Why Trilling matters

Lionel Trilling, a prominent literary critic who passed away in 1975, is often considered a figure from a bygone era when literary criticism held significant intellectual weight. Adam Kirsch argues that Trilling's work remains vital for understanding and overcoming the current challenges facing literature. Kirsch explores Trilling's major writings and his place in 20th-century intellectual movements, from Communism to neoconservatism. The book suggests that Trilling's essays, like literature itself, are ends in themselves, offering an inspiring example of a mind engaging deeply with texts.