Flannery O'Connor Biography

Writer. Born on March 25, 1925, in Savannah, Georgia. Flannery O'Connor is considered to be one of the greatest short story writers of the twentieth century. She faced some hardships growing up, losing her father as a teenager. He died of systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease.

Early on Flannery O'Connor demonstrated her literary talents as a writer for school publications. Studying at what is now the University of Iowa for a master's degree, O'Connor got her first story published "The Geranium" in 1946. She also had begun what was to be first novel, Wise Blood (1952).

After graduating in 1947, Flannery O'Connor pursued her writing, spending time at several months at Yaddo, a Saratoga Springs, New York artists' retreat. Her work was informed by her experiences growing up as a Catholic in the South. Religion is a recurring theme in her work and the main characters of her first and second novels were preachers of sorts.

O'Connor was best-known, however, for her short stories, which appeared in several collections, including A Good Man Is Hard To Find and Other Stories (1955) and Everything That Rises Must Converge (1965).

After battling lupus for more than a decade, Flannery O'Connor died on August 3, 1964. For her work, she received many honors, including an O. Henry Award in 1957 and the National Book Award in 1972.

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