Harry Mathews facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harry Mathews
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Harry Mathews in 2004
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| Born | February 14, 1930 New York City |
| Died | January 25, 2017 (aged 86) Key West, Florida |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Groton School |
| Alma mater | Princeton University Harvard University |
| Genre | Novels, poetry, short fiction, essays, French translation |
| Notable works | The Sinking of the Odradek Stadium and Other Novels The Conversions Tlooth |
| Spouses | Niki de Saint Phalle, sculptor (1949-1961) Marie Chaix, writer |
| Children | 2 |
Harry Mathews (born February 14, 1930 – died January 25, 2017) was an American writer. He wrote many interesting novels, poems, short stories, and essays. He also translated books from French to English.
Contents
Life of Harry Mathews
Harry Mathews was born in New York City. He went to private schools and then to the Groton School in Massachusetts. In 1947, he started studying at Princeton University. He later joined the United States Navy. In 1949, he married artist Niki de Saint Phalle, a friend from his childhood.
After his time in the Navy, Mathews went to Harvard University in 1950. He graduated in 1952 with a degree in music. He and his wife had two children. After college, his family moved to Paris, France, where he continued to study music.
In the early 1960s, Harry Mathews helped create and edit a literary magazine called Locus Solus. He worked on this magazine with other famous writers like John Ashbery.
Mathews was the first American to become a member of a special French writing group called Oulipo. This group loves to explore new ways of writing. They often use fun rules or puzzles to create their stories and poems. Harry Mathews was good friends with another Oulipo member, the French writer Georges Perec. They even translated some of each other's writings.
Later in his life, Mathews married the writer Marie Chaix. He spent his time living in Paris, Key West, and New York City.
Harry Mathews's Novels
Harry Mathews wrote several unique novels. His first three novels were very imaginative and funny. They were later put together in one book called The Sinking of the Odradek Stadium and Other Novels.
His first novel, The Conversions, starts with the narrator going to a party. He wins a strange prize: an adze (a tool like an axe) with mysterious designs. The owner of the house dies and leaves most of his money to whoever has the adze and can answer three riddles about it. The rest of the book follows the narrator as he tries to solve these riddles. This leads him on many interesting side adventures and stories.
His next novel, Tlooth, begins in a very unusual prison camp in Siberia. The prisoners are divided by their strange religious groups. Their main activities are playing baseball, going to the dentist, and planning revenge! A small group of prisoners, including the narrator, plan a clever escape using a special vehicle they build. This book also has many small stories that make the main plot even more exciting.
The Sinking of the Odradek Stadium is about a search for treasure. It's told through letters between a woman named Twang and her American husband, Zachary McCaltex. They are looking for a lost cargo of gold that once belonged to the Medici family. There are many strange events and secret groups in this book. The title of the novel seems meaningless until the very end, where it reveals a big surprise!
Mathews's novel Cigarettes was a bit different. It was more realistic but still very clever. It tells the stories of a small group of characters whose lives are connected.
His last novel published while he was alive was My Life in CIA. In this book, he pretended to be a CIA agent and wrote about it. His final novel, The Solitary Twin, was published after he passed away in 2018.
Other Works by Mathews
Harry Mathews also wrote many shorter pieces that often mixed different types of writing. For example, he wrote a piece called "Country Cooking from Central France: Roast Boned Rolled Stuffed Shoulder of Lamb (Farce Double)." It seemed like a recipe, but it was actually a long, funny story.
He also used proverbs in creative ways in his book Selected Declarations of Dependence. He took words from common English proverbs and used them to write poems with his own special rules. He even made up his own funny "anti-proverbs" like "Look before you leave."
Some of his other important books include Immeasurable Distances (a collection of his essays) and The Human Country: New and Collected Stories. He also wrote a journal called Twenty Lines a Day and a short memoir called The Orchard about his friendship with Georges Perec.
Mathews even invented something called "Mathews's Algorithm." This was a method for creating new stories or poems by moving or changing parts of words or sentences based on certain rules.
Death
Harry Mathews passed away on January 25, 2017, in Key West, Florida, at the age of 86.
Appearances in Fiction
Harry Mathews and his second wife, Marie Chaix, have appeared as small characters in novels by other writers. These include What I Have Written by John A. Scott, The Correspondence Artist by Barbara Browning, and The Hidden Keys by André Alexis. He also appears as a party guest in Paul Auster's novel 4321.
See also
In Spanish: Harry Mathews para niños
