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| US novelist William Styron dies | US novelist William Styron dies |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The American writer, William Styron, has died of pneumonia in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, aged 81. | The American writer, William Styron, has died of pneumonia in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, aged 81. |
| His novels included Sophie's Choice, the story of a Holocaust survivor from Poland, which was filmed with Meryl Streep and also became an opera. | His novels included Sophie's Choice, the story of a Holocaust survivor from Poland, which was filmed with Meryl Streep and also became an opera. |
| He also wrote The Confessions of Nat Turner, which won him a Pulitzer prize. | He also wrote The Confessions of Nat Turner, which won him a Pulitzer prize. |
| Styron's other works included a best-selling memoir, Darkness Visible, which told of his battle with near-suicidal depression. | Styron's other works included a best-selling memoir, Darkness Visible, which told of his battle with near-suicidal depression. |
| Styron had been in bad health for some time and had published no full-length novels for more than 25 years. | Styron had been in bad health for some time and had published no full-length novels for more than 25 years. |
| "This is terrible," novelist Kurt Vonnegut, a long-time friend, told the Associated Press news agency. | "This is terrible," novelist Kurt Vonnegut, a long-time friend, told the Associated Press news agency. |
| "He was dramatic, he was fun. He was strong and proud and he was awfully good with the language. I hated to see him end this way." | "He was dramatic, he was fun. He was strong and proud and he was awfully good with the language. I hated to see him end this way." |
| Mother's death | Mother's death |
| Styron was born in 1925 in Newport News, Virginia, the son of a shipbuilder, and lost his mother when he was 13. | Styron was born in 1925 in Newport News, Virginia, the son of a shipbuilder, and lost his mother when he was 13. |
| During World War II, he served in the Marines, and ended a conflict he did not expect to survive stationed in Okinawa. | During World War II, he served in the Marines, and ended a conflict he did not expect to survive stationed in Okinawa. |
| Meryl Streep starred in Sophie's Choice | Meryl Streep starred in Sophie's Choice |
| "Some of my problems I think came from a continuing anguish over my mother's death and if I had gotten shot it would have been, I suppose, some kind of completion," he said in a 1990 interview. | "Some of my problems I think came from a continuing anguish over my mother's death and if I had gotten shot it would have been, I suppose, some kind of completion," he said in a 1990 interview. |
| Returning to the US, he studied at Duke University and moved to New York. | Returning to the US, he studied at Duke University and moved to New York. |
| In 1951, he completed his first novel, Lay Down in Darkness, a Southern family saga of alcoholism, mental anguish and suicide. | In 1951, he completed his first novel, Lay Down in Darkness, a Southern family saga of alcoholism, mental anguish and suicide. |
| After The Long March and Set this House on Fire, he made his name in 1967 with The Confession of Nat Turner, the story of a slave who led a bloody and failed revolt before the American Civil War. | After The Long March and Set this House on Fire, he made his name in 1967 with The Confession of Nat Turner, the story of a slave who led a bloody and failed revolt before the American Civil War. |
| It won him a Pulitzer Prize, but the furore which followed fulfilled James Baldwin's prediction that "Bill's going catch it from black and white". | It won him a Pulitzer Prize, but the furore which followed fulfilled James Baldwin's prediction that "Bill's going catch it from black and white". |
| Styron was accused of racism and historical inaccuracy, but he defended himself, saying writers had a duty to "meditate" on history. | Styron was accused of racism and historical inaccuracy, but he defended himself, saying writers had a duty to "meditate" on history. |
| Fall into depression | Fall into depression |
| In 1979, he published Sophie's Choice about a Southerner who meets a Polish concentration camp survivor in New York. | In 1979, he published Sophie's Choice about a Southerner who meets a Polish concentration camp survivor in New York. |
| Death was now a daily presence, blowing over me in cold gusts William StyronDarkness Visible | Death was now a daily presence, blowing over me in cold gusts William StyronDarkness Visible |
| The novel was filmed starring Meryl Streep, and in 2002 Nicholas Maw's opera had its premiere. | The novel was filmed starring Meryl Streep, and in 2002 Nicholas Maw's opera had its premiere. |
| Again, Styron came under fire for his treatment of a difficult historical subject. | Again, Styron came under fire for his treatment of a difficult historical subject. |
| By the mid-1980s, he was suffering from severe depression and spent some time in hospital after coming near to suicide. | By the mid-1980s, he was suffering from severe depression and spent some time in hospital after coming near to suicide. |
| "Death was now a daily presence, blowing over me in cold gusts," he wrote in Darkness Visible. | "Death was now a daily presence, blowing over me in cold gusts," he wrote in Darkness Visible. |
| Politically liberal, he counted former President Bill Clinton and the playwright Arthur Miller in his social circle. | Politically liberal, he counted former President Bill Clinton and the playwright Arthur Miller in his social circle. |