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Jimmy Carter: Poet, Novelist, Memoirist, Philosopher
He wasn’t just prolific, publishing 32 books. His output also showed an unusual range that included memoirs and forays into historical fiction and even poetry.
As a governor of Georgia harboring higher aspirations, Jimmy Carter did like many other politicians who wanted to be president: He wrote a book declaring his vision for America. After leaving the White House, he wrote another book, a memoir offering his perspective on the conflicts and crises he navigated, just as presidents before and after him had done.
Then, he kept writing and writing and writing.
Publishing 32 books over the course of his life, he wasn’t simply prolific, as far as former presidents go. His output also displayed an extraordinary range that included historical fiction, poetry and meditations on the meaning of faith and the splendor of nature. There was even a coffee-table book on woodworking, a hobby of his.
“Of all our modern presidents, Jimmy Carter was America’s most protean author,” said Jonathan Karp, the president and chief executive of Simon and Schuster, which published 13 of Carter’s books.
The critics were not always kind. Not every book was a commercial success. Still, as a writer, Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100, has left behind a body of work that was vast and invaluable, researchers and those who knew him well said. His memoirs, which cover virtually every chapter of his life, could be strikingly candid and intimate. His forays into different genres revealed an embrace of adventure and willingness to take a creative risk. And taken together, his books reflect the abounding curiosity and vigor that defined his approach to life.
“He took the time to really become a student before he tried to be a writer,” said Craig Fehrman, a journalist and historian who wrote “Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote.” “In a very craftsman-like and humble way, when he decided to write something new, he worked to learn that genre from the inside and dedicated some time to becoming as good at it as he could be.”
He added: “That’s the story of him as a writer, but I also think that’s a story about him as a human being.”
