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John Hoyer Updike was born in Shillington, Pennsylvania on March 18, 1942. He was the only child of parents, Wesley Hoyer Updike, and mother, Linda Grove Hoyer. His father was a high school math teacher and his mother was a housewife. In 1936, at the age of four John began attending public schools in Shillington. Nine years later, in 1945, on Halloween day he moved with his parents and grandparents to a farm in the town of Plowville, Pennsylvania. Even though John and his family moved to a new town he still attended Shillington public schools.
In 1950, at the age of eighteen he graduated from Shillington High School as president and co valedictorian. In the summer of 1950, john began his first real job as a copy boy for the, READING EAGLE, also writing a few lead stories for the paper as well. In the fall of that same year he attended Harvard University, and wrote for the, Harvard Lampoon, a humor magazine. Three years later in 1953, he married Mary E.
Pennington on June 26, in Shillington, Pennsylvania. In 1955, his first child was born, Elizabeth, on April 1. Later that year he moved to an apartment in Manhattan and joined The New Yorker, as a staff writer and writes stories for The Talk of the Town sections. Two years later his second child, David was born on January 19. In April that year he left The New Yorker, and moved to Ipswich, MA to concentrate on poetry and fiction.
In 1958, his first book published was The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures, which contained poetry. In 1958 his first novel was published, The Poorhouse Fair. His first book of short stories was published just months after his first novel The Same Door. Then in May of 1959 his third child with Elizabeth, Michael, was born on May 14. In 1960 his fourth and Final child with Elizabeth, was a daughter named, Miranda, whom was born on December 15.
He won his first award, the Rosential Foundation Award, for The Poorhouse Fair. Through 1960 from 1973 he won twelve more awards, for his works in: short story, novel, and poetry, writing. In 1974, his marriage with Elizabeth ended in divorce. After the divorce he moved to an apartment in Boston, and taught at the University of Boston. In 1977 he married Martha Ruggles Bernhard, and lived with her three kids in Georgetown, MA. In 1978 he published The Coup, which was one of his many novels, short stories, and poetry to deal with sexuality.
In 1982 he was put on the cover of Time magazine for the second time. In May of the same year he moved with his wife, Martha to Beverly Farms, MA. In 1984, The Witches of East wick is published and three years later it is turned into a motion picture. The movie was directed by, George Miller and starred, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jack Nicholson, Cher, and Susan Sarandon. Between the years of 1984 and 1992 he received twelve more awards for his work in literature.
In 1992 he received a Doctor of Letters honorary degree from his Alma matter, Harvard University. In 1995 he published his first book of children s poetry, A Helpful Alphabet of Friendly Objects. Between 1996 and 2001 he published two more children books of poetry and four more novels that were sequels to some of his old ones, such as, Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel, Rabbit Remembered. To this day John Updike is still writing poetry, short stories, and novels. He is still living with is wife Martha in Beverly Farms.
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