Literary Hit Parade: 1950-1959
1950
Nobel Prize for Literature
Bertrand A. W. Russell, (1872-1970) British
Bollingen Prize in Poetry
Wallace Stevens
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction The Way West, A. B. Guthrie, Jr.
Poetry Annie Allen, Gwendolyn Brooks
Drama South Pacific, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Joshua Logan
History Art and Life in America, O. W. Larkin
National Book Award
Fiction The Man with the Golden Arm, Nelson Algren
Non-Fiction Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ralph L. Rusk
Poetry Paterson: Book III and Selected Poems, William Carlos Williams
The Governor General's Literary Award (Fiction)
The Outlander (translation), Germaine Guevremont
Best Sellers
Fiction 1. The Cardinal, Henry Morton Robinson 2. Joy Street, Frances Parkinson Keyes 3. vAcross the River and into the Trees, Ernest Hemingway
Nonfiction 1. Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book 2. The Baby 5. Kon-Tiki, Thor Heyerdahl 10. Belles on Their Toes, Frank Gilbreth, Jr.
Other Notable Literary Events
The Enchafed Flood, W. H. Auden; Across the River and into the Trees, Ernest Hemingway; The Cocktail Party, T. S. Eliot; Auroras of Autumn, Wallace Stevens; W. Faulkner accepts Nobel & delivers famous response
Died
George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair), British writer (b. 1903)
Bibhuti Bhusan Banerji, Indian Writer (b. 1894)
Edna St. Vincent Millay , American poet (b. 1892)
Edgar Lee Masters, American writer (b. 1868)
Carl Van Doren, American writer, editor, critic (b. 1885), brother of Mark Van Doren
Edgar Rice Burroughs, American writer (b. 1875)
Ernest Poole, American writer (b. 1880)
Irving Bacheller, American author (b. 1859)
William Rose Benet, American poet & critic (b. 1886)
Aurobindo Ghosh, Indian Poet writing in English (b. 1872)
George Bernard Shaw, British writer & critic (b. 1856)
Jane Cowl, American actress & playwright (b. 1884)
1951
Nobel Prize for Literature
Par F. Lagerkvist, (1891-1974) Swedish
Bollingen Prize in Poetry
John Crowe Ransom
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction The Town, Conrad Richter
Poetry Complete Poems, Carl Sandburg
Drama No Award given
National Book Award
Fiction The Collected Stories of William Faulkner, William Faulkner
Non-Fiction Herman Melville, Leon Howard
Poetry The Auroras of Autumn, Wallace Stevens
The Governor General's Literary Award (Fiction)
The Loved and the Lost, Morley Callaghan
Best Sellers
Fiction 1. From Here to Eternity, James Jones 2. The Caine Mutiny, Herman Wouk 5. A Woman Called Fancy, Frank Yerby
Nonfiction 1. Look Younger, Live Longer, Gayelord Hauser 2. Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book 6. The Sea Around Us, Rachel L. Carson 7. Thorndike-Barnhart Comprehensive Desk Dictionary, ed. Clarence L. Barnhart 8. Pogo, Walt Kelly 10. The New Yorker Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Album
Other Notable Literary Events
Requiem for a Nun, William Faulkner; Molloy, Samuel Beckett; The End of the Affair, Graham Greene; From Here to Eternity, James Jones; Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger
Died
Sinclair Lewis, American writer (b. 1885)
Andre Gide, French writer (b. 1869)
Harold Ross, founder & editor of The New Yorker (1925-1951)
Louis Adamic, Yugoslavian-American writer (b. 1899)
Ivor Novello, English actor-manager, playwright, composer (b. 1893)
Henri-Rene Lenormand, French playwright (b. 1882)
James Bridie, Scottish doctor & playwright (b. 1888)
1952
Nobel Prize for Literature
Francois Mauriac, (1885-1970) French
Bollingen Prize in Poetry
Marianne More
Pulitzer Prizes
FictionThe Caine Mutiny, Herman Wouk
Poetry Collected Poems, Marianne Moore
Drama The Shrike, Joseph Kramm
National Book Award
Fiction From Here to Eternity, James Jones
Non-Fiction The Sea Around Us, Rachel Carson
Poetry Collected Poems, Marianne Moore
The Governor General's Literary Award (Fiction)
The Pillar, David Walker
Best Sellers
Fiction 1. The Silver Chalice, Thomas B. Costain 2. The Caine Mutiny, Herman Wouk 3. East of Eden, John Steinbeck 4. My Cousin Rachel, Daphne du Maurier 6. Giant, Edna Ferber 7. The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway
