Writing from Home Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mississippi

William Faulkner (1897-1962) was born in New Albany, Mississipi, but by the age of five he was living in Oxford, where he stayed for most of his life.

He published his first the poem, "L'Après-midi d'un faune", in 1919, and his first novel, "Soldiers' Pay", in 1926. By 1949 had had such an impact in American literary circles that he earned the Nobel Prize for Literature, for "his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel".

In all, Faulkner published 19 novels and 125 short stories in his lifetime, as well as writing screenplays and one play for the theatre. And then there was also the poetry and essays.

Answer: Minnesota

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, but did not live there exclusively. He moved with his family, living in New York (Buffalo and Syracuse), West Virginia, back to Minnesota, and then to New Jersey, where he completed school and attended Princeton. Life, work, the military, and marriage saw Fitzgerald move around more before finally settling in California (to work for MGM) in 1937, not long before his death.

He began writing short stories, publishing his first, "The Mystery of the Raymond Mortgage" in 1909, while his first novel, "This Side of Paradise" would not be published until 1920.

In all, F. Scott Fitzgerald published four novels (leaving a fifth incomplete) in his lifetime, and 160 short stories, by which he made his living.

Answer: Illinois

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was born in Oak Park, Illinois, living there with his family until he went to serve overseas in World War I. He took a job as a foreign correspondent with the "Toronto Star", living in Paris and traveling Europe at need. Hemingway found his way to Key West, Florida in 1928, and later (1939) Cuba. After serving as a correspondent during for a time in the latter years of World War II, Hemingway continued to travel the world, while keeping a residence in Cuba. In 1960, he left Cuba, eventually finding his way to Idaho, where he lived under his (fourth) wife Mary's care before committing suicide.

Hemingway published his first novel, "In Our Time", in 1925 and went on to publish a total of 11 while he lived, in addition to a number of nonfiction works and collections of poems and short stories. Another eight novels were published posthumously. Hemingway earned the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, for "his mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in "The Old Man and the Sea", and for the influence that he has exerted on contemporary style".

Answer: Missouri

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910) was born in Florida, Missouri and was raised in nearby Hannibal, on the Mississippi River. When he was 18, Twain moved away to work as a printer, spending time in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and St. Louis, Missouri. Further travels brought Twain to the American West (mostly Nevada) before he married, living in (Buffalo) New York and Connecticut before relocating to Europe for many years, in France, Germany, Italy, England and Austria. He returned to the United States in 1900, settling in New York.

Mark Twain published his first short story, "Advice to Little Girls", in 1865, and his first novel, "The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today" in 1873. In all, he published ten novels, with another published posthumously, in addition to many short stories, essays, and letters.

Answer: California

John Steinbeck (1902-1968) was born in Salinas, California, went to Stanford, and lived most of his life in California, apart from some travel and serving as a war correspondent during World War II.

In 1962, Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for Literature for "his realistic and imaginative writing, combining as it does sympathetic humor and keen social perception."

His first novel was "Cup of Gold", published in 1929. In all, Steinbeck wrote 16 novels, six works of non-fiction, and a five short story collections.

Answer: New York

Herman Melville (1819-1891) was born and grew up in New York City, but family financial difficulties sent Melville to sea in 1839 at the age of 19. He spent five years working and traveling the seas, before returning to settle in Boston in 1844. In 1850 he moved to the Massachusetts countryside with his family, and managed to do some traveling overseas a few years later. With only moderate success as a commercial writer, however, Melville took a job as a customs inspector in New York City in 1866.

Melville published his first novel, "Typee" in 1846, going on to publish 13 more in his lifetime (and one posthumously). In addition, Melville published a number of short stories, magazine articles, and poetry.

Answer: Massachusetts

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was born in Salem, Massachusetts and moved to Maine when he was 12 years old. After college in Brunswick, Hawthorne moved to Boston, and subsequently worked and lived in various areas of Massachusetts until he and his family relocated to Liverpool, England in 1853 as a US Consul. He returned to Concord, MA in 1860.

Hawthorne's first novel, "Fanshawe", was published in 1826, and he went on to publish a total of 16 novels, as well as a number of short stories and other works.

Answer: Indiana

Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. He briefly went to university in New York (Cornell), but did not finish before joining up to fight in World War II. After the war, her returned to Indiana, married, and relocated to Chicago to resume to his schooling. Further moves brought his family and him to New York and then to Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 1951, where he settled to write full time. In 1967, Vonnegut won a fellowship to research in Germany, after which he spent much time lecturing and teaching.

Vonnegut managed a living writing for magazines and writing copy for an ad agency after moving to Cape Cod, and also managed to publish his first novel, "Player Piano" in 1952, to positive reviews. In all, Vonnegut went on to publish 14 novels, five plays, and various short stories and works of non-fiction.

Answer: New Jersey

Stephen Crane (1871-1900) was born in Newark, New Jersey, living in a few areas around Newark as he grew up. He went to a number of different schools (in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania), pursuing an education that he never completed, in favour of working as a freelance writer. This he did for about five years before taking on a job as a war correspondent in Cuba. He would go on to cover the Greco-Turkish War and the Spanish-American war before going on to England. Not long after suffering a pulmonary hemorrhage, Crane passed away at the untimely age of 28.

Crane began writing at a very young age, and was published in his teens. His first novel, "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets" was published in 1893. In all, he wrote five novels (plus one collaborative novel, published after his death), along with eight short story collections, and two poetry collections.

Answer: Louisiana

Truman Capote (1924-1984) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but was sent to live with relatives in Alabama at the age of four. A few years later, he rejoined his mother in New York City, went from there to Connecticut, and then back to New York, all before he finished high school. While still in school, he got a job as a copyboy for "The New Yorker". He left that job to return to Alabama to write. (He was a neighbour of Harper Lee).

Capote began writing short stories at the age of eight, and produced mainly short stories until publishing his first novel, "Other Voices, Other Rooms", in 1945. He had actually written another novel prior to that, but it was published posthumously. Eventually, Capote moved to Palm Springs, California, a man at the height of celebrity. He died in Bel Air at the age of 59.

In all, Capote published three novels and a number of novellas, short stories, and other works. Another two novels were published posthumously.