Palpitations

Philip Larkin’s enormous yes

By James Wolcott,

A connoisseur of doom whose wit refuses to die

By Harper’s Staff,

Hammett’s long goodbye

By James Wolcott,

A deferential biography of literature's Marlboro man

Palpitations

By Harper’s Staff,

The prince of finesse

By James Wolcott,

Nine hundred pages of criticism prove that John Updike is no air-dancing dandy

Palpitations

By Harper’s Staff,

Mooing in the meadows of love

By James Wolcott,

Confessional novels that give real life a bad name

Palpitations

By Harper’s Staff,

Blowing smoke into the zeitgeist

By James Wolcott,

The well-deserved resurrection of Jean Stafford

Palpitations

By Harper’s Staff,

Enter the mummy

By James Wolcott,

Norman Mailer finally gets his Egyptian novel out of his system

Palpitations

By Harper’s Staff,

Rockwell around the clock

By James Wolcott,

Awaiting the great synthesis of rock and classical music

Palpitations

By Harper’s Staff,

Call me Bwana

By James Wolcott,

The subject is Africa and William Boyd writes about it like Evelyn Waugh, only nicer

Palpitations

By Harper’s Staff,

Troubadour of sweat

By James Wolcott,

Muscle-bound and Manhattan-bound

Palpitations

By Harper’s Staff,

The sensitive Plante

By James Wolcott,

Telling without kissing

Palpitations

By Harper’s Staff,

The limits of poetic license

By James Wolcott,

The more you learn about Robert Lowell's life, the less you want to read his poems

Palpitations

By Harper’s Staff,

My Harvard, your mama

By James Wolcott,

Misty memoirs by ivy-covered nostalgiacs who should have known better

Palpitations

By Harper’s Staff,

Naughty old men

By James Wolcott,

Two veteran novelists who can still bounce the bedsprings

Palpitations

By Harper’s Staff,

Stop me before I write again

By James Wolcott,

Six hundred more pages by Joyce Carol Oates

Palpitations

By Harper’s Staff,

Where critics go wrong

By James Wolcott,

The careers of Kenneth Tynan and Otis Ferguson

Palpitations

By Harper’s Staff,

Palpitations

From the Archive

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Philip Larkin’s enormous yes

Palpitations

Hammett’s long goodbye

Palpitations

The prince of finesse

Palpitations

Mooing in the meadows of love

Palpitations

Blowing smoke into the zeitgeist

Palpitations

Enter the mummy

Palpitations

Rockwell around the clock

Palpitations

Call me Bwana

Palpitations

Troubadour of sweat

Palpitations

The sensitive Plante

Palpitations

The limits of poetic license

Palpitations

My Harvard, your mama

Palpitations

Naughty old men

Palpitations

Stop me before I write again

Palpitations

Where critics go wrong

Palpitations

November 1983