William Gaddis
William Gaddis was born in New York on December 29, 1922, and became one of America's most innovative and challenging novelists.
After mysteriously leaving Harvard before graduating, he worked at The New Yorker and later in corporate public relations, experiences that deeply informed his fiction.
He authored five novels, most notably The Recognitions and JR, the latter winning the National Book Award in 1975.
Known for his fragmented, dialogue-driven prose style, he resisted public attention, believing authors expressed their best selves through their work alone.
He died of prostate cancer on December 16, 1998, in East Hampton, New York.
