Brooks, Van Wyck

Brooks, Van Wyck
born Feb. 16, 1886, Plainfield, N.J., U.S.
died May 2, 1963, Bridgewater, Conn.

U.S. critic, biographer, and literary historian.

Brooks attended Harvard University. His Finders and Makers series, tracing American literary history in rich biographical detail from 1800 to 1915, includes The Flowering of New England, 1815–1865 (1936, Pulitzer Prize); New England: Indian Summer, 1865–1915 (1940); The World of Washington Irving (1944); The Times of Melville and Whitman (1947); and The Confident Years: 1885–1915 (1952).

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▪ American critic
born , Feb. 16, 1886, Plainfield, N.J., U.S.
died May 2, 1963, Bridgewater, Conn.
 American critic, biographer, and literary historian, whose “Finders and Makers” series traces American literary history in rich biographical detail from 1800 to 1915.

      Brooks grew up in the wealthy suburb of Plainfield. Graduating from Harvard in 1907, Brooks went to England, where, while working as a journalist, he published his first book, The Wine of the Puritans (1908), in which he blamed the Puritan heritage for America's cultural shortcomings. He explored this theme more thoroughly in his first major work, America's Coming-of-Age (1915), which made a strong impact with its thesis that the Puritan duality that separated spiritual and money matters had resulted in a corresponding split in contemporary American culture between “highbrow” and “lowbrow” publics, neither of which was helpful to the writer.

      Brooks's book The Ordeal of Mark Twain (1920; rev. ed., 1933) was a psychological study attempting to show that Twain had crippled himself emotionally and curtailed his genius by repressing his natural artistic bent for the sake of his Calvinist upbringing. In The Pilgrimage of Henry James (1925), Brooks took a stand against expatriation, arguing that James's later writing was convoluted and inferior because of his too-long separation from his native land. Brooks suffered a mental breakdown from 1927 to 1931. The Life of Emerson (1932), largely written before his collapse, was edited by his friend Lewis Mumford. In Emerson, Brooks found an American writer who had successfully bridged the gap between art and life.

      The “Finders and Makers” series began with The Flowering of New England, 1815–1865 (1936), followed by New England: Indian Summer, 1865–1915 (1940), The World of Washington Irving (1944), The Times of Melville and Whitman (1947), and The Confident Years: 1885–1915 (1952). Criticized by some for seeking in this series a mainstream, essentially middlebrow, cultural tradition free from contradictions and conflicts, Brooks wrote The Writer in America (1953) to justify his position.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Brooks,Van Wyck — Brooks, Van Wyck. 1886 1963. American literary historian, critic, and translator who wrote many books on the literary history of America, including The Flowering of New England (1936), for which he won a Pulitzer Prize. * * * …   Universalium

  • Brooks, Van Wyck — (16 feb. 1886, Plainfield, N.J., EE.UU.–2 may. 1963, Bridgewater, Conn.). Crítico, historiador de literatura y biógrafo estadounidense. Brooks asistió a la Universidad de Harvard. Su secuencia de libros Discoverers and inventors [Descubridores e… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Brooks, Van Wyck —  (1886–1963) American critic and historian …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • Brooks, Van Wyck —    см. Брукс, Ван Вик …   Писатели США. Краткие творческие биографии

  • Van Wyck Brooks — (* 16. Februar 1886 in Plainfield, New Jersey; † 2. Mai 1963 in Bridgewater, Connecticut) war ein amerikanischer Literaturkritiker und historiker, der 1937 für sein Werk The Flowering of New England den Pulitzer Preis für Geschichte verliehen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Van Wyck — can refer to:*Charles Van Wyck (1824 1895), United States Senator from Nebraska*Robert Anderson Van Wyck (1849 1918), the first mayor of New York City after consolidation in 1898*Augustus Van Wyck (October 14, 1850 June 8th, 1922), Supreme Court… …   Wikipedia

  • Van Wyck — steht für: Personen: Charles Henry Van Wyck (1824–1895), US Senator aus Nebraska Robert Anderson Van Wyck (1849–1918), Bürgermeister von New York City Van Wyck Brooks (1886–1963), US amerikanischer Historiker und Pulitzer Preisträger Orte: Van… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Van Wyck Brooks — (b. Plainfield, New Jersey, February 16 1886; d. Bridgewater, Connecticut, May 2 1963) was an American literary critic, biographer, and historian. Brooks was educated at Harvard University and graduated in 1908. The masterpiece of his literary… …   Wikipedia

  • Van Wyck Brooks — noun United States literary critic and historian (1886 1963) • Syn: ↑Brooks • Instance Hypernyms: ↑literary critic …   Useful english dictionary

  • Brooks — /brooks/, n. 1. Gwendolyn, born 1917, U.S. poet and novelist. 2. Phillips, 1835 93, U.S. Protestant Episcopal bishop and pulpit orator. 3. Van Wyck /van wuyk /, 1886 1963, U.S. author and critic. 4. a male given name. * * * (as used in… …   Universalium

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