Background
Clement Greenberg, born in 1909 to Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, was raised in New York
City, Norfolk, Virginia, and Brooklyn. As a child, Greenberg drew from nature with unusual
accuracy, and as a teenager he joined the Art Students League, but by the time he attended
Syracuse University his interests had shifted to languages and literature, and upon
graduation he set out to become a writer. For nearly a decade Greenberg wrote poetry, short
stories, and a novel (never finished) while also reading extensively in English, German and
French. To earn a living, he worked in his father's businesses, which gave him opportunity
to travel and live in various parts of the U.S. During this period he published two stories,
one poem, and two book-length translations. He was also briefly married, fathered a son, and
divorced.