Morris Dickstein
Morris Dickstein | |
---|---|
Born | cultural historian, professor | February 23, 1940
Employer | CUNY Graduate Center |
Known for | Literary criticism |
Morris Dickstein (February 23, 1940 – March 24, 2021) was an American literary scholar, cultural historian, professor, essayist, book critic, and public intellectual. He was Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at CUNY Graduate Center in New York City.
A leading scholar of 20th-century American literature, film, literary criticism, and popular culture, Dickstein's work has appeared in both the popular press and academic journals, including
Dickstein was a contributing editor to Partisan Review from 1972-2003 and a member of the board of directors for the
Dickstein was the author of several books on American literature and culture, including
On March 24, 2021, Dickstein died of complications from Parkinson's disease at his home in Manhattan at the age of 81.[6]
Early life and education
Dickstein was born in
Initially thinking he would become a journalist or lawyer, during his sophomore year at Columbia Dickstein read Jacques Barzun’s Teacher in America and Lionel Trilling’s The Liberal Imagination. These works convinced him that he could continue to do professionally what he loved to do as a student—read and write about literature. The Liberal Imagination introduced Dickstein to “literary criticism as an art and a calling.”[7] Dickstein graduated from Columbia with a B.A. in 1961 and an M.A. from Yale in 1963. From 1963 to 1964 he studied at Clare College, Cambridge, before returning to Yale to receive his PhD in 1967.[8][9] Harold Bloom directed Dickstein's dissertation, entitled The Divided Self: A Study of Keats’ Poetic Development.
Teaching career
For the majority of his professional career, Dickstein taught in the
Selected works
Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression
Published in 2009 by
Maureen Corrigan at NPR calls Dancing in the Dark “a penetrating work of cultural history” and “a thrill to read” because of Dickstein's “zesty voice” and “lightly worn erudition.”[11] The book was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism.
Leopards in the Temple: The Transformation of American Fiction, 1945 – 1970
Published in 2002 by
References
- ^ Banks, Eric. "Critical Library: Morris Dickstein." Critical Mass: The Blog of the National Book Critics Circle Board of Directors. 3 October 2009. Accessed 1 October 2014 [1]
- ^ ALSCW.org. "Local Meeting in New York City." 19 December 2012. Accessed 10 October 2014. [2]
- ^ LibraryThing. "New York Times Best Book Books of the Year." Accessed 15 October 2014. [3]
- ^ "The National Book Critics Circle Awards, 2009". Archived from the original on 2015-10-18. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
- ^ Mailer, Norman. Cover Quote for Dickstein, Morris. A Mirror in the Roadway: Literature and the Real World. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2005. [4]
- New York, NY. March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
- ^ a b Boynton, Robert. "Between Generations: A Conversation with Morris Dickstein." Minnesota Review 55-56 (2002). [5]
- ^ "News Stories: Alumnus Autobiography". Clare College, Cambridge. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "CV". Morris Dickstein. October 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ Dickstein, Morris. Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression. New York: W.W. Norton, 2009. p. xiv.
- ^ Corrigan, Maureen. "A Waltz Through Depression-Era Art and Culture." 22 September 2009. Accessed 10 October 2014. [6]
- ^ a b Dickstein, Morris. Leopards in the Temple: The Transformation of American Fiction, 1945-1970. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002, p. 4.
- ^ Siegel, Lee. "The Postwar Fate of American Fiction." The Los Angeles Times. 26 May 2002. Accessed 14 October 2014. [7]