Joseph Heller was born on May 1, 1923, in
Brooklyn, New York. He began writing during his student days at New
York University and Columbia University. In 1947 and 1948, he
published short stories in
Esquire and
The Atlantic
Monthly, and then spent a year abroad as a Fulbright Scholar.
When he returned, he taught composition at Pennsylvania State
University, and wrote advertising and promotional copy at
Time,
Look, and
McCall''s.
At the time, Heller was also working on his first novel,
Catch-18. New World Writing published the first chapter in
1955; three years later Heller had a contract to publish the novel
with Simon & Schuster. To avoid confusion with Leon Uris''s
1961 novel Mila 18, Catch-18 was changed to
Catch-22 before its publication in the same year.
Catch-22 is the story of John Yossarian, a bombardier
trying to stay alive in the face of war''s hypocrisy and insanity
(Heller himself was an Army Air Force bombardier during World War
II). Upon publication, Catch-22, in Heller''s words, "won
no prizes and was not on any bestselier list." But it was a very
popular novel, and the 1970 film enhanced the book''s success.
In addition to stage plays, screenplays, and short stories,
Heller continued to write explosive arid satiric novels, including
the long-awaited Something Happened (1974), Good as
Gold(1979), God Knows (1984), Picture This
(1988), and Catch-22''s sequel, Closing Time
(1994). He also collaborated with Speed Vogel on No Laughing
Matter (1986), and wrote a memoir, Now and Then
(1998).
Heller''s literary achievements span nearly fifty years, and
Catch-22 is now considered one of the twentieth century''s
best novels.
He is married and lives in East Hampton, New York.