", "peter de vries", humorist
I hope this helps. |
