'It's the great advantage of being a writer'

 

“The great advantage of being a writer is that you're there, listening to every word, but part of you is observing. Everything is useful to a writer, you see - every scrap, even the longest and most boring of luncheon parties.” – Graham Greene

 

Born in England in October of 1904, Greene is listed among the greatest English language writers of the 20th century.  Shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature, he produced 25 bestselling novels and wrote dozens of short stories, essays, plays and movie scripts while continuing to work as a journalist throughout his 67-year career. 

 

Born into a wealthy family, Greene studied history at Oxford but turned to journalism shortly after completing his education there.  He was working as an editor at The Times of London when his first novel, The Man Within, was published in 1929, earning him universal acclaim.  He went on to win Britain’s two oldest and prestigious literary prizes –  the Hawthornden Prize for his masterpiece The Power and the Glory and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for The Heart of the Matter. 

 

Also considered one of the most “cinematic” of 20^th century writers (nearly all of his novels and many of his short stories were made into movies or television shows), his characters are both interesting and controversial, for which Greene had a logical explanation.  

 

“(You know) the moment comes when a character does or says something you hadn't thought about.  At that moment he's alive and you just have to leave it to him to do whatever he prefers.”