Alfred Kazin Critical Essay | Alfred Kazin

Critical Review by John L. Brown

SOURCE: A review of A Lifetime Burning in Every Moment, in World Literature Today, Vol. 72, No. 1, Winter, 1998, p. 144.

[Following is Brown's positive review of A Lifetime Burning in Every Moment.]

The paperback edition of the Harper hardcover A Lifetime Burning in Every Moment contains selections from Alfred Kazin's journals, arranged in five sections: 1936–45, 1946–50, 1950–76, 1976–93, and 1993–95. (Unfortunately, the individual entries are not dated, which may create a certain confusion.) The fourth section, dealing with the period of approaching old age, is by far the longest (134 pages).

In spite of his early recognition as an outstanding critic (On Native Grounds was widely acclaimed upon its appearance in 1943, when he was twenty-seven), as a visiting professor at leading universities, as the recipient of numerous awards including the National Book Critics' Circle Lifetime Achievement Award, Kazin has had a troubled life. Beginning with his...
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