Walker Percy
American novelist (1916–1990) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Walker Percy, OblSB (May 28, 1916 – May 10, 1990) was an American writer whose interests included philosophy and semiotics. Percy is noted for his philosophical novels set in and around New Orleans; his first, The Moviegoer, won the National Book Award for Fiction.[1]
Quick Facts Walker Percy OblSB, Born ...
Walker Percy | |
---|---|
Born | (1916-05-28)May 28, 1916 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
Died | May 10, 1990(1990-05-10) (aged 73) Covington, Louisiana, U.S. |
Occupation | Writer |
Alma mater | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BA) Columbia University (MD) |
Period | 1961–1990 |
Genre | Philosophical novelist, memoir, essays |
Literary movement | Southern Gothic |
Notable works | The Moviegoer |
Spouse |
Mary Bernice Townsend
(m. 1946) |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | William Alexander Percy |
Close
Trained as a physician at Columbia University, Percy decided to become a writer after a bout of tuberculosis. He devoted his literary life to the exploration of "the dislocation of man in the modern age."[2] His work displays a combination of existential questioning, Southern sensibility, and deep Catholic faith. He had a lifelong friendship with author and historian Shelby Foote and spent much of his life in Covington, Louisiana, where he died of prostate cancer in 1990.