Biography. Joseph Heller - who is this? See what "Joseph Heller" is in other dictionaries

Born May 7, 1923 in Brooklyn. During World War II, he flew a B-52 bomber, like the hero of his Amendment-22, Yossarian. In 1949 he received a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University. From 1949-1950 he was a Fulbright Fellow at Oxford. He taught at the University of Pennsylvania (1950–1952), wrote advertising texts for Time and Esquire magazines (1952–1958), and was an advertising agent for McCalls magazine. In 1961 he left this job to lead creative seminars on prose and drama at Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania. His first stories appeared in the Atlantic Monthly and Esquire while still a student.

In 1953 he began work on the novel Amendment-22. The book marked the beginning of experiments in the genre of the military novel, anticipating such works as T. Pynchon's V and Slaughterhouse Five, or C. Vonnegut's Children's Crusade. Heller's villains are not the Germans or the Japanese, but the American military - political tycoons who profit from the war, and sadists who enjoy violence. The novel was filmed by M. Nichols in 1970. The expression "amendment-22" entered the lexicon of Americans, denoting any predicament, the name of the hero also became a household name.

In 1994, a sequel to the novel was published under the title Closing Time. The action takes place 50 years after the war, among the main characters there are several new ones, but there are also old ones - Yossarian and some others.

Heller also owns the novels Something Happened (Something Happened, 1974), Solid Gold (Good as Gold, 1979), The Lord Knows (God Knows, 1984) and Capture It All (Picture This, 1988). Something Happened represents the inner monologue of a successful businessman about his personal and business life. Pure Gold tells the story of a Jewish professor who is unable to resist the temptation to succeed materially, literary, and personally. The Lord knows it is built on the biblical story of David. Heller also wrote a play We bombed New Haven (We Bombed in New Haven, 1969), withstood 86 performances on Broadway. The book This Is Not a Joke (No Laughing Matter, 1986), written with Speed ​​Vogel, tells the story of Heller's struggle with a rare ailment that leads to paralysis. In his other autobiographical book, Now and Then (1998), he returns to his childhood places, the Brooklyn Coney Island amusement park of the 1920s and 1930s. The latest novel, Portrait of An Artist As An Old Man, published posthumously in 2000, is about a popular writer looking for inspiration for a new novel.

HELLER Joseph
(Heller, Joseph)
(1923-1999), American writer. Born May 1, 1923 in the New York area of ​​Brooklyn. During the Second World War, he served, like the hero of his novel Catch-22 (Catch-22, 1961) Yossarian, on a bomber. After the war, he attended New York University, where he began writing and publishing short stories; then taught at the University of Pennsylvania. Heller died in Pittsburgh on December 13, 1999. In Amendment 22, a satire on the absurdity of the militaristic consciousness, the villains are not the Germans or the Japanese, but the American military - political tycoons who profit from the war, and sadists who enjoy violence, while "middle" people on both sides of the front silently submit and die. The "black" humor of the book helps to delve deeper into the state of affairs. In 1994, a sequel to the novel Closing Time was published; several new ones appear among the main characters here, but old ones also return - Yossarian and some others. The war ended 50 years ago, but inevitable death has come close to the heroes and can lie in wait for a person at the bus terminus near the New York Port Authority building. Heller owns the novels Something Happened (Something Happened, 1974), an internal monologue of a successful businessman about his personal and business life; Small spool, but expensive (Good as Gold, 1979) - about a Jewish professor who is unable to resist the temptation to succeed in the material, literary and personal plans; The Lord knows (God Knows, 1984) - on the biblical story of David. Heller also wrote the play We bombed New Haven (We bombed in New Haven, 1969).
LITERATURE
Heller J. Something happened. M., 1978 Heller J. Amendment-22. - In the book: Saroyan U. Human Comedy. Heller J. Amendment-22. M., 1988

Collier Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .

