J.D. Salinger dies at 91

Yesterday the world learned that J.D. Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye, died at the age of 91. The reculsive author lived the last 30 years or so in self-imposed isolation. He refused interviews, turned away fan mail, sued authors who tried to include letters Salinger had written in their biographies of him, blocked sequels to "Catcher" and rebuffed attempts of making "Catcher" into movies. It's been interesting to read some of the few details of his highly private life and I'm guessing that now that he's passed away, much more will come out.

Of course now the question comes up - did the author leave behind unpublished works, and if he did, will they be published now?

Regardless of the fact that Salinger was quoted to say: "Publishing is a terrible invasion of my privacy. I like to write. I love to write. But I write just for myself and my own pleasure," he has a huge following. I even came across an "Official Facebook Page of J.D. Salinger" while browsing the Internet for information on him. An official Facebook page? Something tells me Salinger was definitely not behind that one.

The library has some of the biographies that were published about his life - by his daughter, a former lover, etc - for those interested in learning more about his life. I'm guessing there will be a lot more to come in the near future, as well as some posthumous works perhaps?

You can read more about the death of J.D. Salinger on the New York Times book section online.

Biographies of J.D. Salinger at GPL:

Dream Catcher: a memoir by Margaret Ann Salinger
Memoir of her childhood, written in 2000 by the daughter of J.D. Salinger.

Salinger: a biography by Paul Alexander
While nothing in this biography is anything new from what few information was written about Salinger, its neatly compiled of already available sources written about J.D. Salinger. Some reviewers compare this to the tabloids. Written in 1999.

At Home in the World: a memoir by Joyce Maynard
Memoir of her year long affair with J.D. Salinger in 1972, when she was 18 and he was 53. Written in 1998.

In Search of J.D. Salinger by Ian Hamilton

Revised and delayed because of a legal suit by Salinger to stop this from publication, a chronology of the life of J.D. Salinger and about the author's legal battles in publishing this biography. Published in 1988.