From the Uncollected Edmund Wilson

by Edmund Wilson, Janet Groth (Editor), David Castronovo (Contributor)

Selected and introduced by Janet Groth and David Castronovo Many of Wilson’s writings have been anthologized. But there is another body of work — over fifty fine essays on aspects of contemporary literature and ideas — that have been scattered in a variety of magazines, including The New Yorker , The New Republic , Vanity Fair , and The Nation . The editors, who recognize Wilson (1895-1972) as one of America’s greatest men of letters of the twentieth century, also view his writing as a powerful antidote to late twentieth-century trends and fads and have collected his pieces here in the conviction that Wilson’s writing is a permanently important model. Now a new generation of readers — as well as his loyal followers — will have access to this rich literary heritage in a single volume. The collection is organized chronologically and leads the reader through the journeyman writing at Hill School and Princeton, the essays on literary modernism and contemporary culture written in the 1920s, the socially-focused critiques of the 1930s, and the diverse assortment of book reviews of the late period. Across this full range of moods and literary styles. Wilson is a powerful spokesman for writers and a guardian of imagination and decency for the informed citizen.

412 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1995

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database. See also physicist Edmund Wilson.

Edmund Wilson Jr. was a towering figure in 20th-century American literary criticism, known for his expansive intellect, stylistic clarity, and commitment to serious literary and political engagement. Over a prolific career, Wilson wrote for Vanity Fair, The New Republic, The New Yorker, and The New York Review of Books, shaping the critical conversation on literature, politics, and culture. His major critical works—such as Axel's Castle and Patriotic Gore—combined literary analysis with historical insight, and he ventured boldly into subjects typically reserved for academic specialists, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, Native American cultures, and the American Civil War.
Wilson was also the author of fiction, memoirs, and plays, though his influence rested most strongly on his literary essays and political writing. He was instrumental in promoting the reputations of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Vladimir Nabokov, and many others. Despite his friendships with several of these authors, his criticism could be unflinching, even scathing—as seen in his public dismissal of H. P. Lovecraft and J. R. R. Tolkien. His combative literary style often drew attention, and his exacting standards for writing, along with his distaste for popular or commercial literature, placed him in a tradition of high-minded literary seriousness.
Beyond the realm of letters, Wilson was politically active, aligning himself at times with socialist ideals and vocally opposing Cold War policies and the Vietnam War. His principled refusal to pay income tax in protest of U.S. militarization led to a legal battle and a widely read protest book.
Wilson was married four times and had several significant personal and intellectual relationships, including with Fitzgerald and Nabokov. He also advocated for the preservation and celebration of American literary heritage, a vision realized in the creation of the Library of America after his death. For his contributions to American letters, Wilson received multiple honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His legacy endures through his extensive body of work, which remains a touchstone for literary scholars and general readers alike.

Reviews

[Michael Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is for the Wilson completist.

Edmund Wilson was one of the great 2oth century critics. He wrote on a huge variety of subjects including most of the great authors of the century, the intricacies of socialist thought, and the dead sea scrolls.

Most of his books started out as journalism. He was the literary editor for The New Republic in the 1920s and a regular contributor to The New Yorker from the 40s into the 60s. His approach to literature was to read everything by an author. He was able to clearly explain what an author was up to, what the author was like to read, the strengths and weaknesses of the author and where the author fit in to the broad sweep of literature. His writing was never academic. He wrote the most intelligent type of journalism.

His various collections of essays, which range over huge territory, are probably the best way to start. His diary collections, one for each decade, are very good. His "To The Finland Station" , on the evolution of the concept of socialism, is a masterpiece.

This book is, as promised in the title, a collection of uncollected pieces by Wilson. Wilson was very good at recycling his work. He got paid at least twice, by a magazine and by a book publisher, for most of what he wrote. There are no previously unpublished gems in this collection.

The first section is juvenilia. It is impressive to see that in high school he wrote a well composed interesting essay about an old library.

The articles from the 1920s contain hints of his more mature work. As the editors note, he wrote a dismissive article about Rudyard Kipling. He later wrote a much more nuanced evaluation of him.

Wilson's great intellectual struggle was with Communism. In the early 30s he was very close to becoming a party member. As the decade went on, he became more and more suspect. As always when he was interested in a subject, he did a huge amount of reading on the party. By the 40s, although still a fervent socialist, he had firmly rejected soviet Communism.

The editors of this book decided, for some reason, to order the chapters chronologically, so we get a chapter of pieces from 1932 to 1940, but not to order the pieces within the chapter chronologically. The pieces from the 30s, if read chronologically, are an excellent picture of Wilson's evolution on Communism. Some of them do get awfully deep into the details of Communist theory and Soviet history.

I enjoyed the book but I suspect you would have to have read many of Wilson's other book to get much from this one.

[JerryDeanHalleck · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can see why these Edmund Wilson pieces from the 1910-1960 time period were excluded from the previous collections. Many were written prior to 1925 when Wilson was just starting, and lack the maturity and zing of his later writings. Others from the 1930s and 1940s are explicitly Pro-Communist. Or review books through a Marxist lens. Needless to say, Wilson didnt want these republished in the 1960s.

For example, Wilson attacks Hemingway's play "The Fifth Column", first because its not very good.. But also because it makes the Communists look bad.

Summary - If you are a Wilson completist - read it. Otherwise it can be skipped.

[Jon]

Some of the juvenilia included here is less than great--though the teenage Edmund Wilson was better than most adult critics in any current issue of the NY TIMES BOOK REVIEW--but for the most part this is classic Wilson. If you like his reviews and essays, you'll enjoy this posthumous selection as much as the ones collected during his lifetime in such books as CLASSICS AND COMMERCIALS. Whether he's writing about Hemingway or Trotsky, Wilson's insights and intelligence come through on every page.