Mencken, H. L. (1880-1956), was an American journalist, critic, and editor. His robust, often savagely witty style and his tremendous productivity as a writer brought him distinction in almost every literary form he attempted. From about 1910 to 1940, he was the most important literary figure in the United States.
Henry Louis Mencken was born on Sept. 12, 1880, in Baltimore. He began his journalism career at the age of 18 as a reporter with the Baltimore Morning Herald. By the age of 25, he had risen to editor in chief. After the paper closed in 1906, Mencken joined the Baltimore Sun as Sunday editor. He worked for the Sun for the rest of his career, except for leaves of absence during the two world wars. Mencken became famous for his newspaper columns, in which he enjoyed attacking American taste and culture, ridiculing a wide range of popular beliefs.
In 1905, Mencken wrote the first book-length study of the British playwright George Bernard Shaw. Two years later, he completed The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (1907), a study of the German philosopher.
From 1908 to 1923, Mencken wrote about 2,000 book reviews for the magazine Smart Set, which he edited with George Jean Nathan from 1914 to 1923. Under Mencken and Nathan, the magazine became a central shaper of literary taste in America. In 1923, Mencken began a 10-year position as founding editor of the American Mercury. This magazine of humor and comments about American customs and politics appealed to sophisticated, intellectual readers. During this period, Mencken reached the height of his influence.
Mencken is best known for his monumental study The American Language (1919). In it, he examined the development of the English language in America, praising the acceptance of new words and forms of expression as a reflection of the American lifestyle.
Mencken’s criticism and essays were collected in the six-volume Prejudices (1919-1927). The Library of America reissued the complete series in 2010. He also wrote three autobiographical volumes, Happy Days, 1880-1892 (1940); Newspaper Days, 1899-1906 (1941); and Heathen Days, 1890-1936 (1943). The Library of America reissued them in an expanded edition in 2014 as The Days Trilogy. Mencken died on Jan. 29, 1956. Parts of his diary were published in 1990.
