06.26
On this date in American literary history – June 26, 1892, Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl Buck was born in West Virginia. Her parents were on furlough from their missionary work and soon returned to China, where Buck lived for many years. Ad a child she learned to speak Chinese before English. She returned to the U.S. to attend college, then married an American agriculture specialist in China. In 1930, Buck created a literary sensation with The Good Earth. Her novel won the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes and was translated into 30 languages. In the ’30s, The Good Earth and other novels and stories by Buck were more widely read in Europe than those of any other American author. Buck created several charitable foundations for Asian-American children abroad, including an adoption agency. She spoke strongly against the internment of Japanese during World War II and wrote a letter of protest to The New York Times in 1954 that helped change immigration policy. She received many awards for her humanitarian activities. Buck died in 1973.
Michael Thomas Barry is the author of numerous book that include America’s Literary Legends: The Lives and Burial Places of 50 Great Writers.
