The Life of Saul Bellow

Early Life

Saul Bellow is a Canadian-American born to the city streets of Quebec from an emigrant family from Saint Petersburg, Russia. Originally named "Solomon," Bellow was born in the summertime and grew up in a Jewish family. In his younger years he suffered from a respiratory infection which prompted his passion for reading as that was one of the few activities that Bellow could participate in. When he was nine Bellow and his family moved to Chicago where he grew up in the inner city (many of his novels are set in a city backdrop). In his teenage years his mother died and while she pushed Saul to be a rabbi, Bellow never followed this path. Instead he rebelled against the "strict orthodoxy" or his family. However, Bellow still found curiosity and love in the Bible and his work illustrates this.

Education and Career 

Bellow's education includes the University of Chicago which he then transferred to Northwestern University. While he did go for an English degree he then switched to anthropology and sociology and graduated with honors. His graduate studies took place at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Eventually he became a naturalized citizen and taught at many universities as a professor.

Accomplishments

Saul Bellow's greatest accomplishments come in the form of his Pulitzer Prize, National Medal of Arts, Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, National Book Award for Fiction (times three!), and, finally, beautifully, his Nobel Prize for Literature.

Next time we will focus on his book Seize the Day....