Mencken HL

Full Name: Henry Louis Mencken

Nickname/Alias: H.L. Mencken

Achievements: Famous 20^th century American critic and novelist.

Born: September 12, 1880; Baltimore, Maryland

Died: January 29, 1956; Baltimore, Maryland (Aged 76)

Field & Discipline: Art; Literature; Journalism; Writer

Language: English

Father: August Mencken

Mother: Anna Abau

Siblings: 3

Spouse: Sara Haardt

Children: None

Education: Private German school, Baltimore; Baltimore Polytechnic

Major Work:

"Prejudices" (1919-27)

"The American Language" (1919-48)

Novels -

"Happy Days" (1940)

"Newspaper Days" (1941)

"Heathen Days" (1943)

Life & Times:

When he was eighteen, Mencken’s father died and two weeks later he applied for a job on the Baltimore "Herald.” By the time he was twenty-five, he had risen from cub reporter to editor. In 1905, he published a book of criticism on the plays of the English writer, [critiqued work of] Shaw*. In 1906, he became Sunday editor of the Baltimore "Sun.”

Two years later he wrote a book on [wrote book on] Nietzche* and in the same year was made literary editor of the "Smart Set,” a New York monthly journal. He had already established a reputation as a columnist and intellectual in Baltimore - the "Smart Set" job gave him a national profile.

He combined his work for the journal with his "Free Lance" column in the Baltimore "Evening Sun.” His main targets were Puritanism and the bourgeois tradition in American literature. He also attacked the English tradition and the lack of culture in certain parts of the United States, especially the South.

In 1917 he wrote "The Book of Prefaces" in which he attacked the current state of American literature and praised writers like [attacked] Dreiser* who were breaking away from long-held Anglo-American literary values.

The following year he wrote "In Defence of Women" about the relations between the sexes, and in 1919 brought out the first edition of "The American Language" which explored the differences between English in America and Britain.

In a series of essays written after the war, collected and published as "Prejudices" (1919-27), Mencken wrote about almost every facet of American life. He investigated and criticized American politics, religion, education and values. He satirized politicians including [satirized] Woodrow Wilson*, and Herbert Hoover. He attacked clergymen, teachers such as the New Humanist [attacked] Babbitt* who lectured at Harvard, and the ordinary American to whom he referred as "boobus Americanus.” He criticized the American South in "The Sahara of the Bozart,” comparing it culturally to the Sahara Desert.

During the 1920's, Mencken's influence was huge, and he was a celebrity. In 1923 he co-founded the journal "American Mercury" and edited it for the next ten years. The "Mercury" was his main outlet. Apart from publishing his own pieces, Mencken used the "Mercury" to promote new young writers of whom he approved for their realism and scepticism. Among them were [promoted work of] F Scott Fitzgerald*, and [promoted work of] Lewis*.

During the latter part of the 1920's, Mencken wrote a number of serious books on politics and morals. "Notes of Democracy" (1926), "Treatise on the Gods" (1930) and Treatise on Right and Wrong" (1934) which revealed him as anti-democratic and agnostic. The books did not bring him the same success as his earlier works but in 1936 the publication of a fourth edition of "The American Language" restored his popularity.

Three autobiographical books written in the 1940's increased his reputation. "Happy Days" (1940) was about his childhood in Baltimore. "Newspaper Days" (1941) and "Heathen Days" (1943) were written in the same manner. He was strongly opposed to American intervention in World War II (1939-45) but his anti-British views were suppressed.

He began his diary in 1930 and it was published posthumously. In it, he recorded his hatred of President [hated] Franklin D Roosevelt*, whom he branded a traitor to his class, and his dislike of contemporary American society which he felt was being taken over by labor leaders and bureaucrats. After the war he continued his work on "The American Language.”

He held that American English was more lively and graphic than British English. In 1948 Mencken suffered a stroke after which he could not read or write.

Extra Connections: He reported on [reported on] Darrow* and the Scopes trial

He met [met] JB Priestley*

He influenced [influenced] Perelman*

Assessment: The posthumous publication of Mencken's later works long after his death resulted in charges of anti-Semitism and racism but his reputation as a fine writer and acute observer of contemporary behavior remains.

Oneliner: HL Mencken, famous American satirist

Bibliography:

• Hobson, Fred, Mencken, A Life, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 1994.