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Sinclair Lewis refused to accept the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for his novel, Arrowsmith, because he believed the Pulitzer should be awarded for works that "celebrate American wholesomeness," while Lewis' books were negative and critical. He resisted the idea of being constrained by a form of social contract that might seek to dilute his work.
Lewis wrote to the Pulitzer Prize Board: "Every compulsion is put upon writers to become safe, polite, obedient, and sterile. In protest, I declined election to the National Institute of Arts and Letters some years ago, and now I must decline the Pulitzer Prize."
Ironically, the protagonist of the book, Dr. Martin Arrowsmith, also struggled with the conflict between idealism and commercialism. After declining the Pulitzer Prize, Lewis asked his agent to try to "pull strings" for a Nobel Prize in Literature, which he subsequently won in 1930 for "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humour, new types of characters."
What else can I help you with?
Who won Pulitzer prize for novel the arrowsmith 1926?
Sinclair Lewis won the Pulitzer Prize for the novel "Arrowsmith" in 1926. Lewis declined the prize due to his dissatisfaction with the judging process.
Who is the only person to decline a Pulitzer prize?
Writer and philosopher Carl Sandburg declined a Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Abraham Lincoln in 1940 because he did not want to accept the prize unless it was awarded through the usual process.
What novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940?
John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, won a Pulitzer Prize for best Novel in 1940.
Who won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel in 1921?
Author Edith Wharton won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for her novel The Age of Innocence.
Which novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988?
Toni Morrison won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for her novel, Beloved.
Who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1944?
Martin Flavin won the 1944 Pulitzer Prize for his novel, Journey in the Dark. The Pulitzer Prize Board changed the category from "Novel" to "Fiction" in 1948.
Who won 2007 Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Road?
Cormac McCarthy won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for his novel, The Road.
Who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1988 and for which novel?
Toni Morrison won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for her novel, Beloved.
What Cormac McCarthy novel won a Pulitzer Prize?
Cormac McCarthy won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for his novel, The Road.
Who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1940?
John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, won a Pulitzer Prize for best Novel in 1940.
Who won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Caine Mutiny?
Herman Wouk won the 1952 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for his novel, The Caine Mutiny.(Doubleday)
Who wrote the Pulitzer Prize novel Beloved?
Author Toni Morrison wrote Beloved, the 1988 Pulitzer Prize winner in Fiction.