See what "HELLER Joseph" is in other dictionaries:

- (Heller) (1923 1999), American writer. The grotesque fantasy novel Catch 22 (1961) is about the destruction of morality by the military bureaucratic machine. Ironic psychological novels: "Something Happened" (1974) about a man who became ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Heller, Joseph- HELLER (Heller) Joseph (born in 1923), American writer. The grotesque fantasy novel Catch 22 (1961) is about the destruction of morality by the military bureaucratic machine. Ironic psychological novels: "Something Happened" (1974) about a man... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Not to be confused with Höller. Heller: Heller river in Germany. Heller, Joseph American prose writer novelist. Heller, Michal Polish priest, physicist and cosmologist. Heller, Agnes Marxist philosopher. Heller, Walter ... ... Wikipedia

Joseph Heller Date of birth: May 7, 1923 Place of birth: New York, USA Date of death: December 13, 1999 Place of death: New York ... Wikipedia

Joseph Heller Joseph Heller Date of birth: May 7, 1923 Place of birth: New York, USA Date of death: December 13, 1999 Place of death: New York ... Wikipedia

- (b. 1923) American writer. The grotesque fantasy novel Catch 22 (1961) is about the destruction of morality by the military bureaucratic machine. Ironic psychological novels: Something happened (1974) about a man who became a conformist and ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Heller) Joseph (born 1923), American writer. The grotesque fantasy novel Catch 22 (1961) is about the destruction of morality by the military bureaucratic machine. Ironic psychological novels: Something happened (1974) about a man who became ... ... Modern Encyclopedia

Heller, Joseph- (p. 1.V.1923, New York) prose writer. Coming from a working family. He studied at New York (1948), Columbia (1949) and Oxford (1949-1950) universities. Gained fame with the release of his debut novel "Correction 22" (Catch 22, 1961, Russian translation 1967, ... ... US writers. Brief creative biographies

Books

• Imagine a Picture, Joseph Heller, Roman `Imagine a Picture...` (1988) describes a journey through time - from Aristotle to the present day, colored by the author's persistent conviction: there is no reason to say that humanity ... Category: Classical and modern prose Series: Peaks Publisher: AST, Folio,
• Something Happened, Joseph Heller, The novel "Something Happened" brought to Joseph Heller no less success than the now famous Catch-22. Constructed in the form of a detailed monologue of the hero, summing up his life, ... Category: Fiction and related topics Series: Publisher:

Biography

Heller is the author of several well-known novels - Something Happened (Something Happened, 1974), Pure Gold (Good as Gold, 1979), God Knows (1984), Imagine a Picture (Picture This, 1988), No Laughing Matter, 1986, Portrait of an Artist as an Old Man, 2000 - published posthumously, see also James Joyce's novel Portrait of an Artist as an Old Man - Heller's novel, both in name and in meaning, is the antagonist of Joyce's work).

Joseph Heller was born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, into a poor Jewish family of immigrants from Russia (Heller's father worked as a peddler), and tried to write as a child. After graduating from school in 1941. Abraham Lincoln, Heller tried several jobs for a year - an assistant blacksmith, a courier, a clerk - after which in 1942 (at the age of 19) he joined the US Air Force. Two years later he was sent to Italy, where he flew 60 sorties in a B-25 bomber as a scorer. Heller later wrote that the war "... at first seemed cheerful ... There was a feeling that there was something very glorious in it."

Additionally:

There are words about Catch 22 in the Spleen song:
"Japanese cuisine, twenty-second trick
Rocket launcher with a nuclear warhead" (Splin "You're dreaming")
- often the title of the book is translated as "Amendment-22"

Biography

Joseph Heller (1923-1999). Outstanding American writer. Born in Brooklyn (New York). During the Second World War he was a military pilot, the impressions of the service formed the basis of Heller's best and most famous novel, Catch-22. After the war, the future writer studied at Columbia University, then taught at the University of Pennsylvania, worked as a copywriter for Time and Look magazines. In 1955, he published fragments of the novel "Correction-18" (as it was first called). In 1961, the novel was published under the title "Amendment 22" and, albeit not immediately, became widely known. Catch-22 deservedly ranks among the best books in American and world literature, and quotes from the book (especially the title) have entered everyday speech.

The satirical epic "Correction-22" remained Heller's only absolute masterpiece, although the writer was the author of a number of quite worthy books: "Something happened" (1974), "Imagine the picture" (1988), "The shop is closing" (1994). But he failed to repeat the success of his debut. The sequel to The Correction, The Shop Closes, was also not given the opportunity to become what Heller's first book was.

