Community Corner
Mercer County Library Blog: Famous Authors Who Passed Away In 2021
Here is an annotated list of some of the authors who have passed away in 2021. This list is not in any way an inclusive list, but rather ...
February 15, 2022
Here is an annotated list of some of the authors who have passed away in
2021. This list is not in any way an inclusive list, but rather a
subjective list of major authors who have held a cherished place in the world
of literature and bought a little bit of light and joy to us, their
readers. This short list will highlight some of their major works for us
to revisit and once again enjoy the special magic these authors bought to us.
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Born Lawrence Monsanto Ferling in Yonkers New York, Ferlinghetti was a leading
light in the Beat movement as a publisher. He was a co-founder of City
Lights Booksellers & Publishers in San Francisco; which published many of
the early Beat authors, such as Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. Although
Ferlinghetti was a poet and author he did not consider himself a “Beat”
author. His major influences were T. S. Elliot and William Carlos
Williams. Ferlinghetti was not only influential in the Beat world, but
continued to be a counter-cultural icon and touchstone throughout the sixties
and beyond. His adopted hometown of San Francisco made him the Poet
Laureate of San Francisco in 1998 and, on his 100th birthday in March 2019,
turned his birthday, March 24, into "Lawrence Ferlinghetti Day".
Ferlinghetti books to check out at the Library:
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Cleary was born on a farm in McMinnville, Oregon and moved with her family to
Portland, Oregon when she was six years old. She was one of America's
most successful authors - 91 million copies of her books have been sold
worldwide since her first book was published in 1950. Some of Cleary’s
best-known characters are Ramona Quimby and Beezus Quimby, Henry Huggins and
his dog Ribsy, and Ralph S. Mouse. Not only was Cleary one of America’s most
popular and successful children’s authors, she was also a children’s
librarian! And it was as a children’s librarian that Cleary found the
inspiration to become an author as she shared her young patrons frustration in
finding reading materials that were compelling enough to hold their interest.
So, she decided to write some herself. And boy did she! Her books
are still enjoyed by children and her characters are still starring in books
published today as Cleary handed off the baton of fun stories for other
writers to continue.
Cleary books to check out at the Library:
Born, raised and died in Texas. McMurtry wrote about the west, the old west of
cowboys (Lonesome Dove) and the new west of contemporary times (The Last
Picture Show and Terms of Endearment). Many of his novels were turned
into motion pictures. In fact, the films that were adapted from his
works earned 34 Oscar nominations with 13 wins. He won the Pulitzer Prize in
Literature in 1985 for his novel, Lonesome Dove.
McMurtry books to check out at the library:
Paulsen was known primarily for writing wilderness adventure novels and
stories for Young Adults. His most famous novel was Hatchet, which won
the 1986 Newbery Award. Paulsen’s novels show his love of the outdoors, the
importance of nature in our lives, and deal with “coming of age” by surviving
in the wilderness.
Paulsen books to check out at the library:
Northwind Paulsen’s last novel, published posthumously in 2022.
Born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien in New Orleans, Louisiana. Yes Howard! Rice
was named after her father; Rice said it was her mother’s idea to give her an
advantage in life in overcoming that, but an official biography pins it on her
father himself. In any case, on her first day of Catholic school when a
nun asked her for her name, she said “Anne” as she thought it was a pretty
name. Her mother, who was there, let it go and that was her name from then on.
Rice is most famous for her novel Interview with the Vampire and its many
sequels. She writes mostly gothic tales, religious fiction and erotic
tales (under a pen name). Later in life she had differences with the
Church and declared herself a secular humanist.
Rice books to check out at the library:
Didion was a journalist known for mostly memoirs, nonfiction books and essay
collections. She was married to fellow author/journalist John Gregory
Dunne. Her work has been awarded the National Book Award for Nonfiction
and the Pulitzer Prize. She also wrote fiction novels and screenplays, but her
most noted work was nonfiction.
Didion books to check out at the library:
Let Me Tell You What I Mean This is Didion’s last work published in 2021.
Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays
- by Larry, Acquisitions and Cataloging Department
This press release was produced by the Mercer County Library Blog. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
