Pol Gelliko

Paul Gallico was an American writer.

Paul William Gallico was born on July 26, 1897, in New York City, to an Italian father and an emigrant mother from Austria. His father, a concert pianist, unsuccessfully tried to make his son a musician. Gallico intended to study medicine, but in 1921 he nevertheless graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. The stories the young man persistently sent to the editorial offices of various magazines came back home, in his own words, “like homing pigeons.”

Meanwhile, he tried every kind of work: he was an instructor in a gymnasium, a translator, and a dockworker. He also worked for a time as a film critic for the New York Daily News, but he did not do very well in that position and was transferred to the sports department. In order to write an article about the famous boxer Jack Dempsey, Gallico talked his way into a bout with him—the journalist wanted to know what it felt like to be knocked down by the heavyweight champion. He lasted two minutes, after which he wrote a brilliant article and became famous throughout America.

In 1923 he became sports editor. He wrote his own daily sports column and also devised and organized the Golden Gloves amateur boxing competition. Paul became known as one of the best sports journalists in the United States.

In 1936 (at the age of 39) he sold one of his stories for a film for $5,000, which allowed him to quit his job and move to Europe, where he devoted himself to writing. His first book published after that, Farewell to Sport, as the title suggests, was a farewell to his career as a sports journalist.

In 1941 he suddenly became famous with the publication of the moving and captivating book The Snow Goose, for which he won the O. Henry Award that same year. At one meeting, E. Hemingway told him: “You know, Gallico, I’d like to write ‘The Snow Goose.’”

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