From the streets of the Bronx to the heights of American letters, novelist Don DeLillo’s journey charts the story of a boy made good—and then made great. Born in New York City on November 20, 1936, DeLillo grew up in an Italian-American Catholic household in the Fordham section of the Bronx, a neighbourhood shaped by immigrant ambition. (perival.com)
He attended Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, before enrolling at Fordham University, where he graduated in 1958 with a bachelor’s in “communication arts.” (National Book Foundation) His borough roots remain formative. As one interview put it, “I think of myself as the kid from the Bronx.” (The Guardian)
