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Edition 6 (1955) Winner
Edmund Wilson
エドマンド・ウィルソン
Edmund Wilson
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1895-05-08 （Red Bank, New Jersey）
- Died
- 1972-06-12 （Talcottville, New York） age 77
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Red Bank, New Jersey → Princeton, New Jersey (education) → Manhattan, New York City → Talcottville, New York (summer home)
Career
- Occupations
- literary critic, essayist, editor, journalist, writer
- Active Years
- 1916-1972
- Affiliations
- Vanity Fair (editorial staff), The New Republic (associate editor), The New Yorker (book reviewer), The New York Review of Books (contributor), Wesleyan University (Fellow, Center for Advanced Studies, 1964–65)
- Influenced By
- Arthur Rimbaud, W. B. Yeats, Paul Valéry, T. S. Eliot, Marcel Proust, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein
- Influenced
- Upton Sinclair, John Dos Passos, Sinclair Lewis, Floyd Dell, Theodore Dreiser, Ernest Hemingway (helped shape public appreciation), Vladimir Nabokov (introduced and critiqued for Western audiences)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hill School | — | — | — | 〜1912 | United States |
| Princeton University | — | — | — | 1912–1916 | United States |
The Hill School
Period:
〜1912
Year of Graduation:
1912
Country:
United States
College-preparatory boarding school. Served as editor-in-chief of the school's literary magazine.
Princeton University
Period:
1912–1916
Year of Graduation:
1916
Country:
United States
Friends with F. Scott Fitzgerald and others while at Princeton.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Edward MacDowell Medal | — | — | The MacDowell Colony | winner |
| 1964 | Presidential Medal of Freedom | — | — | U.S. Government | winner |
| 1966 | National Medal for Literature | — | — | — | winner |
| — | National Book Award (two-time winner) | — | — | National Book Foundation | winner |
Edward MacDowell Medal
1964
Organization:
The MacDowell Colony
Result:
winner
Presidential Medal of Freedom
1964
Organization:
U.S. Government
Result:
winner
National Medal for Literature
1966
Result:
winner
National Book Award (two-time winner)
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Axel's Castle
1931 literary criticism (study of Symbolism)A sweeping survey of imaginative literature (1870–1930), focusing on Symbolism and major writers associated with it.
SymbolismModernismcriticism of individual authors
To the Finland Station
1940 historical/political studyTraces the development of European socialism from early thinkers to Lenin's arrival at the Finland Station in 1917.
socialismintellectual historyrevolutionary movements
Patriotic Gore
1962 literary history/criticism (American Civil War literature)Studies literature of the American Civil War, analyzing representation and literary significance of the conflict.
war literatureAmerican historymemory and representation
I Thought of Daisy
1929 novelA novel by Wilson; noted at the time as his foray into fiction distinct from his critical work.
novelistic techniquecharacter study
Memoirs of Hecate County
1946 short story collectionA collection of short stories, some of which provoked controversy on publication.
modern lifeethics and morality
Bibliography
- Axel's Castle, 1931
- I Thought of Daisy, 1929
- To the Finland Station, 1940
- Memoirs of Hecate County, 1946
- Patriotic Gore, 1962
- The Scrolls from the Dead Sea, 1955
- The Bit Between My Teeth, 1966
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- sharp, erudite critical essaysinterdisciplinary approach combining historical context and close textual analysis
- Recurring Motifs
- lineage of Modernismrelationship between author and zeitgeistintersection of literature and politics
Legacy
Regarded as one of the foremost literary critics of the 20th century. He shaped appreciation of many writers, influenced the American literary canon, and his aim for a Library of America was realized after his death; his works have been included in that series.
Museums
- Edmund Wilson House Talcottville, New York Opened in 1973
Archives
- Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Edmund Wilson Papers)
- University of Tulsa, McFarlin Library Special Collections (papers and private library)
In Popular Culture
- The form postcard 'Edmund Wilson regrets...' became famous as an anecdote symbolizing Wilson's reclusive or brusque refusal of many requests.
Quotes
-
"Dr. Tolkien has little skill at narrative and no instinct for literary form."
Source: The Nation (review), 1956 (1956)
Trivia
- Served as managing editor of Vanity Fair in 1920–21.
- Refused to pay federal income tax from 1946 to 1955 and was later fined after an IRS investigation.
- Axel's Castle is regarded as a landmark study of Symbolism.
- His idea for a Library of America series was realized after his death and his writings were included in the series.