EB White was a celebrated writer for The New Yorker before becoming a popular children’s author. He studied under William Strunk, Jr., revising his book Elements of Style. White’s books Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal and were adapted into films. He won a Presidential Medal of Freedom and a special Pulitzer Prize. His essay “Here is New York” was cited after 9/11. White died in 1985, leaving behind a son and collections of his work.
EB White is one of America’s most celebrated writers and authors. He is known for many works, not the least of which are his award-winning children’s books Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web and The Trumpet of the Swan. Before EB White became a popular children’s author, he was a highly regarded writer for The New Yorker.
EB White was born Elwyn Brooks White on July 11, 1899 in Mount Vernon, New York. He attended Cornell University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1921. It was at Cornell that EB White studied under a professor named William Strunk, Jr., who is the original author of the well-known English language use book reference, elements of style. EB White revised the original 1918 version in 1959. Today, Strunk and White’s Elements of Style is one of the most popular reference books for writers and is often required reading for composition classes.
As a celebrated writer, EB White lent his style to children’s books in the late 1930s. His first book, Stuart Little, along with his second, Charlotte’s Web, jointly won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal in 1970. Both books have since been adapted into screenplays for children’s films. The animated classic Charlotte’s Web first appeared in 1973 and was reborn as a live action film starring Dakota Fanning as Fern and Julia Roberts as the voice of Charlotte. The film debuted in theaters during Christmas 2006.
With a writing career that spanned over six decades, EB White won a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963 and a special Pulitzer Prize in 1978, among other awards his writings received. After the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, a particular passage from EB White’s 1948 essay “Here is New York” was often cited because he wrote about New York’s vulnerability at the beginning of the ‘nuclear age. White’s essay contained prose that so closely described the terrorist attacks more than 50 years before they occurred that it was tragically poetic to some, and prophetic to others. EB White died on October 1, 1985 after suffering from Alzheimer’s for years. He left behind a son, Joel, and written collections of his life’s work, many of which continue to thrill readers to this day.
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