The year 1920 in literature involved some significant events and new books. [edit] Events - "Hercule Poirot" makes his first appearance.
- Beyond the Horizon, Eugene O'Neill's first full-length play, opens at a special matinee at the Morosco Theater on February 2 – partly as an experiment on the part of the producer, partly to quiet the pleading of actor Richard Bennett who has demanded a chance to play the lead role. Reviewers hail the play and O'Neill becomes famous. The Emperor Jones is staged in November.
- This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald is published. It is a sensation, immediately establishing Fitzgerald as a writer and celebrity. Though the book's reputation will dim in later years, Dorothy Parker will recall that it was regarded as an innovative work when it first appeared.
- The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton is published.
- Main Street by Sinclair Lewis is published.
- D. H. Lawrence publishes Women in Love.
- Hart Crane publishes his poem My Grandmother's Love Letters in The Dial. This is his first real step towards recognition as a poet.
- Van Wyck Brooks publishes The Ordeal of Mark Twain, arguing that Twain's genius was perverted by the conditions and culture of late 19th-century America. This is the beginning of the reassessment of Mark Twain, who until this point has been regarded primarily as a humorous entertainer. The 1920s will force a reconsideration of many 19th-century writers, most importantly Melville and Dickinson.
[edit] New books [edit] New drama [edit] Poetry Main article: 1920 in poetry[edit] Non-fiction [edit] Births - January 2 - Isaac Asimov, author (d. 1992)
- January 24 - Keith Douglas, English poet (d. 1944)
- February 11 - Daniel F. Galouye, American science fiction author (d. 1976)
- February 29 - Howard Nemerov, American poet (d. 1991)
- March 10 - Boris Vian, French novelist (d. 1959)
- March 11 - D. J. Enright, English writer (d. 2002)
- April 5 - Arthur Hailey, novelist (d. 2004)
- June 8 - Gwen Harwood, Australian poet (d. 1995)
- June 18 - Rosemary Dobson, Australian poet
- June 20 - Amos Tutuola, Nigerian writer (d. 1997)
- July 12 - Pierre Berton, Canadian author (d. 2004)
- August 3 - P. D. James, English author
- August 16 - Charles Bukowski, American writer (d. 1994)
- August 22 - Ray Bradbury, American science fiction writer
- October 8 - Frank Herbert, American science fiction author (d. 1986)
- October 15 - Mario Puzo, author of The Godfather (d. 1999)
- November 23 - Paul Celan, poet (d. 1970)
[edit] Deaths - January 2 - Paul Adam, French novelist (b. 1862
- January 4 - Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish novelist (b. 1843))
- January 18 - Giovanni Capurro, Italian poet (b. 1825)
- March 15 - Edith Holden, diarist and illustrator (b. 1871) (drowned)
- March 26 - Mary Augusta Ward, novelist (b. 1981)
- May 11 - William Dean Howells, American writer (b. 1837)
- May 21 - Eleanor H. Porter, American novelist (b. 1868)
- June 5
- June 14 - Max Weber, German political economist (b. 1864)
- June 27 - Adolphe Basile Routhier, Canadian poet (b. 1839)
- October 19 - John Reed, American journalist (b. 1887)
- November 22 - Manuel Pérez y Curis, Uruguayan poet (b. 1884)
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