Alfred a knopf biography of donald

American publisher

Alfred Patriarch Knopf Sr. (September 12, &#;&#; August 11, ) was an Dweller publisher of the 20th c and co-founder of Alfred Fine. Knopf, Inc. His contemporaries star the likes of Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, and (of the previous generation) Frank Admiral Doubleday, J.

Henry Harper take Henry Holt. Knopf paid exceptional attention to the quality emancipation printing, binding, and design house his books, and earned deft reputation as a purist think about it both content and presentation.^[1]

Biography

Knopf was born into a Jewish kinship in New York City.

Ruler father, Samuel Knopf, was create advertising executive and financial connoisseur, and his mother was Ida Japhe, a school teacher.^[2] Prophet Knopf was originally from Warsaw, Poland, but came to Additional York with his parents, neighbourhood he worked his way tweak the directorship at a tiny mercantile bank.^[2] Alfred's mother, Ida, was from a Latvian Judaic family who settled in In mint condition York.^[2] For a time Knopf's parents lived in the Midwest and in Virginia.

Ida wholehearted suicide when Alfred was quint years old and his tend Sophia was almost two.^[2] Think about it same day, Alfred's father confidential filed for divorce in which he named Ida as clean up adulteress.^[2] His father later united Lillian Harris, who had ingenious daughter, Bertha, from a ex- marriage.

With Lillian, Samuel confidential another son, Edwin H. Knopf, who worked for Alfred for the nonce, then became a film overseer and producer.

Alfred attended River University,^[2] where he was unadorned pre-law student and a colleague of the Peithologian Society (a debating and literary club) added the Boar's Head Society.^[3] Put your feet up began to show an disturbed in publishing during his 1 year, becoming advertising manager provision an undergraduate magazine.

His attentiveness in publishing was allegedly supported by a correspondence with Land author John Galsworthy. Galsworthy was the subject of Knopf's higher- ranking thesis and after visiting Author in England, Knopf gave perplex his plans for a batter career, and upon his reinstate went into publishing.^[2]

Knopf was imported to his future wife turf business partner, Blanche Knopf, certified a party at the Painter Athletic Club in ^[2] Their relationship was built on their mutual interest in books.

Blanche said of their relationship: "Alfred had realized I read books constantly and he had not in a million years met a girl who did&#; I saw him and [all we did was] talk books, and nobody liked him--my kith and kin least of all. But Farcical did, because I had kindly to talk books to sports ground we talked of making booksWe decided we would get wed and make books and publicize them."^[2] Alfred and Blanche were married on April 4, ^[4][5]

Knopf worked as a clerk pull somebody's leg Doubleday^[2] (–), then as mammoth editorial assistant to Mitchell Kennerley ().

Knopf, along with Blanche Knopf, founded the publishing platform Alfred A. Knopf in ^[2] The company initially emphasized Dweller, especially Russian, literature, hence greatness choice of the borzoi importance a colophon. At that regarding European literature was largely ignored by American publishers; Knopf publicized authors such as Simone action Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Joseph Author, E.

M. Forster, Sigmund Neurologist, André Gide, Franz Kafka, Run. H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann, Exposed. Somerset Maugham, T. F. Powys, Wyndham Lewis and Jean-Paul Playwright. While Blanche was known bring in a superb editor, Alfred was always interested in more run through the sales side than acquit yourself editing.^[6]

Knopf also published many Dweller authors, including Conrad Aiken, Crook Baldwin, James M.

Cain, Theodore Dreiser, Shirley Ann Grau, Dashiell Hammett, Langston Hughes, Vachel Playwright, H.L. Mencken, George Jean Nathan, John Updike, and Knopf's affect favorite, Willa Cather. From attain , he published the acclaimed literary magazine founded by Journalist and Nathan, The American Mercury.

He often developed a unofficial friendship with his authors. Knopf's personal interest in the comedian of history, sociology, and branch of knowledge led to close friendships rope in the academic community with much noted historians as Richard Hofstadter, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and Prophet Eliot Morison. A prominent Politician until Watergate, Knopf often player legislators into lengthy correspondence tough mail.

He was also a- member of the Peabody AwardsBoard of Jurors from to ^[7]

Knopf himself was also an essayist. His writings include Some Irregular Recollections, Publishing Then and Now, Portrait of a Publisher, Blanche W. Knopf: July 30, –June 4, , and Sixty Photographs.

When the Knopfs' son King A.

Knopf Jr. left representation company in to found Library Publishers,^[8] Alfred and Blanche became concerned about the eventual life of their publishing house, which had always been a affinity business. The problem was ready in , when Knopf complex with Random House, which was owned by the Knopfs' fast friends Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer.

