TRUMAN CAPOTETruman Capote was born Truman Streckfus Persons onSeptember 30, 1924, in New Orleans. His early years wereaffected by an unsettled family life. He was turned over tothe care of his mother’s family in Monroeville, Alabama; hisfather was imprisoned for fraud; his parents divorced andthen fought a bitter custody battle over Truman. Eventuallyhe moved to New York City to live with his mother and hersecond husband, a Cuban businessman whose name headopted. The young Capote got a job as a copyboy atTheNew Yorkerin the early forties, but was fired forinadvertently offending Robert Frost. The publication of hisearly stories inHarper’s Bazaarestablished his literaryreputation when he was in his twenties, and his novelsOther Voices, Other Rooms(1948), a gothic coming-of-agestory that Capote described as “an attempt to exorcisedemons,” andThe Grass Harp(1951), a gentler fantasyrooted in his Alabama years, consolidated his precociousfame.From the start of his career Capote associated himself with awide range of writers and artists, high-society figures, andinternational celebrities, gaining frequent media attentionfor his exuberant social life. He collected his stories inA Treeof Night(1949) and published the novellaBreakfast atTiffany’s(1958), but devoted his energies increasingly tothe stage—adaptingThe Grass Harpinto a play and writingthe musicalHouse of Flowers(1954)—and to journalism, ofwhich the earliest examples wereLocal Color(1950) andThe Muses Are Heard(1956). He made a brief foray into themovies to write the screenplay for John Huston’sBeat theDevil(1954).
