Today in Literature

3 February 1947: New York City based author Paul Auster was born in Newark, NJ. Auster, who is good friends with Don DeLillo, has been actively publishing fiction since the late 1980s and has contributed essays, many translations from and into French, and non-fiction writings during his career.

In one of his most frequently taught novels, City of Glass, Auster–through his character named Paul Auster–posits that Cervantes was the first to try his hand at meta-narrative with Don Quixote. But that’s for another time. City of Glass has been made into a wonderful graphic novel that is a fairly soft entry into the world of graphic novels, if one is so inclined.

Of his profession, Auster said:

Becoming a writer is not a ‘career decision’ like becoming a doctor or a policeman. You don’t choose it so much as get chosen, and once you accept the fact that you’re not fit for anything else, you have to be prepared to walk a long, hard road for the rest of your days.

Happy birthday, Mr. Auster.