Nonfiction 1. The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version 2. A Man Called Pete, Catherine Marshall 5. Tallulah, Tallulah Bankhead 6. The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman, Vincent Peale 9. Witness, Whitaker Chambers
Other Notable Literary Events
Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett; The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway; Wise Blood, Flannery O'Connor; East of Eden, John Steinbeck; First and Last Loves, John Betjeman
Died
Knut Hamsun, Norwegian writer (b. 1859)
George Santayana, Spanish-born American writer (b. 1863)
Mariano Azuela, Mexican Nnvelist (b. 1873)
Paul Eluard (Eugene Grindel), French poet (b. 1895)
Ferenc Molnar, Hungarian playwright (b. 1878)
1953
Nobel Prize for Literature
Sir Winston Churchill, (1874-1965) British
Bollingen Prize in Poetry
Archibald MacLeish & William Carlos Williams
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway
Poetry Collected Poems, Archibald MacLeish
Drama Picnic, William Inge National Book Award
National Book Award
Fiction Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
Non-Fiction The Course of an Empire, Bernard A. DeVoto
Poetry Collected Poems, 1917-1952, Archibald MacLeish
The Governor General's Literary Award (Fiction)
Digby, David Walker
Best Sellers
Fiction 1. The Robe, Lloyd C. Douglas 2. The Silver Chalice, Thomas B. Costain 4. Battle Cry, Leon M. Uris 6. The High and the Mighty, Ernest K. Gann
Nonfiction 1. The Holy Bible:Revised Standard Version 2. The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale 3. Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, Alfred C. Kinsey 4. Angel Unaware, Dale Evans Rogers 5. Life Is Worth Living, Fulton J. Sheen 10. A House Is Not a Home, Polly Adler
Other Notable Literary Events
Go Tell It on the Mountain, James Baldwin; Love Among the Ruins, Evelyn Waugh; The Waking, Theodore Roethke; Camino Real, Tennessee Williams; Except the Lord, Joyce Cary
Died
Dylan Thomas, Welsh writer (b. 1914)
Ivan Bunin, Russ. writer (b. 1870)
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, American writer (b. 1896)
Eugene O'Neill, American playwright (b. 1888)
Henry Bernstein, French playwright (b. 1876)
Ugo Betti, Italalian playwright (b. 1892)
1954
Nobel Prize for Literature
Ernest Hemingway, (1899-1961) American
Bollingen Prize in Poetry
W. H. Auden
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction No Award Given
Poetry The Waking, Theodore Roethke
Drama Teahouse of the August Moon, John Patrick
National Book Award
Fiction The Adventures of Augie March, Saul Bellow
Non-Fiction The Stillness at Appomattox, Bruce Catton
Poetry Collected Poems, Conrad Aiken
The Governor General's Literary Award (Fiction)
The Fall of a Titan, Igor Gouzenko
Best Sellers
Fiction 1. Not As a Stranger, Morton Thompson 2. Mary Anne, Daphne du Maurier 6. No Time for Sergeants, Mac Hyman 7. Sweet Thursday, John Steinbeck 8. The View from Pompey's Head, Hamilton Basso
Nonfiction 1. The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version 2. The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale 6. I'll Cry Tomorrow, Lillian Roth 7. The Prayers of Peter Marshall, ed. Catherine Marshall 10. The Saturday Evening Post Treasury, ed. Roger Butterfield
Other Notable Literary Events
A Fable, William Faulkner; Under Milk Wood, Dylan Thomas; The Confidential Clerk, T. S. Eliot; Hungerfield and Other Poems, Robinson Jeffers; Autumn Sequel, Louis MacNeice; Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis
Died
James Hilton, British writer (b. 1900)
Colette (Sidonie Gabrielle Claudine Colette), French writer (b. 1873)
Martin Andersen Nexo, Danish writer (b. 1869)
Jacinto Benavente y Martinez, Spanish playwright (b. 1866)
Stig Dagerman, Swedish novelist & playwright (b. 1923)
1955
Nobel Prize for Literature
Halldor K. Laxness (1902- ) Icelandic
Bollingen Prize in Poetry
No Award Given
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction A Fable, William Faulkner
Poetry Collected Poems, Wallace Stevens
Drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Tennessee Williams
National Book Award
