The life and works of Ohio humorist and idiosyncratic illustrator, James Thurber

Originally presented at the Lakewood Public Library

The celebrated author of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and the creator of numerous New Yorker magazine cover cartoons, stories, social commentaries and chronicles of the human condition, James Thurber was born in Columbus, Ohio on December 8, 1894. One of the foremost American humorists of the 20th century, his inimitable wit and pithy prose spanned a breadth of genres, including short stories, modern commentary, fiction, theater, children’s fantasy and letters – an amusing, and sometimes, poignant text from Mr. Thurber’s prose, diaries and letters underscored with quirky tunes that reflect the trenchant observations Mr. Thurber shared with his readers, colleagues and intimate friends throughout his life,  and which are beloved by lovers of laughter-inducing literature right up to the present day.