Biography

Born May 7, 1923 in Brooklyn. During World War II, he flew a B-52 bomber, like the hero of his Amendment-22, Yossarian. In 1949 he received a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University. From 1949-1950 he was a Fulbright Fellow at Oxford. He taught at the University of Pennsylvania (1950–1952), wrote advertising texts for Time and Esquire magazines (1952–1958), and was an advertising agent for McCalls magazine. In 1961 he left this job to lead creative seminars on prose and drama at Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania. His first stories appeared in the Atlantic Monthly and Esquire while still a student.

In 1953 he began work on the novel Amendment-22. The book marked the beginning of experiments in the genre of the military novel, anticipating such works as T. Pynchon's V and Slaughterhouse Five, or C. Vonnegut's Children's Crusade. Heller's villains are not the Germans or the Japanese, but the American military - political tycoons who profit from the war, and sadists who enjoy violence. The novel was filmed by M. Nichols in 1970. The expression "amendment-22" entered the lexicon of Americans, denoting any predicament, the name of the hero also became a household name.

In 1994, a sequel to the novel was published under the title Closing Time. The action takes place 50 years after the war, among the main characters there are several new ones, but there are also old ones - Yossarian and some others.

Heller also owns the novels Something Happened (Something Happened, 1974), Solid Gold (Good as Gold, 1979), The Lord Knows (God Knows, 1984) and Capture It All (Picture This, 1988). Something Happened represents the inner monologue of a successful businessman about his personal and business life. Pure Gold tells the story of a Jewish professor who is unable to resist the temptation to succeed materially, literary, and personally. The Lord knows it is built on the biblical story of David. Heller also wrote a play We bombed New Haven (We Bombed in New Haven, 1969), withstood 86 performances on Broadway. The book This Is Not a Joke (No Laughing Matter, 1986), written with Speed ​​Vogel, tells the story of Heller's struggle with a rare ailment that leads to paralysis. In his other autobiographical book, Now and Then (1998), he returns to his childhood places, the Brooklyn Coney Island amusement park of the 1920s and 1930s. The latest novel, Portrait of An Artist As An Old Man, published posthumously in 2000, is about a popular writer looking for inspiration for a new novel.

Other works:

1961 - Catch-22
- 1974 - Something Happened
- 1979 - Good As Gold
- 1984 - God Knows
- 1986 - No Laughing Matter (Speed ​​Vogel)
- 1988 - Picture This
- 1994 - Closing Time
- 1998 - Now and Then
- 2000 - Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man - Hagar & Ishmael

The title of the book has become a household name in America. This phrase denotes an absurd, hopeless situation. Here we propose to briefly get acquainted with the summary of the novel by Joseph Heller and find out the reasons for the frenzied popularity of the book around the world.

about the author

Joseph was born on May 1, 1923 in New York to a Jewish family of emigrants from Russia. The ability for literary creativity manifested itself in his childhood. At the age of 19, Heller joined the US Air Force.

Years later, he began writing a book, Catch-22, in which he harshly criticized the military. , or rather, the American military, profiting from the war and enjoying moral bullying of their subordinates.

The novel is on a par with anti-war works in the genre of postmodernism and.

• "Something happened";
• "Pure gold";
• "God knows";
• "Capture it all";
• "I'm not kidding";
• "Portrait of an Artist in Old Age";

The events take place in 1944 on the Italian island of Pianosa in the Tyrrhenian Sea at the base of the US Air Force. The plot is built around the desires of the main character Yossarian. He is trying to survive in an incomprehensible war for him and return home as soon as possible.

This dream is getting harder and harder every year. The command has increased the rate of sorties for pilots, and it is almost impossible to fulfill it. There is only one thing left - to pretend to be a psycho. To do this, he needs to file a report and report in it about his madness..

The law provides for the notorious Amendment-22 for such cases. According to her everyone who officially recognizes himself as crazy cannot be one , but, on the contrary, proves that he is of sound mind.

A completely hopeless situation! What tricks will Yossarian go to , to be recognized as an idiot, read in full in the book online for free.