Fiction A Fable, William Faulkner
Non-Fiction The Measure of a Man, Joseph Wood Krutch
Poetry The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens, Wallace Stevens
The Governor General's Literary Award (Fiction)
The Sixth of June, Lionel Shapiro
Best Sellers
Fiction 1. Marjorie Morningstar, Herman Wouk 2. Auntie Mame, Patrick Dennis 3. Andersonville, MacKinlay Kantor 4. Bonjour Tristesse, Francoise Sagan 5. The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, Sloan Wilson 6. Something of Value, Robert Ruark 10. Ten North Frederick, John O'Hara
Nonfiction 1. Gift from the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh 2. The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale 4. A Man Called Peter, Catherine Marshall 7. The Secret of Happiness, Billy Graham 10. Years of Decisions, Harry S. Truman
Other Notable Literary Events
The Shield of Achilles, W. H. Auden; Lolita, Vladimir Nobokov; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Tennessee Williams; Section: Rock Drill, Ezra Pound
Died
James Agee, American novelist, essayist, screenwriter, film critic (b. 1909)
Wallace Stevens, American poet (b. 1879)
Paul Claudel, French writer (b. 1868)
Ludwig Lewisohn, German-born American novelist & critic (b. 1882)
Robert P. T. Coffin, American author (b. 1892)
Solomon Libin, Jewish playwright (b. 1872)
1956
Nobel Prize for Literature
Juan Ramon Jimenez, (1881-1958) Spanish
Bollingen Prize in Poetry
Conrad Aiken
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction Andersonville, MacKinlay Kantor
Poetry Poems, North and South, Elizabeth Bishop
Drama The Diary of Anne Frank, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
National Book Award
Fiction Ten North Frederick, John O'Hara
Non-Fiction An American in Italy, Herbert Kubly
Poetry The Shield of Achilles, W. H. Auden
The Governor General's Literary Award (Fiction)
The Sacrifice, Adele Wiseman
Best Sellers
Fiction 1. Don't Go Near the Water, William Brinkley 2. The Last Hurrah, Edwin O'Connor 3. Peyton Place, Grace Metalious 5. Eloise, Kay Thompson 7. A Certain Smile, Francoise Sagan 9. The Mandarins, Simone de Beauvoir
Nonfiction 1. Arthritis and Common Sense, Dan Dale Alexander 2. Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, ed. David B. Guralnik 4. Etiquette, Frances Benton 6. The Search for Bridey Murphy, Morey Bernstein 10. The Nun's Story, Kathryn Hulme
Other Notable Literary Events
Howl, Allen Ginsberg; Look Back in Anger, John Osborne; A Long Day's Journey into Night, Eugene O'Neill
Died
H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken, American writer & editor (b. 1880)
A. A. Milne (Alan Alexander), British writer (b. 1881)
Max Beerbohm, British writer & caricaturist (b. 1872)
Alexander Fadeyev, Russian writer (b. 1901)
Louis Bromfield, American writer (b. 1896)
Bertolt Brecht, German playwright (b. 1895)
Charles MacArthur, American writer, dir., prod. (b. 1895)
Owen Davis, American playwright (b. 1874)
1957
Nobel Prize for Literature
Albert Camus, (1913-1960) French
Bollingen Prize in Poetry
Allen Tate
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction No Award Given
Poetry Things of This World, Richard Wilbur
Drama Long Day's Journey into Night, Eugene O'Neill
National Book Award
Fiction The Field of Vision, Wright Morris
Non-Fiction Russia Leaves the War, George F. Kennan
Poetry Things of the World, Richard Wilbur
The Governor General's Literary Award (Fiction)
Street of Riches (translation), Gabrielle Roy
Best Sellers
Fiction 1. By Love Possessed, James Gould Cozzens 2. Peyton Place, Grace Metalious 4. Rally Round the Flag, Boys!, Max Shulman 8. On the Beach, Nevil Shute 10. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
Nonfiction 1. Kids Say the Darndest Things!, Art Linkletter 2. The FBI Story, Don Whitehead 6. Where Did You Go? Out. What Did You Do? Nothing, Robert Paul Smith 8. Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Jean Kerr 10. The Day Christ Died, Jim Bishop
Other Notable Literary Events
Collected Poems, Edith Sitwell; A Death in the Family, James Agee; The Town, William Faulkner; On the Road, Jack Kerouac; Gimpel the Fool, Isaac Bashevis Singer; Not Waving But Drowning, Stevie Smith; The Entertainer, John Osborne; The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold, Evelyn Waugh
