Lionel Trilling Critic

Gender: Male
Citizenship: United States
Born: Jul 4, 1905
Died: Nov 5, 1975

Lionel Mordecai Trilling was an American literary critic, author, and teacher. With wife Diana Trilling, he was a member of the New York Intellectuals and contributor to the Partisan Review. Although he did not establish a school of literary criticism, he is one of the leading U.S. critics of the twentieth century who traced the contemporary cultural, social, and political implications of literature. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he has been a subject of continued interest.

The poet may be used as a barometer, but let us not forget that he is also part of the weather. poetry

Probably it is impossible for humor to be ever a revolutionary weapon. Candide can do little more than generate irony. humor

We are all ill: but even a universal sickness implies an idea of health. health

There is no connection between the political ideas of our educated class and the deep places of the imagination. imagination

Immature artists imitate. Mature artists steal. art

We who are liberal and progressive know that the poor are our equals in every sense except that of being equal to us. equality

Lionel Trilling Critic

St. Patrick's Day March 17, 2025