Truman Capote Truman Streckfus Persons (September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984),known as Truman Capote was an American author, many of whose short stories, novel, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) and the true crime novel In Cold Blood (1966), which he labeled a "nonfiction novel” Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, he was the son of 17-year-old Lillie Mae Faulk and salesman Archulus Persons.His parents divorced when he was four, and he was sent to Monroeville Alabama, where, for the following four to five years, he was raised by his mother's relatives. As a lonely child, Capote taught himself to read and write before he entered his first year of schooling.Capote was often seen at age five carrying his dictionary and notepad, and he began writing fiction at the age of 11.

In 1933, he moved to New York City to live with his mother and her second husband, Joseph Capote, a Cuban-born textile broker, who adopted him as his stepson and renamed him Truman García Capote. Capote began his professional career writing short stories. The critical success of one story, "Miriam" (1945), attracted the attention of Random House publisher Bennett Cerf, resulting in a contract to write Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948). Capote earned the most fame with In Cold Blood (1966), a journalistic work about the murder of a Kansas farm family in their home, a book Capote spent four years writing, with much help from Harper Lee who wrote the famous To Kill a Mockingbird.A milestone in popular culture, it was the peak of his career, although it was not his final book. In the 1970s, he maintained his celebrity status by appearing on television talk shows.

Capote’s best works: Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948) Grass Harp, The (novel) (1951) Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) Christmas Memory (1966) In Cold Blood (1965) Answered Prayers (1986)

“Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it” “Friendship is a pretty full-time occupation if you really are friendly with somebody. You can't have too many friends because then you're just not really friends” “I was eleven, then I was sixteen. Though no honors came my way, those were the lovely years” "Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor."