Writer James Joyce His Innovations Helped Him Revolutionize 20th-Century Fiction.(A)(Leaders & Success)

Byline: Curt Schleier

Investor's Business Daily

James Joyce was an avid reader as a child. But much of the fiction he read disappointed him. He once told a friend, "One of the things I could never get accustomed to in my youth was the difference I found between life and literature."

So, as Paul Gray wrote in Time magazine, "Joyce dedicated his career to erasing(the difference), and in the process revolutionized 20th-century fiction."

Joyce (1882-1941) was born in a

suburb of Dublin, Ireland, the oldest of 10 children who survived infancy. His early talent for writing won him a cash prize for a school composition. Always practical, Joyce used the money to feed and clothe his troubled, impoverished family.

As Edna O'Brien notes in her biography "James Joyce," he was intent on turning his negative childhood experiences into positive grist for his writing mill.