Henry Miller

Henry Valentine Miller (1891-1980) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. He is known for his groundbreaking semi-autobiographical novels that defied traditional literary forms. Miller's works, such as Tropic of Cancer, Black Spring, and Tropic of Capricorn, incorporated elements of character study, social criticism, philosophical reflection, stream of consciousness, explicit language, sex, surrealist free association, and mysticism. His experiences in New York and Paris heavily influenced his writing, as seen in his trilogy The Rosy Crucifixion. Miller also wrote travel memoirs, literary criticism, and painted watercolors. Born in Manhattan, New York City, Miller was the son of Lutheran German parents and spent part of his childhood in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.