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Graham Greene

British writer, playwright and literary critic (1904-1991) · United Kingdom · Writers · Died at 86

Graham Greene is read about 1,964 times a day, in 83 languages.

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He wrote novels that doubled as moral thrillers, turning faith and doubt into the same tense page-turner - Catholic guilt meets espionage, conscience under pressure in occupied territories and failed states. Shortlisted for the Nobel repeatedly, never won.

WritersWriter / AuthorLiteratureFictionTheatreJournalismScreenwritingStand Up

A life in dates

1991Died3 April 19911985“The moment comes when a character does or says something you hadn't thought about. At that moment he's alive and you leave it to him.”In their words9 October 1985The New York Times (October 9, 1985)

1984“That instinct for human character that is perhaps inherent in an imaginative writer.”In their wordsGetting to know the General (1984)

1983Commandeur des Arts et des LettresAward1981“Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought.”In their words6 April 1981"Freedom of Thought," speech accepting the Jerusalem Prize (6 April 1981)

Jerusalem PrizeAward1980Dos Passos PrizeAward1977“My two fingers on a typewriter have never connected with my brain. My hand on a pen does. A fountain pen, of course. Ball-point pens are only good for filling out forms on a plane.”In their words7 October 1977International Herald Tribune (7 October 1977)

1976The Grand MasterAward1969“It is the story-teller's task to elicit sympathy and a measure of understanding for those who lie outside the boundaries of State approval.”In their wordsSpeech on receiving the Shakespeare Prize awarded by the University of Hamburg, Germany (1969)

1968Shakespeare PrizeAward1957“Have you seen a room from which faith has gone?...Like a marriage from which love has gone...And patience, patience everywhere like a fog.”In their wordsThe Potting Shed (1957)

1948James Tait Black Memorial PrizeAward1941Hawthornden PrizeAward1904Born2 October 1904

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Graham Greene angol író, 1975 Fortepan 84697Graham Greene angol író, 1975 Fortepan 84697Authors Graham Greene (L) and Michael Mewshaw (R), Summer 1976Authors Graham Greene (L) and Michael Mewshaw (R), Summer 1976Charles Greene memorialCharles Greene memorialErstausgabe deutschErstausgabe deutschGerman book "Der stille Amerikaner" by Graham Greene, orig. "The Quiet American", 2nd edition 8 weeks after 1st edition 1956German book "Der stille Amerikaner" by Graham Greene, orig. "The Quiet American", 2nd edition 8 weeks after 1st edition 1956German book cover "Der stille Amerikaner" by Graham Greene, orig. "The Quiet American", 2nd edition 8 weeks after 1st edition, 1956German book cover "Der stille Amerikaner" by Graham Greene, orig. "The Quiet American", 2nd edition 8 weeks after 1st edition, 1956Graham Greene angol író, 1975 Fortepan 84697 (cropped)Graham Greene angol író, 1975 Fortepan 84697 (cropped)Graham Greene grave in CorseauxGraham Greene grave in Corseaux

In their own words 10

,
Graham Greene
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. A major character has to come somehow out of the unconscious.

    Oct 9, 1985, The New York Times (October 9, 1985), Own words

  2. The moment comes when a character does or says something you hadn't thought about. At that moment he's alive and you leave it to him.

    Oct 9, 1985, The New York Times (October 9, 1985), Own words

  3. That instinct for human character that is perhaps inherent in an imaginative writer.

    1984, Getting to know the General (1984), Own words

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Awards

Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres1983
Jerusalem Prize1981
Dos Passos Prize1980
The Grand Master1976
Shakespeare Prize1968
James Tait Black Memorial Prize1948
Hawthornden Prize1941
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature

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About this person

Henry Graham Greene was born on 2 October 1904 in England. He converted to Catholicism in 1926 after meeting Vivien Dayrell-Browning, his future wife, though later in life he called himself a "Catholic agnostic". Across 67 years he wrote over 25 novels, splitting them into serious works and what he called "entertainments" - thrillers that still carried weight. The Power and the Glory won the 1941 Hawthornden Prize; The Heart of the Matter took the 1948 James Tait Black Memorial Prize. He collaborated with Carol Reed on The Fallen Idol and The Third Man, both in the late 1940s, and many of his stories were filmed multiple times. He collected the Shakespeare Prize in 1968 and the Jerusalem Prize in 1981. He died of leukemia on 3 April 1991, aged 86, and was buried in Corseaux cemetery in Switzerland.

Country
United Kingdom
Category
Writers
Type
Writer / Author
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1904 to 1991 · aged 86

In common with Graham

Robbie ColtraneAlso in Revolution (1985)Kevin CostnerAlso in Dances with Wolves (1990)Mary McDonnellAlso in Dances with Wolves (1990)Nastassja KinskiAlso in Revolution (1985)Wes StudiAlso in Powwow Highway (1989)Raoul TrujilloAlso in Clearcut (1991)

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