Author's Life

To understand the values, characters, or themes of a literary work, sometimes it is important to understand the author. Biographical information provides insights into authors' lives and achievements.

• Where did the author grow up?  

  1. • Are there values or cultural traditions associated with that region that may be seen in the author's work?

• In what time period did the author live? 

  1. • Were there social issues or historical events that may have shaped the author's perspective?

• What was the author's childhood life like? 

  1. • Are there psychological issues the author may have faced due to the structure of the author's childhood?  Health isues?  What did the family value.

• Where was the author educated? 

  1. • Did the author go to college?  Was education valued in the author's family?Did the author travel extensively? 

• What was the author's adulthood like? 

  1. • What kind of jobs did the author hold?  Did the author have a spouse or children?

You might even find some interesting information in an obituary if your author is one who has already died. Do they have social media? The point is to try to gain an understanding of who your author was / is.  What interests/hobbies, life events, influences were a part of who made your author the type of person the author was/is? 

Step 1: RESEARCH

You will need to research your author’s life and find at least 4 reputable sources. Look at:

• the reference section of Wikipedia

• the Library’s Gale Literature Resource Center database for help with sources

• Google Scholar 

• Biographies, memoirs, autobiographies

• Social Media

• Publisher page

This is an appropriate opportunity to use AI; you can ask it for help finding your sources.