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Henry Miller
(1891-1980)

Active: 1911-1980 in USA, North America

By James M. Decker (Illinois Central College)

Indexing Data:

  • Active In: USA, North America
  • Born In: USA, North America
  • Activity: Novelist, Autobiographer, Essayist, Story Writer, Travel Writer, Literary Critic, Playwright, Diarist, Letter Writer

Life, Works and Times

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Born on 26th December, 1891, Henry Valentine Miller would become perhaps the most notorious American writer of the twentieth century. Forging a dynamic narrative style, Miller sought to explore his identity through a combination of autobiographical anecdote, philosophical monologue, fantasy, literary appreciation, and sexual frankness. Even today, however, discussion of this latter element – which resulted in Tropic of Cancer’s 60+ obscenity trials in the 1960s– overshadows analysis of Miller’s other literary concerns. Nevertheless, Miller has resisted being characterized as a sex-oriented writer, insisting that his use of explicit sexuality serves as a prelude to self-discovery and a means of annihi

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First published 24 July 2004

Citation: Decker, James M.. "Henry Miller". The Literary Encyclopedia. 24 July 2004.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3118, accessed 9 February 2010.]

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