It is difficult for most people to understand the genius and poetic prowess that go into a work of fiction or a social critique. That is why the world has men like Alan Sillitoe, who is not only famous for the piles and piles of written works he has created but also for the social change his works have managed to incite.

Aside from being a novelist and a social critic, Alan has dedicated a portion of his writing time to the lives of children, through his children's books.

Alan may have been discouraged from writing by his mother early on in life for his self-revelation tactics, but it is clear that he was neither deterred nor setback in his dreams and desires-his mother having lit fire to his first semi-fiction tale probably made for good material at a later point in life.

Born on 4 March 1928 in Nottingham, UK to an illiterate tannery laborer, Alan found the background for many of his later works in his everyday life. Alan's family experienced first-hand the devastating effects of the Depression and although his childhood was cut short by the financial woes of his family, Alan found time and joy in writing, even when he was discovered to have tuberculosis and spent sixteen months in the hospital. Rather than spending his time recovering, Alan spent his time as a bookworm and creating calluses on his thumb and middle finger from overuse and pen-wear. Alan spent seven years recovering from his tuberculosis, giving him plenty of time to create the need for more paper factories.

In his earliest works, Alan protagonists consisted of restless young men, trying to pull themselves up out of the lower working class life Alan himself had been accustomed to while growing up. Just like Alan, his characters oppose rule and order, but give into vanity and self-indulgence. Alan always used the working class language he was brought up with-he felt that the twang and drawl of the poor life was better than snooty, elitist tactics of the rich famous. Alan spat in the face of the elitist architecture of both society and of literature, proving that anything can be muddied up by a little spit.

Closer to the 1970s, Alan's format for writing took a shift from the young and restless-maybe foreseeing the transformation of his books into daytime soap operas-to a deeper psychoanalysis of his characters, testing and prodding the very fiber of their penned beings for his readers' enjoyment and the provocation of thought and change-like a doctor with a tongue depressor and a cold stethoscope, he plunged into psychology, never to return.

Over the past forty years, Alan has written more than fifty books, more than four hundred essays, several books of poetry, numerous children's book and stage scripts for plays. In 1995, Alan published his autobiography, "A Life Without Armor."

Alan married American poet Ruth Fainlight in 1959 and their marriage continues to this day.