Ward Just facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ward Just
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | Ward Swift Just September 5, 1935 Michigan City, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | December 19, 2019 (aged 84) Plymouth, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Education | Lake Forest Academy, Kingswood School, Trinity College (Connecticut) |
| Genre | fiction |
| Notable awards | American Academy of Arts and Letters |
Ward Swift Just (born September 5, 1935 – died December 19, 2019) was an American writer. He was known for being a war correspondent. He also wrote 19 novels and many short stories.
Contents
About Ward Just's Life
Ward Just was born in Michigan City, Indiana. He went to Lake Forest Academy and later graduated from Kingswood School in 1953. He also spent a short time at Trinity College (Connecticut).
He started his career as a journalist for the Waukegan (Illinois) News-Sun newspaper. Ward Just was married three times and had three children.
He passed away in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on December 19, 2019, at the age of 84. He died due to complications from a serious illness.
Ward Just: War Reporter
Ward Just was a special kind of journalist called a war correspondent. This means he reported on wars and conflicts from the places where they were happening.
Reporting on Conflicts Abroad
He covered the conflict in Cyprus in 1957. He also reported on the fighting in the Dominican Republic for Newsweek magazine.
Later, a famous editor named Ben Bradlee hired Just. He joined The Washington Post as a war correspondent for the Vietnam War. He wrote almost 400 articles about the war. Many of these stories appeared on the front page of the newspaper.
Experiences in Vietnam
Ward Just was injured on June 8, 1966, while covering a military operation. After he recovered in Washington, D.C., he went back to Saigon for another tour.
He left Saigon in May 1967. After that, he wrote a book called "To What End: Report from Vietnam." This book was very important. It helped people in the United States understand how difficult and pointless that war felt.
After his time as a war reporter, he covered the presidential campaigns of Eugene McCarthy and Richard Nixon in 1968. He was then asked to join the editorial board at The Washington Post.
Ward Just: Fiction Writer
Ward Just was inspired by famous writers like Henry James and Ernest Hemingway. He wrote many novels and short stories.
Award-Winning Books
His novel An Unfinished Season was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005. This is one of the highest awards for writers.
His book Echo House was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1997. He was also a finalist twice for the O. Henry Award. This award is for excellent short stories. He was recognized for his stories About Boston in 1985 and The Costa Brava, 1959 in 1986.
In 1999, he received the Rome Prize.
Themes in His Stories
Ward Just's stories often explored how national politics affected the lives of everyday Americans. Many of his books were set in Washington D.C. or in other countries. Another common idea in his writing was the feeling of being an outsider. This was often felt by people from the Midwest who moved to the East Coast.
According to book critic Jonathan Yardley, some of Just's best novels include A Family Trust, An Unfinished Season, Exiles in the Garden, and American Romantic. Yardley also loved Just's collection of short stories, The Congressman Who Loved Flaubert. He even said that American Romantic might be the very best of all his books.
In 2013, the American Academy of Arts and Letters welcomed Ward Just as a new member. They honored him for his amazing achievements in literature.
Ward Just's Works
Novels
- A Soldier of the Revolution (1970)
- Stringer (1974)
- Nicholson at Large (1975)
- A Family Trust (1978)
- In the City of Fear (1982)
- The American Blues (1984)
- The American Ambassador (1987)
- Jack Gance (1989)
- The Translator (1991)
- Ambition & Love (1994)
- Echo House (1997)
- A Dangerous Friend (1999)
- The Weather in Berlin (2002)
- An Unfinished Season (2004)
- Forgetfulness (2006)
- Exiles In The Garden (2009)
- Rodin's Debutante (2011)
- American Romantic (2014)
- The Eastern Shore (2016)
Story Collections
- The Congressman Who Loved Flaubert (1973)
- Honor, Power, Riches, Fame, and the Love of Women (1979)
- Twenty-one: Selected Stories (1990)
- Lowell Limpett and Two Stories (2001)
Nonfiction Books
- To What End (1968)
- Military Men (1970)
Plays
- Lowell Limpett (2001)
Stories in Other Collections
- Reporting Vietnam: American Journalism 1959–1969 (Part One) (1998)
