Literary Critic Leaves New Republic for New Yorker

[Ya Sam]

James Wood, a senior editor at The New Republic, where he has been the 
literary critic for the past 12 years, is leaving to become a staff writer 
at The New Yorker.

The English-born Mr. Wood, who was appointed chief literary critic of The 
Guardian of London in 1992 when he was just 26, moved to The New Republic in 
1995. At The New Yorker, he will be one of several staffers who write about 
books.

In some literary circles, Mr. Wood has been described as a brutal critic who 
has debunked many of the country’s most admired writers, including Don 
DeLillo, Toni Morrison and Thomas Pynchon. Others regard him as one of the 
most respected critics of his generation.

He famously coined a phrase to describe what he abhors in modern fiction: 
“hysterical realism,” which refers to a style of writing that features 
rampant caricature, absurd plots and prose and hyper references to popular 
culture combined with didactic social commentary.

“Because James is so deeply intelligent and because the world of fiction and 
the world of ideas mean so much to him, he is a critic with passionate 
views,” David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, wrote in an e-mail message. 
“But in no way is he a slam artist, an agenda keeper. He is also capable of 
passionate praise.”

Leon Wieseltier, literary editor at The New Republic, said that “The New 
Republic plays many significant roles in American culture, and one of them 
is to find and to develop writers with whom The New Yorker can eventually 
staff itself.”



http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/07/books/09wood.html?ref=books

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