World Literary Awards

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Joseph Heller

ジョセフ・ヘラー

Josefu Herā

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1923-05-01 （Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City）
Died
1999-12-12 （East Hampton, New York） age 76
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Religion
Agnostic
Residence History
Brooklyn, New York → East Hampton, New York

Career

Occupations
novelist, playwright, screenwriter, copywriter, professor
Active Years
1948-1999
Affiliations
Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, City College of New York
Influenced
Kurt Vonnegut
Nominations
1972 Nobel Prize in Literature nomination

Education

New York University
English
Degree: BA
Period: 戦後
Year of Graduation: 1948
Country: United States
G.I. Bill
Columbia University
English
Degree: MA
Year of Graduation: 1949
Country: United States
University of Southern California
English
Period: 戦後
Country: United States
G.I. Bill

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Catch-22

1961 Satire

A satire on war and bureaucracy set during World War II, following Captain Yossarian's experiences.

warbureaucracyabsurdity
Adaptations
  • [Film] Catch-22 / Mike Nichols (1970)

Bibliography

  • Catch-22 (1961), Something Happened (1974), Good as Gold (1979), God Knows (1984), Picture This (1988), Closing Time (1994), Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man (2000)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
satireblack comedynon-linear narrative
Recurring Motifs
absurdity of warmiddle-class lifebureaucracy

Health

  • Guillain–Barré syndrome
    1981年12月
    Temporarily paralyzed, hospitalized, and required rehabilitation.

Legacy

American satirical novelist best known for Catch-22, whose title entered common usage.

Archives

  • University of South Carolina Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

In Popular Culture

  • Catch-22 became a synonym for an absurd or contradictory choice.

Trivia

  • Flew 60 combat missions in WWII.
  • Became a millionaire from Catch-22 film rights.
  • Was an agnostic.