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The Bit Between My Teeth: A Literary Chronicle of 1950-1965
Ex-libris shelf-cocked copy. DJ protected with a plastic cover. Overal=
694 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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About the author
Edmund Wilson
291 books152 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 11, 2025
This is a collection of Edmund Wilson's literary journalism from 1950 to 1965. Most of these articles originally appeared in The New Yorker. The range of his interest and expertise is stunning. This collection includes articles on H. L. Mencken, Shaw, Justice Holmes, The Marquis De Sade, Swinburne, Andre Malraux, James Branch Cabell, cliches, foreign language dictionaries and grammars, Edward Gorey, and Tolkien, as a sample of the articles included.
His work ethic is amazing. If he is going to write an article on W. H. Auden, he rereads all of his poems. An article about visiting an aging Max Beerbohm in Italy becomes the occasion for writing a full re-evaluation of his long career.
He had strong opinions. He considered the "Lord of the Rings" to be unimpressive children's literature. He was not able to understand why people were so enthusiastic about P. G. Wodehouse. (Wilson had no use for silliness) He thought that Trumbull Stickney, who was an obscure poet in 1950 and is completely forgotten now, was "a genuine poet". He casually mentions Somerset Maugham's "penchant for trashy cliche".
He fell for some fads. "Doctor Zhivago" was all the rage when it came out, particularly because there was a noble story about its publishing history, but Wilson got carried away. Doctor Zhivago has not "come to stand as one of the great events in man's literary and moral history." His attempt at political satire using mushrooms, falls flat. (Again, humor was not his strong point)
Wilson has something interesting and inciteful to say in every article. Even when I did not agree with him, I learned something and had to reconsider my judgement. He also aggressively avoids the academic style that has taken over much literary criticism. He is critical of the profession of literary professors. He talks intelligently about authors and books while mostly avoiding jargon and unnecessary theorizing.
It is enjoyable to read an intelligent author who writes clearly and insightfully about literature.
His work ethic is amazing. If he is going to write an article on W. H. Auden, he rereads all of his poems. An article about visiting an aging Max Beerbohm in Italy becomes the occasion for writing a full re-evaluation of his long career.
He had strong opinions. He considered the "Lord of the Rings" to be unimpressive children's literature. He was not able to understand why people were so enthusiastic about P. G. Wodehouse. (Wilson had no use for silliness) He thought that Trumbull Stickney, who was an obscure poet in 1950 and is completely forgotten now, was "a genuine poet". He casually mentions Somerset Maugham's "penchant for trashy cliche".
He fell for some fads. "Doctor Zhivago" was all the rage when it came out, particularly because there was a noble story about its publishing history, but Wilson got carried away. Doctor Zhivago has not "come to stand as one of the great events in man's literary and moral history." His attempt at political satire using mushrooms, falls flat. (Again, humor was not his strong point)
Wilson has something interesting and inciteful to say in every article. Even when I did not agree with him, I learned something and had to reconsider my judgement. He also aggressively avoids the academic style that has taken over much literary criticism. He is critical of the profession of literary professors. He talks intelligently about authors and books while mostly avoiding jargon and unnecessary theorizing.
It is enjoyable to read an intelligent author who writes clearly and insightfully about literature.
December 18, 2010
This is one of my favorite Wilson books.
December 8, 2023
I checked this book out of the library specifically to read Wilson's take on James Branch Cabell, having read on a JBC fan page that even though Wilson had no use for fantasy in general (and his review of Lord of the Rings, in this same collection, dismisses it as a children's book gone ridiculously long) he was forced to admit that, as a writer, Cabell stands in the very first rank. I learned a lot about Cabell from reading Wilson, and finally familiarized myself, too, with an influential critic whose name I've been seeing since I was quite young.
After Cabell and Tolkien, essays on Edmund Gorey, Max Nomad, and Dawn Powell caught my eye, and I do believe I'll read the whole book before I return it.
One observation I'd make about Wilson's assessment of Cabell that really struck me: he characterized this scion of the Virginia aristocracy as being defined by his Southernness. Wilson describes this sensibility as being superficially easy-going and polite, but underlain by an ineradicable conviction that his country has been conquered and occupied by enemies who have no respect for the social hierarchy, and with whose visions of liberty and justice for people who are not Southern aristocrats, the Southern aristocrat shares not a drop of sympathy.
This was written over sixty years ago, but it seems to me that Wilson could have been taking the measure of America today. How could he have known that the South would indeed, one day, rise again?
After Cabell and Tolkien, essays on Edmund Gorey, Max Nomad, and Dawn Powell caught my eye, and I do believe I'll read the whole book before I return it.
One observation I'd make about Wilson's assessment of Cabell that really struck me: he characterized this scion of the Virginia aristocracy as being defined by his Southernness. Wilson describes this sensibility as being superficially easy-going and polite, but underlain by an ineradicable conviction that his country has been conquered and occupied by enemies who have no respect for the social hierarchy, and with whose visions of liberty and justice for people who are not Southern aristocrats, the Southern aristocrat shares not a drop of sympathy.
This was written over sixty years ago, but it seems to me that Wilson could have been taking the measure of America today. How could he have known that the South would indeed, one day, rise again?
April 14, 2015
Literary essays and reviews. Not really my thing, but very well written. Entertaining because the writing is so good, not because I'm particularly interested in the subject matter.
April 6, 2020
Reading any of Edmund Wilson's books of essays on literature is like having a conversation with the best read person on the planet. This one is no different.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews