THE JOHN UPDIKE SOCIETY

As part of their “One Tank Trips” series, Philadelphia’s ABC Action News 6 featured The John Updike Childhood Home, with director Maria Lester on camera, leading the way. The station posted Bill Hartung’s video story on June 23, 2026. Here’s … Continue reading →

We regret to report the passing of Alexander Alfred Bernhard, who died in Boston at the age of 89 on June 15, 2026. Though Alexander was not known personally by The John Updike Society, members certainly knew of him. He … Continue reading →

Since the society incorporated as a 501c3, Marshall Boswell, an English professor at Rhodes College, has been writing out checks (10-15 per month) and following up with phone calls to square things when a check wasn’t received or when there … Continue reading →

The annual American Literature Association conferences provide an important opportunity for societies devoted to the work of individual American authors to gather, exchange research findings, and discuss issues related to the operation and development of their organizations. This was certainly … Continue reading →

In “From Bedtime Stories to Cultural Struggles: Updike’s Domestic Lens,” Original Magazines examines an Updike short story that appeared in The New Yorker, “Should Wizard Hit Mommy?” The article called Updike’s literary snapshot of a bedtime ritual happening all across … Continue reading →

Thomas Bevilacqua, a Ph.D. who teaches high school English at The Maclay School in Florida, recently posted his reaction to John Updike’s Roger’s Version on his Substack blog: “It’s pretty clear to me why Roger’s Version is frequently pointed to as one … Continue reading →

We are saddened to report the passing of James N. Trexler, a classmate of John Updike’s who was part of a panel at the very first John Updike Society conference at Alvernia University in Reading, Pa. Trexler died of AML … Continue reading →

Since the Selected Letters of John Updike was published in October 2025, there have been dozens of interviews with the volume’s editor, James Schiff, and with Michael Updike, the family’s representative on the John Updike Literary Trust, who also has … Continue reading →

In a brief post on Books, Inq., a Blogspot blog, Jesse Freedman wrote, “I didn’t think too much — as I recall — of Rabbit, Run, but now, having returned to Updike, and having finished Rabbit Redux, let me take that all … Continue reading →

Taylor Brown, whose novel-in-progress Rise, River, Rise rose to the top of the applicant pool for the 2026 John Updike Tucson Casitas Fellowship, is now at the casitas where Updike worked in a number of genres and famously described losing … Continue reading →

Time magazine asked “25 literary luminaries to pick one book that they believe reflects where American life is headed or speaks to the present in a meaningful way. Their answers bring together poetry, nonfiction, and fiction from across the nation’s … Continue reading →

In addition to English, Rome-based freelance journalist Eric J. Lyman is fluent in Spanish and Italian. But words in any language seemed just shy of his reach when in spring, circa 2003-05, he “spotted John Updike having lunch near the … Continue reading →

If you haven’t been able to attend one of the events featuring Selected Letters of John Updike editor James Schiff and Michael Updike, the author’s son, here’s your chance: The Brattleboro Literary Festival invites everyone to join them on Wednesday, May 13, … Continue reading →

Christopher J. Scalia tweeted that “John Updike invented The Elaine.” As Exhibit A he offered this description from Updike’s short story “The Happiest I’ve Been” (The New Yorker, Dec. 27, 1958): “There being no answer to Neil, I went into … Continue reading →

Those who attended the joint Updike and Roth societies conference in Greenwich Village in October 2025 found two groups that, like their namesakes, were friendly rivals . . . mostly friendly. Only one person had an obvious axe to grind, … Continue reading →

In a recent blog-post musing, Andrew Gelman, a professor of statistics and political science at Columbia University, talked about picking up a copy of the LOA two-volume set of Updike’s Collected Stories and reading “The Varieties of Religious Experience.” Which … Continue reading →

“I had a special link to John Updike, the celebrated writer who died in 2009. I once served as his muse,” began William Ecenbarger, who has won 17 writing awards from the Society of American Travel Writers. His latest feature, … Continue reading →

WFMZ, which covers the Lehigh Valley and Berks County, published a piece today by historian Frank Whelan on “History’s Headlines: John Updike of Berks County.” Like Adam Begley’s biography, it begins with a story about journalist William Ecenbarger following the … Continue reading →

John Updike, who died in 2009, would have been 94 today, and we not only remember him but continue to celebrate his virtuosity with language and his audacity to speak what he perceived to be true of human … Continue reading →