James Gould Cozzens facts for kids

James Gould Cozzens (born August 19, 1903 – died August 9, 1978) was an American writer who won a Pulitzer Prize. His books were very popular and received good reviews for over 30 years.

He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1949 for his novel Guard of Honor. This book was about World War II. Many people thought it was one of the most important stories about the war. In 1957, his best-selling novel By Love Possessed was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. This book was later made into a popular movie in 1961.

While By Love Possessed was praised by many, an interview Cozzens gave in 1957 caused some debate. This led to strong criticism from some writers and critics. One review, written by Dwight Macdonald, was especially harsh. This criticism greatly affected Cozzens's reputation for the rest of his life and even after his death.

In recent years, some people have tried to bring Cozzens's work back into the spotlight. Writer Joseph Epstein called him "perhaps America's best forgotten novelist." There has also been interest in making movies based on his books. For example, in 2018, a producer bought the rights to a screenplay based on Cozzens's short novel Castaway.

Becoming a Writer

Cozzens published his first novel, Confusion, in 1924. At the time, he was still a student at Harvard University. A few months later, he left Harvard because he was not well and had money problems. He moved to New Brunswick. There, he wrote his second novel, Michael Scarlett.

Neither of his first two books sold well. To support himself, Cozzens went to Cuba. He taught children of American families living there. While in Cuba, he started writing short stories. He also gathered ideas for his novels Cock Pit (1928) and The Son of Perdition (1929).

In 1927, he met Sylvia Bernice Baumgarten, who was a literary agent. They got married in New York City. Sylvia helped edit and sell his books successfully. Cozzens and his wife lived a quiet life near Lambertville, New Jersey. They mostly stayed away from public attention. Some of his other early novels include S.S. San Pedro (1931), which won the Scribner's Prize, The Last Adam (1933), and Castaway (1934).

War Service and Success

During World War II, Cozzens served in the U.S. Army Air Forces. At first, he updated military manuals. Later, he worked in an office that connected the military with the news media. His job included managing news and handling sensitive information for important generals. He became very knowledgeable about military affairs. By the end of the war, he was a major. These experiences helped him write his 1948 novel Guard of Honor, which won the Pulitzer Prize.

His 1957 novel By Love Possessed became a surprise hit. It stayed on the New York Times Best Seller list for 34 weeks. It was the top-selling novel of 1957. A movie based on the novel was made in 1961. However, a very negative review of the book by Dwight Macdonald hurt Cozzens's writing career. Few of his later books received good reviews or sold as well. His last novel, Morning, Noon and Night, was published in 1968 but did not sell well.

Throughout his life, Cozzens wrote many letters to other writers and publishers. These included famous authors like Saul Bellow and John O'Hara.

Writing Style and Themes

Cozzens's novels often explore deep ideas like love, duty, and the law. They usually take place over just a few days and don't have a lot of fast-paced action. He did not follow popular writing trends of his time, like Modernism. Instead, he used older words and traditional story structures. Because of this, some critics thought his work was old-fashioned.

His writing is very carefully put together. It often has an objective, almost scientific, tone and a subtle, dry sense of humor. His books can be complex, using different ways to show viewpoints. The main characters in his books are usually professional, middle-class white men. For example, there's a lawyer, a doctor, and a priest. These characters face challenges related to their jobs and personal lives. They often have to make difficult choices and sometimes compromise their beliefs. Cozzens based many of these characters on people he had observed in real life.

Cozzens once said that his main idea was "that people get a very raw deal from life."

Legacy and Impact

Today, Cozzens is often mentioned alongside other writers of his time, like John O'Hara. However, his books are generally seen as more challenging to read. His biographer, Matthew J. Bruccoli, described Cozzens's writing in By Love Possessed as having:

... long sentences, frequent use of parenthetical constructions, rhetorical questions, elaborate parallelism, inclusion of unfamiliar words, unacknowledged (classical) quotations, ironically intended word choices, a habit of following a formal statement with a clarifying or deflating colloquialism, polyptoton (repetition of a word in different cases and inflections, as in "result's result"), inverted word order, double negatives, the custom of defining a word or providing alternatives for it, and periodic sentences in which the meaning becomes clear at the end. The effect of these conjoined elements can be a deliberate density of expression ...

Cozzens was not a fan of modernism in literature. He also disagreed with some forms of realism that were more politically liberal than his own.

Selected Books

Awards and Recognitions

• 1960 William Dean Howells Medal for By Love Possessed
• 1958 National Book Award finalist By Love Possessed
• 1957 Pulitzer Prize nomination By Love Possessed
• 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Guard of Honor
• 1931 O. Henry Award for "A Farewell to Cuba"
• 1936 O. Henry Award for "Total Stranger"
• 1931 Scribner's Prize for S.S. San Pedro

About His Life

James Gould Cozzens was born in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up on Staten Island, New York. His father, Henry William Cozzens Jr., was a successful businessman. His mother, Mary Bertha Wood, came from a family that moved to Nova Scotia after the American Revolution. Cozzens experienced a comfortable lifestyle growing up, which often appeared in his books.

He attended the Episcopal Kent School in Connecticut from 1916 to 1922. After graduating, he went to Harvard University. However, he left Harvard early due to health and financial issues. He then moved to New Brunswick. From there, he traveled to Cuba to teach children. After a year, he went to Europe with his mother. He tutored a young patient to earn money.

He married Sylvia Bernice Baumgarten in 1927. She was a literary agent who helped him with his books. They had a successful marriage that lasted until they both died in 1978. They did not have any children. In 1958, they moved to a country home near Williamstown, Massachusetts. Cozzens lived a mostly private life, except for his time serving in World War II.

James and Bernice Cozzens spent their final years living quietly in Florida. After Bernice passed away in January 1978, Cozzens's health quickly declined. He died on August 9, 1978, just 10 days before his 75th birthday, due to health problems.