H. L. Mencken

The American Language: an Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States (Dodo Press) H. L. Mencken

Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956), was an American journalist, essayist, magazine editor, satirist, and acerbic critic of American life and culture. Mencken, known as the "Sage of Baltimore", is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the first half of the 20th century. He became a reporter for the Baltimore Morning Herald in 1899, then moved to The Baltimore Sun in 1906. He continued to contribute to the Sun full time or occasionally until 1948, when he ceased to write. In 1908, he became a literary critic for the magazine The Smart Set, and in 1924, he and George Jean Nathan founded and edited The American Mercury. He co-authored a number or works with Nathan including The Artist (1912), Heliogobalus (1920) and The American Credo: A Contribution Toward the Interpretation of the National Mind (1920). He is perhaps best remembered today for The American Language: An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States (1919). Among his other works are: George Bernard Shaw: His Plays (1905) and The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (1908).