Sherwood Anderson

Sherwood Anderson was an American short story writer and novelist who made a mark in the American literary circle with his subjective and self-revealing work. Born in an affluent family, young Anderson faced financial crisis after his father lost his job. As such, he took up odd jobs to make ends meet. It was during this time that his trait as a salesman developed. He completed his education and served in an advertisement firm as a salesman where he gained a name and a reputation for himself. He quit the same to take up an important post at United Factories Company but did not remain in it for long as well. Following a nervous breakdown or what he stated as a conscious effort to free himself from the materialistic world, he jumped to pursue a literary career. Excepting for his first two write-ups, which he considered apprentice novels, he came up with brilliant works each of which established his reputation as a noteworthy writer. He wrote extensively in the latter half of his life, covering various genres of writing such as novels, short story, play, poetry, drama, non-fiction and so on. Furthermore, he created an influential effect on the next generation of young writers such as William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe and others.