author
James Thurber
1894–1961
Best known for blending sharp humor with a touch of daydreaming, this American writer and cartoonist captured the confusion and comedy of ordinary life. His stories, drawings, and plays helped make him one of the most memorable comic voices of the 20th century.
1 Audiobook
Is sex necessary? : or, Why you feel the way you do
by James Thurber, E. B. (Elwyn Brooks) White
About the author
Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1894, James Thurber became a writer, cartoonist, journalist, and playwright whose work was closely associated with The New Yorker. His style mixed dry wit, fantasy, and a very human sense of frustration, often focusing on people who felt outmatched by the modern world.
He wrote some of his best-known pieces in many forms, including short stories, humorous memoir, fables, and plays. Among the works most often linked to him are My Life and Hard Times, Fables for Our Time, and the famous story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." He also collaborated with Elliott Nugent on the successful play The Male Animal.
Thurber's simple, instantly recognizable cartoons became as celebrated as his prose. Even as failing eyesight limited his drawing later in life, his voice remained distinctive: warm, absurd, observant, and a little melancholy underneath the jokes. He died in New York City in 1961, but his humor still feels fresh and surprisingly modern.