Literary Critic Leaves New Republic for New Yorker

[rich]

He'll fit fine at the New Yorker seeing as they only publish those realist
writers he so loves

rich


On 8/8/07, Ya Sam <takoitov at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> 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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