Editing Sinclair Lewis (section)

{{Short description|American writer (1885–1951)}}
{{distinguish|text=his contemporary, [[Upton Sinclair]], novelist and political activist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox writer
| name         = Sinclair Lewis
| image        = Sinclair Lewis 1930.jpg
| caption      = Lewis in 1930
| birth_name   = Harry Sinclair Lewis
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1885|2|7|mf=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Sauk Centre, Minnesota]], U.S.
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1951|1|10|1885|2|7|mf=y}}
| death_place  = [[Rome]], Italy
| occupation   = {{cslist|Novelist|short-story writer|playwright}}
| education    = [[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| notableworks = {{ubl|''[[Main Street (novel)|Main Street]]'' (1920)|''[[Babbitt (novel)|Babbitt]]'' (1922)|''[[Arrowsmith (novel)|Arrowsmith]]'' (1925)|''[[Elmer Gantry]]'' (1927)|''[[Dodsworth (novel)|Dodsworth]]'' (1929)|''[[It Can't Happen Here]]'' (1935)}}
| awards       = [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] (1930)
| spouse       = {{ubl|{{marriage|Grace Livingston Hegger|1914|1928|end=div}}|{{marriage|[[Dorothy Thompson]]|1928|1942|end=div}}}}  
| children     = 2
| signature    = Sinclair Lewis signature.svg
}}
'''Harry Sinclair Lewis''' (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In [[1930 Nobel Prize in Literature|1930]], he became the first author from the United States (and the first from the [[Americas]]) to receive the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]], which was awarded "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters." Lewis wrote six popular novels: ''[[Main Street (novel)|Main Street]]'' (1920), ''[[Babbitt (novel)|Babbitt]]'' (1922), ''[[Arrowsmith (novel)|Arrowsmith]]'' (1925), ''[[Elmer Gantry]]'' (1927), ''[[Dodsworth (novel)|Dodsworth]]'' (1929), and ''[[It Can't Happen Here]]'' (1935).

Several of his notable works were critical of American [[capitalism]] and [[economic materialism|materialism]] during the [[interwar period]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/people/sinclair-lewis-9381356|title=Sinclair Lewis|website=Biography.com|access-date=October 13, 2017|archive-date=February 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204062744/http://www.biography.com/people/sinclair-lewis-9381356|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lewis is respected for his strong characterizations of modern working women. [[H. L. Mencken]] wrote of him, "[If] there was ever a novelist among us with an authentic call to the trade ... it is this red-haired tornado from the Minnesota wilds."<ref>Bode, Carl (1969) ''Mencken''. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press. p. 166.</ref>