By Justin Goldman

James Michener Early Life ContributionsWWII Hawaii Quotes Key TermsOther Works Quiz The Drifters

Early Life  Never knew biological parents  Raised in Doylestown, PA  Poor childhood  In teens, hitchhiked across country

Education  Graduated Swarthmore College in 1929  Taught English at The Hill School, Pottstown, and The George School, Newtown  Master’s degree at Colorado State Teachers College  Taught at Harvard for one year  Macmillan Publishers – textbook editor

WWII  Start of writing career  Lieutenant in U.S. Navy  Assigned to South Pacific Ocean as a naval historian  His notes and thoughts turned into his first novel  Basis for Broadway and film musical, South Pacific  Pulitzer Prize

Hawaii  1949 moved to Honolulu  10 years working on Hawaii  Translated in 32 languages

Other Works

The Drifters  1971  6 main characters –Joe –Britta –Monica –Cato –Yigal –Gretchen

The Drifters (Cont.)  Torremolinos, Spain  All go their separate ways

Contributions  James A. Michener Art Museum  Medal of Freedom  Award from President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities (1983)

Contributions (Cont.)  Cultural  Social  Economic  Political  Diplomatic  Technological

Quotes  “There are no insoluble problems. Only time- consuming ones.”  “Scientists dream about doing great things. Engineers do them.”  “The permanent temptation of life is to confuse dreams with reality. The permanent defeat of life comes when dreams are surrendered to reality.”

Key Terms  Doylestown- Where Michener was raised and where the museum is located  Swarthmore College- The college that Michener graduated from  Tales of the South Pacific- Michener’s first novel  The Drifters- One of the novels that takes place during the Vietnam War

Quiz Question 1 As a child, which of the following items did Michener have? A. A father B. A mother C. Roller skates D. Bicycle E. Baseball glove

Quiz Question 2 Where did Michener graduate college? A. Pottstown B. The George School C. The Hill School D. Swarthmore College E. Harvard

Quiz Question 3 What is Michener’s first novel? A. Tales of the South Pacific B. Centennial C. Hawaii D. The Drifters E. The Covenant

Quiz Question 4 How many main characters are in The Drifters? A. 1 B. 2 C. 4 D. 6 E. 8

Quiz Question 5 Where is the James A. Michener Art Museum located? A. Austin B. Newtown C. Doylestown D. Levittown E. Bensalem