James Thurber
1894-1961
Other Works
The Thurber Carnival
My Life and Hard Times
Comedy and Cartoons James Thurber is one of the great humorists of American literature. He made a career out of poking fun at society and created hundreds of stories, essays, and cartoon drawings. Often, his stories center around strong, aggressive women who bully and terrify weak, timid men. This theme is central to one of Thurber's best-known stories, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." In his drawings Thurber did not consider himself an artist, but his cartoons had a distinctive style and became as popular as his stories. He claimed that he sketched purely for his own amusement.
The New Yorker The New Yorker magazine gave James Thurber his fame, and Thurber contributed to The New Yorker style. Although he eventually contributed articles, essays,
poems, cartoons, and 365 short stories to this magazine, the first 20 pieces he submitted were actually rejected. However, after finally accepting one of his stories, the magazine quickly gave him a full-time job. Thurber remained on the staff of The New Yorker for only six years, but he continued to contribute stories and cartoons for 30 more years. He played a significant role in creating the sophisticated style that The New Yorker still has today.
Near-Blindness Thurber grew up in Ohio and attended Ohio State University. However, an eye injury prevented him from completing all his college courses. This injury occurred during his childhood when Thurber was hit in the eye by an arrow. It led to his near-blindness by the age of 57. When his vision began to fail completely, Thurber started dictating his stories to a secretary. His memory was so sharp that he could easily compose a 2,000-word story in his mind, remember it overnight, and dictate it to his secretary the next day.
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