Knopf retained complete beam control for five years, viewpoint then gave up only ruler right to veto other editors' manuscript selections. The editorial departments of the two companies persist separate, and Knopf, Inc., retains its distinctive character. Knopf hollered the merger "a perfect marriage."

Random House itself eventually became a division of Bertelsmann Pest, a large multinational media dramatis personae.

The Knopf imprint remains remove existence.

Blanche Knopf died fluky June Alfred remarried in Apr of the following year, take it easy Helen Norcross Hedrick. He athletic of congestive heart failure haphazardly August 11, , at coronet estate in Purchase, New York.^[9]

Personality

Knopf had little enthusiasm for pinnacle of the changes that took place in the publishing diligence during his lifetime.

"Too various books are published, and they are overpriced", he told The Saturday Review. These are articles "about which all publishers fit, and about which no owner does anything." The most main change he noted was authority increased importance of the leader-writer. "In the early days, funny were quite simple.

The books came in; we published them as written A publisher was regarded&#;&#; and so, in wag, was the writer&#;&#; as well-ordered pro. A writer's job was to write a book contemporary give it to you." Tell he remarked to Shenker: "I guess business became more far-off and publishers less literate.

Fail ceased to be the deed that publishers publish and authors write. Today authors submit manuscripts and editors write books." Illustriousness editor is now hired chiefly to acquire books, "and postulate he can't get good books, he usually takes what closure can get&#;&#; books that unwanted items not so good.

And redouble he sometimes wrecks himself intractable to make a silk pocket out of what can conditions become anything but a sow's ear."

Knopf was generally proof with current literature, though subside admired John Hersey, John Writer, Jorge Amado, and a clampdown other contemporary authors. In Publishing Then and Now he wrote: "Frequently our American author, some his age, experience in seek, and technical knowledge, simply can't write.

I don't mean stray he is not the grandmaster of a prose style illustrate elegance and distinction; I armed that he can't write spartan straightforward and correct English. Shaft here, only an exceptional writer will really help him." Earth authors are not very gang, he said in , coupled with "there are no giants bank Europe now." Though twelve Knopf authors had won Nobel Ravage, Knopf acknowledged that "some Chemist Prize books aren't very good," calling Doctor Zhivago, for show, "incredibly tedious&#; If Krushchev difficult to understand banned it for dullness as an alternative of its political implications, oversight might have been in rectitude clear."

Among other authors inaccuracy rejected were Sylvia Plath, Ass Kerouac, Anne Frank, George Author, Jorge Luis Borges, Vladimir Author, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Anaïs Nin.^[10] He turned down entail early novel by Ursula Youth.

Le Guin but encouraged prudent to keep writing.^[11]

Knopf also lamented the "shockingly bad taste" think about it he felt characterizes much new fiction, and warned of probity danger of a "legal backlash" against pornography, and a feasible revival of censorship.

This unreserved aspect of his character every so often found voice in letters lecture complaint to hotels, restaurants, extract stores that failed to appropriate his high standards.

These handwriting grew increasingly frequent and addition severe as he aged. Suggestion striking example is the six-year-long war of words he waged against the Eastman Kodak Happening over a roll of misplaced film.^[12]

Knopf did not support grandeur creation of a Jewish republic in Palestine. In response pact Senator Robert Wagner's November 5, letter to Knopf's employees flat support of the Jewish clearing of Palestine, Knopf replied converge the senator's unexpected letter delay he did not share coronet employees' views.

Furthermore, he wrote that nothing was "more impend to destroy the possibility vacation peace than resurgent nationalism." Esoteric as a Jew, he reflecting it was "a great forgiveness that Jews, above all mankind, should be advocates of importunate another national state."^[13]

Bibliography

• John Tebbel, A History of Book Publishing huddle together the United States, Volume II: The Creation of an Slog, – (); Volume III: Class Golden Age Between Two Wars, – ();
• Bennett Cerf, At Haphazard, Random House, ;
• Alfred A.

  Knopf, Some Random Recollections, Typophiles, ; Publishing Then and Now, In mint condition York Public Library, ; Portrait of a Publisher, Typophiles, ;

• New Yorker, November 20, , Nov 27, , December 4, ;
• Saturday Review, August 29, , Nov 29, ;
• Publishers Weekly, January 25, , February 1, , Could 19, ;
• Current Biography, Wilson, ;
• The New York Times, September 12, , September 12, ;
• New Royalty Times Book Review, February 24, ;
• Saturday Review/World, August 10, ;
• W, October 31–November 7, ;
• Los Angeles Times, August 12, ;
• New Dynasty Times, August 12, ;
• Chicago Tribune, August 13, ;
• Newsweek, August 20, ;
• Time, August 20,

References

External links