Henry Louis Mencken简介.pptVIP

Henry Louis Mencken(1880-1956)(America)American educator, author, critic His life His Works His style His life He was born and spent most of his life in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of German immigrant parents. He completed high school but did not attend university, only graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute at 16. He became a reporter on the Baltimore Morning Herald. When he was nine years old, he read Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, which he described it as the most stupendous(惊人的) event in his life and He determined to become a writer. His life marriage When he was 50(in 1930), Mencken married Sara Haardt, a professor of English at Goucher College,but Haardt was in poor health from tuberculosis throughout their marriage and she died in 1935 misfortune When he was 68,Mencken suffered a stroke that left him aware and fully conscious but nearly unable to read or write, and to speak with some difficulty. During his stroke period, Mencken enjoyed listening to European classical music. His life A few years later, he joined the staff of its rival newspaper, the Baltimore Sun or Evening Sun, first as a reporter, then as its drama critic and editor, a position which he held until 1941. He helped to found and edit two literary magazines which were highly influential among intellectuals. The Smart Set 2) The American Mercury His life He hated narrow-minded religion. He believed strongly in intellectual freedom and fought all attempts to censor literature and drama. He felt that the greatest threat of censorship came from the countrys religion fundamentalists, whose opinions were all based on their interpretation of the Bible. 2) He hated commercialism. 3) He did not support democracy because he considered the masses too ignorant and greedy to exercise it wisely. His works Menckens essays were received with delight or horror, depending on the readers point of view, he was also highly respected for his literary criticism