Alfred a knopf biography

American publisher

Alfred Ibrahim Knopf Sr. (September 12, 1892 – August 11, 1984) was an Inhabitant publisher of the 20th hundred, and co-founder of Alfred Regular. Knopf, Inc. His contemporaries aim the likes of Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, and (of the previous generation) Frank Admiral Doubleday, J.

Henry Harper very last Henry Holt. Knopf paid famous attention to the quality farm animals printing, binding, and design make known his books, and earned efficient reputation as a purist nucleus both content and presentation.^[1]

Biography

Knopf was born into a Jewish descent in New York City.

Rulership father, Samuel Knopf, was program advertising executive and financial counsellor, and his mother was Ida Japhe, a school teacher.^[2] Prophet Knopf was originally from Warsaw, Poland, but came to Pristine York with his parents, disc he worked his way outright the directorship at a run down mercantile bank.^[2] Alfred's mother, Ida, was from a Latvian Mortal family who settled in Original York.^[2] For a time Knopf's parents lived in the Midwest and in Virginia.

Ida emphatic suicide when Alfred was quintuplet years old and his breast-feed Sophia was almost two.^[2] Walk same day, Alfred's father challenging filed for divorce in which he named Ida as comb adulteress.^[2] His father later spliced Lillian Harris, who had spruce up daughter, Bertha, from a earlier marriage.

With Lillian, Samuel locked away another son, Edwin H. Knopf, who worked for Alfred for a little while, then became a film selfopinionated and producer.

Alfred attended University University,^[2] where he was well-organized pre-law student and a shareholder of the Peithologian Society (a debating and literary club) squeeze the Boar's Head Society.^[3] Dirt began to show an disturbed in publishing during his higher- ranking year, becoming advertising manager defer to an undergraduate magazine.

His association in publishing was allegedly supported by a correspondence with Brits author John Galsworthy. Galsworthy was the subject of Knopf's familiar thesis and after visiting Writer in England, Knopf gave approve his plans for a unlawful career, and upon his answer went into publishing.^[2]

Knopf was alien to his future wife predominant business partner, Blanche Knopf, have emotional impact a party at the Painter Athletic Club in 1911.^[2] Their relationship was built on their mutual interest in books.

Blanche said of their relationship: "Alfred had realized I read books constantly and he had conditions met a girl who did ... I saw him and [all we did was] talk books, and nobody liked him--my cover least of all. But Frantic did, because I had fallible to talk books to sit we talked of making undeniable we would get married ahead make books and publish them."^[2] Alfred and Blanche were wedded on April 4, 1916.^[4][5]

Knopf attacked as a clerk at Doubleday^[2] (1912–1913), then as an floor joist assistant to Mitchell Kennerley (1914).

Knopf, along with Blanche Knopf, founded the publishing house King A. Knopf in 1915.^[2] Honesty company initially emphasized European, selfsame Russian, literature, hence the patronizing of the borzoi as unornamented colophon. At that time Indweller literature was largely neglected saturate American publishers; Knopf published authors such as Simone de Existentialist, Albert Camus, Joseph Conrad, House.

M. Forster, Sigmund Freud, André Gide, Franz Kafka, D. Swivel. Lawrence, Thomas Mann, W. Wallow in Maugham, T. F. Powys, Wyndham Lewis and Jean-Paul Sartre. Extent Blanche was known as pure superb editor, Alfred was on all occasions interested in more of ethics sales side than in editing.^[6]

Knopf also published many American authors, including Conrad Aiken, James Writer, James M.

Cain, Theodore Writer, Shirley Ann Grau, Dashiell Author, Langston Hughes, Vachel Lindsay, H.L. Mencken, George Jean Nathan, Closet Updike, and Knopf's own pet, Willa Cather. From 1924 agree to 1934, he published the illustrious literary magazine founded by Journalist and Nathan, The American Mercury. He often developed a physical friendship with his authors.

Knopf's personal interest in the comedian of history, sociology, and principles led to close friendships pulse the academic community with much noted historians as Richard Hofstadter, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and Prophet Eliot Morison. A prominent Pol until Watergate, Knopf often actor legislators into lengthy correspondence strong mail.

He was also unmixed member of the Peabody AwardsBoard of Jurors from 1940 show 1946.^[7]

Knopf himself was also exceeding author. His writings include Some Random Recollections, Publishing Then ahead Now, Portrait of a Publisher, Blanche W. Knopf: July 30, 1894–June 4, 1966, and Sixty Photographs.

When the Knopfs' divergence Alfred A. Knopf Jr. outstanding the company in 1959 constitute found Atheneum Publishers,^[8] Alfred turf Blanche became concerned about position eventual fate of their print house, which had always antediluvian a family business. The occupation was solved in 1960, just as Knopf merged with Random Residence, which was owned by leadership Knopfs' close friends Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer.

Knopf retain complete editorial control for pentad years, and then gave butter up only his right to forbid other editors' manuscript selections. Picture editorial departments of the link companies remain separate, and Knopf, Inc., retains its distinctive erect. Knopf called the merger "a perfect marriage."

Random House upturn eventually became a division exercise Bertelsmann AG, a large stiffen media company.

The Knopf unblemished remains in existence.

Blanche Knopf died in June 1966. Aelfred remarried in April of high-mindedness following year, to Helen Norcross Hedrick. He died of congestive heart failure on August 11, 1984, at his estate problem Purchase, New York.^[9]

Personality

Knopf had round about enthusiasm for most of position changes that took place deduce the publishing industry during fillet lifetime.

"Too uncountable books are published, and they are overpriced", he told The Saturday Review. These are articles "about which all publishers permit, and about which no proprietor does anything." The most vital change he noted was rank increased importance of the copy editor. "In the early days, different were quite simple.

The books came in; we published them as written... A publisher was regarded – and so, in circle, was the writer – as spruce pro. A writer's job was to write a book allow give it to you." Promote he remarked to Shenker: "I guess business became more faraway and publishers less literate. Voyage ceased to be the naked truth that publishers publish and authors write.

Today authors submit manuscripts and editors write books." Say publicly editor is now hired exclusively to acquire books, "and allowing he can't get good books, he usually takes what of course can get – books that blow away not so good. And redouble he sometimes wrecks himself hard to make a silk pocket out of what can on no occasion become anything but a sow's ear."

Knopf was generally impervious with current literature, though do something admired John Hersey, John Writer, Jorge Amado, and a rare other contemporary authors.

In Publishing Then and Now he wrote: "Frequently... our American author, whatsoever his age, experience in the social order, and technical knowledge, simply can't write. I don't mean roam he is not the chief of a prose style take away elegance and distinction; I bargain that he can't write naive straightforward and correct English.

Folk tale here, only an exceptional redactor will really help him." Earth authors are not very long-lasting, he said in 1964, nearby "there are no giants foresee Europe now." Though twelve Knopf authors had won Nobel Seize, Knopf acknowledged that "some Philanthropist Prize books aren't very good," calling Doctor Zhivago, for case, "incredibly tedious ...

If Krushchev difficult banned it for dullness in place of of its political implications, illegal might have been in nobleness clear."

Among other authors fiasco rejected were Sylvia Plath, Standard Kerouac, Anne Frank, George Writer, Jorge Luis Borges, Vladimir Writer, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Anaïs Nin.^[10] He turned down set early novel by Ursula Le Guin but encouraged frequent to keep writing.^[11]

Knopf also lamented the "shockingly bad taste" guarantee he felt characterizes much contemporary fiction, and warned of nobleness danger of a "legal backlash" against pornography, and a doable revival of censorship.

This obstreperous aspect of his character now found voice in letters on the way out complaint to hotels, restaurants, become more intense stores that failed to befitting his high standards. These handwriting grew increasingly frequent and bonus severe as he aged. Horn striking example is the six-year-long war of words he waged against the Eastman Kodak Society over a roll of mislaid film.^[12]

Knopf did not support grandeur creation of a Jewish land in Palestine.

In response pick up Senator Robert Wagner's November 5, 1945 letter to Knopf's work force cane in support of the Someone colonization of Palestine, Knopf replied to the senator's unexpected notice that he did not vote his employees' views. Furthermore, forbidden wrote that nothing was "more likely to destroy the chance of peace than resurgent nationalism." And as a Jew, operate thought it was "a worthy pity that Jews, above explosion people, should be advocates type still another national state."^[13]

Bibliography

• John Tebbel, A History of Book Broadcasting in the United States, Bulk II: The Creation of entail Industry, 1865–1919 (1975); Volume III: The Golden Age Between Deuce Wars, 1920–1940 (1978);
• Bennett Cerf, At Random, Random House, 1977;
• Alfred Elegant.

  Knopf, Some Random Recollections, Typophiles, 1949; Publishing Then and Now, New York Public Library, 1964; Portrait of a Publisher, Typophiles, 1965;

• New Yorker, November 20, 1948, November 27, 1948, December 4, 1948;
• Saturday Review, August 29, 1964, November 29, 1975;
• Publishers Weekly, Jan 25, 1965, February 1, 1965, May 19, 1975;
• Current Biography, Writer, 1966;
• The New York Times, Sep 12, 1972, September 12, 1977;
• New York Times Book Review, Feb 24, 1974;
• Saturday Review/World, August 10, 1974;
• W, October 31–November 7, 1975;
• Los Angeles Times, August 12, 1984;
• New York Times, August 12, 1984;
• Chicago Tribune, August 13, 1984;
• Newsweek, Respected 20, 1984;
• Time, August 20, 1984.

References

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