John Kennedy Toole (December 17, 1937 – March 26, 1969) was an American novelist, from New Orleans, Louisiana, best known for his novel A Confederacy of Dunces. December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday For other uses, see Number 1969. ... A novel is an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form; the writer of a novel is a novelist. ... Nickname: The Big Easy Motto: Official website: http://www. ... DeFoes Robinson Crusoe, Newspaper edition published in 1719 A novel (from French nouvelle, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ... Spoiler warning: A Confederacy of Dunces is a novel written by John Kennedy Toole, but not published during his lifetime. ...

Toole's childhood in Uptown New Orleans was rather sheltered, dominated by his mother Thelma Ducoing Toole who seldom let her only child play with other children, explaining to everyone that her son was a genius. After an undergraduate degree from Tulane University, Toole received a master's degree at Columbia University, and then spent a year as assistant professor of English at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now UL Lafayette) in Lafayette, Louisiana. He then went to New York to take a teaching position at Hunter College. Toole also spent some time pursuing a doctorate at Columbia, but did not finish because he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1961, where he served two years in Puerto Rico teaching English to Spanish-speaking recruits. A genius is a person with distinguished mental prowess. ... Tulane University Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian university located in New Orleans, Louisiana. ... Columbia University is a private university in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... University of Louisiana at Lafayette is also known as UL Lafayette. ... Lafayette is a city located on the Vermilion River in Lafayette Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. ... Official language(s) English Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ... Hunter College of The City University of New York See also: Hunter College High School Hunter College of The City University of New York (known more commonly as simply Hunter College) is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), located on Manhattans Upper East Side. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

After his time in the military, Toole returned to New Orleans to live with his parents and began to teach at Dominican College. He spent time hanging around the French Quarter with musicians and, on at least one occasion, helped a musician friend with his second job selling tamales from a cart. After Toole graduated with honors from Tulane University, he worked briefly in a men's clothing factory. Both of these scenarios played a part in the inspiration for his great comic novel A Confederacy of Dunces. Dominican College is a four-year private college in Orangeburg, New York. ... French Quarter: upper Chartres street looking down towards Jackson Square and the spires of St. ... A meal of a tamale and squash soup A tamale or tamal (from Nahuatl tamalli) is a traditional Latin American food that begins with corn (maize) flour mixed with water and lard. ... Tulane University Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian university located in New Orleans, Louisiana. ... A comic novel is a work of fiction in which the writer seeks to amuse the reader: sometimes with subtlety and as part of a carefully woven narrative, sometimes above all other considerations. ...

Toole sent his novel's manuscript to Simon and Schuster. After initial excitement about the book, the publisher eventually rejected it, saying that the book "isn't really about anything." Toole began to deteriorate rapidly after he lost hope of publishing his book, which he considered to be a masterpiece. He began to drink heavily and started taking medication for headaches; he also stopped teaching at Dominican and quit his doctoral classes at Tulane. Jean-François Millet Le Semeur (The Sower) Simon & Schuster logo, circa 1961. ...

Some biographers have since suggested that Toole was confused about his sexuality, which added to his depression. One friend has suggested that his domineering mother left no emotional room for any other woman in Toole's life. Some friends and family of Toole disagree with suggestions that Toole was homosexual, including David Kubach, a longtime friend who also served with Toole in the army. The authors of the first biography of Toole to be published did not know him, and "not knowing him makes a big difference", Kubach said. A second book about Toole by his old friend Joel Fletcher was published in 2005. Ronald W. Bell's thesis, "The Nihilistic Perspective of John Kennedy Toole"(2000, California State University, Dominguez Hills) posits the notion that Toole's novels were a mirror of the author's life and reflect a bleak view of human existence, that Toole felt a despair over the human condition. Since its inception, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ...

Toole committed suicide on March 26, 1969, after disappearing from New Orleans, by putting one end of a garden hose into the exhaust pipe of his car and the other into the window of the car in which he was sitting. The suicide note he left was destroyed by his mother, who made conflicting statements as to its general contents. He was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in New Orleans. It has been suggested that Suicide and culture be merged into this article or section. ... A small variety of cars, the most popular kind of automobile. ...

After his death, Toole's mother insisted that author Walker Percy read the manuscript for Dunces. Percy eventually gave in and fell in love with the book. A Confederacy of Dunces was published in 1980, and Percy provided the foreword. Walker Percy (May 28, 1916 - May 10, 1990) was an American author, born in Birmingham, Alabama. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Toole, and his novel, posthumously won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1981). The book has sold more than 1.5 million copies in 18 languages. The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded since 1948 for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Toole's only other novel is The Neon Bible, which Toole wrote at age 16 and which he considered too juvenile a writing attempt to submit for publication while he was alive. Due to the great interest in Toole, The Neon Bible was published in 1989. John Kennedy Tooles first novel, The Neon Bible, was written at the age of only 16. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

A statue of Toole's most famous character, Ignatius Reilly, may be seen at 800 Iberville Street in New Orleans. A Confederacy of Dunces is a novel written by John Kennedy Toole, but not published during his lifetime. ...

Further reading

• Ignatius Rising, The Life of John Kennedy Toole, by Rene Pol Nevils and Deborah George Handy, LSU Press, 2001
• Ken & Thelma, The Story of A Confederacy of Dunces, by Joel L. Fletcher, Pelican Publishing Company, Gretna, Louisiana, 2005

The city of Gretna is the parish seat of Jefferson Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. ...

External link

• John Kennedy Toole Virtual Gravesite