Literary Critic Leaves New Republic for New Yorker

[Mark Kohut]

Occasional reviewer, fine reader, realist John Updike, does magical and other kinds of fantastic literature, justice in his essays-reviews.

rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:    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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