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Article: What Sinclair Lewis warned.(BOOKS)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- October 16, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 The Washington Times LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Roger K. Miller, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Seventy-five years ago this fall Sinclair Lewis became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. By that time his reputation and the quality of his work had begun their steady decline, and never again until his death in 1951 would he publish another novel to match the five for which he is noted-"Main Street," "Babbitt," "Arrowsmith," "Elmer Gantry" and "Dodsworth."
There were occasional upward bumps, however, and 70 years ago this fall one of them came with "It Can't Happen Here," Lewis' warning about the dangers of fascism. He conceived the idea in May 1935 and, after two ...