Died
Sholem Asch, Jewish-American writer
(Arthur) Joyce Cary , British writer
Lord Dunsany (Edward John Morton Drax Plunkett), Irish man of letters
Sacha Guitry (Alexander Pierre George Guitry), French Writer
Nikos Kazantakis, Greek writer
Wyndham Lewis, British writer & artist
Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet
Christopher Morley, American author & journalist
Kenneth Roberts, American historical novelist
Dorothy Sayers, British mystery writer
John van Druten, British-American writer
1958
Nobel Prize for Literature
Boris L. Pasternak, (1890-1960) Russian (Prize refused)
Bollingen Prize in Poetry
e. e. cummings
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction A Death in the Family, James Agee
Poetry Promises: Poems, 1954-1956, Robert Penn Warren
Drama Look Homeward, Angel, Ketti Frings
National Book Award
Fiction The Wapshot Chronicle, John Cheever
Non-Fiction The Lion and the Throne, Catherine Drinker Bowen
Poetry Promises: Poems, 1954-1956, Robert Penn Warren
The Governor General's Literary Award (Fiction)
Evecution, Colin McDougall
Best Sellers
Fiction 1. Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak 2. Anatomy of a Murder, Robert Traver 3. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov 5. From the Terrace, John O'Hara 6. Eloise at Christmastime, Kay Thompson 7. Ice Palace, Edna Ferber
Nonfiction 1. Kids Say the Darndest Things!, Art Linkletter 2. 'Twixt Twelve and Twenty, Pat Boone 3. Only in America, Harry Golden 4. Masters of Deceit, J. Edgar Hoover 7. The New Testament in Modern English, trans. J. P. Phillips 8. Aku-Aku, Thor Heyerdahl 9. Dear Abby, Abigail Van Buren
Other Notable Literary Events
95 Poems, e. e. cummings; J.B, Archibald MacLeish; Endgame, Samuel Beckett; Yertle the Turtle, Dr. Suess; Doctor Zhivago, Boris Paternak (1st appeared in English); Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Alan Sillitoe; Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote
Died
Lion Feuchtwanger, German novelist & playwright
Roger Martin du Gard, French writer
Alfred Noyes, British poet
Dorothy Canfield, American novelist
Fyodor Gladkov, Soviet writer
George Jean Nathan, American drama critic
James Branch Cabell, American writer
Mary Roberts Rhinehart, American mystery writer
Robert Service, Cand. writer, poet
Samuel Hopkins Adams, journalist & author
Lennox Robinson, Irish playwright, actor, director, critic
Rachel Crothers, American playwright
Zoe Akins, American playwright & poet
1959
Nobel Prize for Literature
Salvatore Quasimodo, (1901-1968) Italian
Bollingen Prize in Poetry
Theodore Roethke
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, Robert Lewis Taylor
Poetry Selected Poems 1928-1958, Stanley Kunitz
Drama J. B., Archibald Macleish
Fiction The Magic Barrel, Bernard Malamud
Non-Fiction Mistress to an Age: A Life of Madame De Stael, J. Christopher Herold Poetry Words for the Wind, Theodore Roethke
The Governor General's Literary Award (Fiction)
The Watch That Ends the Night, Hugh MacLennan
Best Sellers
Fiction 1. Exodus, Leon Uris 2. Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak 3. Hawaii, James Michener 4. Advise and Consent, Allen Drury 5. Lady Chatterly's Lover, D. H. Lawrence 6. The Ugly American, William J. Lederer & Eugene L. Burdick 9. Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris, Paul Gallico 10. Poor No More, Robert Ruark
Nonfiction 1. 'Twixt Twelve and Twenty, Pat Boone 2. Folk Medicine, D. C. Jarvis 5. Act One, Moss Hart 6. Charlie Weaver's Letters from Mama, Cliff Arquette 7. Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr., & E. B. White 10. Mine Enemy Grows Older, Alexander King
Other Notable Literary Events
The Elder Statesman, T. S. Eliot; The Mansion, William Faulkner; Life Studies, Robert Lowell; The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Alan Sillitoe; The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson; The Cave, Robert Penn Warren; Selected Poems, Langston Hughes; Goodbye, Columbus and Five Short Stories, Philip Roth