John Updike Biography

A John Updike biography reveals a man who created extraordinary stories about ordinary life. He published over 60 books in his lifetime, including poetry, essays and novels. Though he was known for his works focusing on ordinary American life, Updike also dabbled in more unconventional pieces, such as his 1984 novel, The Witches of Eastwick.

Early Years
John Updike was born on March 18, 1932 in Reading, Penn. He was an only child for Wesley and Linda Updike. His mother was an aspiring writer who encouraged him to read, write and draw. He did well in school and earned a scholarship to Harvard University. He majored in English and worked as a copy boy at the Reading Eagle newspaper during his summers. He also wrote and drew pictures for the Harvard Lampoon, a university humor magazine.

During his college years, Updike met and married Mary E. Pennington, a fellow student. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard in 1954, which was a great year for him. Not only did he graduate with honors, he published his first poem and short story in the prestigious The New Yorker magazine. Updike and his wife moved to England after graduation so he could study at Oxford. He met two editors of The New Yorker while abroad, and they convinced him to work for the publication.

Adult Years
Updike moved his wife and newly-born daughter to New York City and wrote for The New Yorker magazine for two years. In 1957, Updike's son was born and he decided to move his family to Ipswich, Mass. Though he continued his work with The New Yorker, Updike decided to focus on larger writing projects. He published his first book of poetry, The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures, in 1958.

Updike's first notable success came with his novel, Rabbit Run, in 1960. The story became one of his best known works and he followed it with the three sequels, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit Is Rich and Rabbit at Rest. After his third and fourth children were born, Updike worked diligently on his writing. He received the National Book Award in 1963 for his novel The Centaur. In 1964 he became the youngest person ever elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters.

Later Years
Updike divorced his first wife in 1976 and married Martha Bernhard in 1977. They moved to Georgetown, Mass., where Updike continued his work. In 1981 he received his first Pulitzer Prize for his novel Rabbit Is Rich.

Updike received his second Pulitzer Prize in 1991 for the novel Rabbit at Rest. He was also awarded The National Medal of Art in 1989 and The National Medal for the Humanities in 2003. Updike's last novel was The Widows of Eastwick in 2008, a sequel to his novel-turned-movie, The Witches of Eastwick. He died in 2009 from complications due to lung cancer.