“Wit is the permitted suspension of decorum and the
retaliation of the underdog.”—Thornton Wilder, “Noting the Nature of Farce,” The
New York Times, January 8, 1939
Thornton Wilder was born on this date in 1897 in Madison, Wisc. One
of America’s most distinguished men of letters, he won Pulitzer Prizes not only
for a novel (The Bridge of San Luis Rey,
1927) but also for plays (Our Town,
1938, and The Skin of Our Teeth,
1942). He is also known for the comedy The
Matchmaker (the basis for the musical Hello,
Dolly) and—a greater surprise—the screenplay for one of Alfred Hitchcock’s
darkest films, Shadow of a Doubt.
No comments:
Post a Comment