Updike, John
From Astro-Databank
| Name |
| ||
| Birthname | Updike, John Hoyer | ||
| born on | 18 March 1932 at 15:45 (= 3:45 PM ) | ||
| Place | West Reading PA, USA, 40n20, 75w56 | ||
| Timezone | EST h5w (is standard time) | ||
| Data source |
| ||
| Astrology data |   28°03'   08°27 Asc. 29°29'
|
Biography
American writer, a prolific novelist and a perfectionist. His books include "Couples," 1968, "Run Rabbit, Run," 1962 and "Centaur," 1963, a story of Chiron. A dedicated craftsman, he has been awarded the National Book Award for Fiction and the Pulitzer Prize on 4/12/1982.
Updike was born in a small town in Pennsylvania, which he later used as a model for the fictional towns in his books. He suffered from psoriasis and stammered as a child, so his parents, Wesley Russell and Linda Grace, encouraged him to write. His maternal grandparents lived with the family, and in 1945, they all moved to the farmhouse where his mother had been born. It was an isolated place, and he dreamed of escaping while immersing himself in books. He read nothing by "dead" authors, however, saying they depressed him. After graduating from high school as class president and co-valedictorian, he entered Harvard University on a scholarship. He chose the school primarily because it had the "Harvard Lampoon," and he began drawing and writing for the magazine. He graduated summa cum laude in 1954, and soon thereafter, sold his first short story, "Friends from Philadelphia," to "The New Yorker." That summer, he traveled to England on a Knox Fellowship and enrolled in the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art at Oxford where he spent 1954-55.
On his return to the United States in 1955, he joined the staff of "The New Yorker" where for the next two years he wrote editorials, stories, poetry and criticism. In 1957, he became a full-time writer and moved to Ipswich, Massachusetts where he stayed for 17 years. His first book of poetry, "The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures," was published in 1958, and his first novel, "The Poorhouse Fair," was released in 1959. His "Rabbit" series was one of his most popular, and in 2000, he included a novella called "Rabbit Remembered" as part of "Licks of Love," a collection of short stories.
On 6/26/1953, Updike married Mary E. Pennington, a fine arts major at Radcliffe. They had four children, Elizabeth (4/01/1955), David (1/19/1957), Michael (5/14/1959) and Miranda (12/15/1960). In 1976, the relationship ended in divorce. A year later on 9/30/1977, he married Martha Ruggles Bernhard, who already had three sons.
He died of lung cancer on January 27, 2009, age 76. At the time of his death he was in a hospice facility near his home in Beverly Farms, MA.
Events
- Relationship : Marriage 26 June 1953 (Mary E. Pennington)
- Work : Prize 12 April 1982 (Pulitzer Prize)
- Work : Published/ Exhibited/ Released 1963 (Story on Chiron, "Centaur")
- Work : Published/ Exhibited/ Released 2000 (Novel "Gertrude and Claudius.")
- Family : Change residence 1945 (Family moved to farm)
- Social : End a program of study 1954 (Graduated from Harvard University)
- Social : End a program of study 1955 (Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Arts)
- Work : New Career 1955 (Went to work for "The New Yorker")
- Work : New Job 1957 (Became a full-time writer)
- Work : Published/ Exhibited/ Released 1959 (First novel released)
- Family : Change in family responsibilities 1 April 1955 (Daughter Elizabeth born)
- Family : Change in family responsibilities 19 January 1957 (Son David born)
- Family : Change in family responsibilities 14 May 1959 (Son Michael born)
- Family : Change in family responsibilities 15 December 1960 (Daughter Miranda)
- Relationship : Divorce dates 1976 (From first wife)
- Relationship : Marriage 30 September 1977 (Second marriage Martha Ruggles Bernhard)
- Death by Disease 27 January 2009 (Of lung cancer, age 76)
Source Notes
Contemporary American Horoscopes
(Penfield gave 6:00 AM as B.C. in error in MH 7/1984)
Categories
- Vocation : Writers : Fiction (Novelist, short stories)
- Notable : Awards : Vocational award (Ntnl. Book Award)
- Traits : Personality : Perfectionist
- Family : Parenting : Kids more than 3 (Four)
- Diagnoses : Psychological : Stutter, Tics (Stuttered as a kid)
- Family : Relationship : Number of Marriages (Two)
- Family : Relationship : Marriage more than 15 Yrs (First marriage 23 years)
- Family : Parenting : Foster, Step, or Adopted Kids (Three stepsons)
- Notable : Awards : Pulitzer prize
- Vocation : Writers : Magazine/ newsletter (The New Yorker)
- Diagnoses : Body Part Problems : Skin (Psoriasis)
- Notable : Famous : Top 5% of Profession
- Diagnoses : Major Diseases : Cancer
- Personal : Death : Illness/ Disease