Catch-22 Reader Reviews

1. At first glance, the book is absolutely humorous, but by the end of the story you understand in what nightmarish conditions the pilots had to live and what they had to fight against - not only with an external enemy, but also with a bureaucratic machine that no one could defeat.
2. The novel is written somewhat chaotically, the characters are stranger than each other, and the situations they find themselves in are absolutely illogical. Through the prism of absurdism, Joseph Heller showed us the world around us from the other side.
3. The book is recommended for those who are tired of the predictability of plots, of traditional storytelling, but wants to plunge into the world of subtle humor, sharp satire and philosophy of life.

American novelist. During his life, Joseph wrote a lot of interesting books. However, he is familiar to the Russian reader thanks to an anti-war novel with elements of absurdism called "Catch 22". Want to learn more about this writer and his work? You are welcome to read this article.

Biography

The future writer was born in Brooklyn on May 1, 1923. Little Joseph grew up in a poor Jewish family, which was of Russian origin. The young talent began to write from an early age. In 1941, Joseph Heller graduated from the Abraham Lincoln School and began to look for a profession to his liking. Whatever Joseph worked for this year: assistant clerk, blacksmith, courier. In 1942 (when Joseph was 19) he joined the US Air Force. Two years later, Heller was sent to Italy. There he carries out about 60 sorties on a B-25 bomber.

In 1949, Joseph Heller received a Master of Arts degree. During the years 1949-1950, thanks to the Fullbright scholarship program, Joseph was doing research at one of the best English universities - Oxford. It was during his student years that Heller wrote his first works, which were published in Esquire and the Atlantic Monthly. From 1950 to 1952, the young writer taught at a university in Pennsylvania. From 1952 to 1958, Joseph wrote various advertising texts for popular magazines like Time and Esquire. Since 1961, Heller quits this job and begins to conduct creative seminars on prose and drama. Joseph begins to lead an active literary activity. For more than 30 years, the writer has given the world a huge number of novels that are currently world classics. Joseph Heller died on December 13, 1999 at his Long Island home. The cause of death was a heart attack.

"Catch-22" ("Amendment-22"/Catch-22)

In 1953, he began work on a novel called Catch-22. Joseph Heller wrote this novel for 8 years. This book revolutionized the anti-war novel genre. What is the peculiarity of this work? You can find the answer to this question below.

Perhaps the innovation of the novel was that the author did not condemn the Germans or the Japanese for starting the war. Heller believed that high-ranking American servicemen and bloody politicians who were trying to cash in on the war were to blame. In addition, the author strongly condemns sadistic people who take pleasure in killing and war in general.

The novel "Catch-22" left a big mark on the culture. In 1970, the work was filmed by a notorious director named Mike Nichols. And the phrase "situation-22" has become a stable expression denoting a difficult situation.

Joseph Heller: books

During his life, the English writer published quite a few books. In addition to the novel "Catch 22", Joseph Heller wrote many more works that have become true classics. Do you want to know more about them? Then keep reading the article!

"Imagine the Picture" is an entertaining book that touches on the pressing issues of the time. In his work, the author tries to show the contrast between different time periods and wars. Thus, the author compares the war between Athens and Sparta, the Anglo-Dutch and the Cold War.

And in 1969, Joseph Heller wrote a play called We Bombed New Haven. The work was a huge success, as a result of which the play went through more than 80 productions on Broadway.

In 1986, a new book saw the light of day, which was co-authored with Speed ​​Vogel. The novel "This is not a joke" told about the difficult and courageous struggle of Heller with a rare disease that led to paralysis.

In 1998 Heller publishes the book "From time to time". In fact, this work is autobiographical. In it, Joseph returns to the iconic locations of his childhood. For example, in the Brooklyn amusement park, which is located on Coney Island.

Joseph Heller quotes

Heller very skillfully and masterfully expressed his thoughts. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that most of his books were disassembled into catch phrases. Here we will look at the most popular ones.

Heller tried to draw public attention to the problem of war and call people to humanity. This can be clearly traced by taking a couple of lines from his work "Catch 22". For example: "Anyone who wants to evade a combat mission is normal." Or: "But people don't care: they have any noble impulse, any tragedy - only means for profit." Finally: "A dead man will remain a dead man, whoever wins, your victory is like a poultice to a dead dog." With these lines, Joseph is trying to show the senselessness and cruelty of war.