# Arthur Krystal

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**Arthur Krystal** (born December 12, 1947, in [Stockholm](/source/Stockholm), Sweden) is an American essayist, editor, and screenwriter living in [New York City](/source/New_York_City).

## Early life and education

Krystal's parents, Shloime and Mila Krystal, both from Warsaw, Poland, survived [World War II](/source/World_War_II) in Russia and immigrated to the United States in 1952. He attended the [Bronx High School of Science](/source/Bronx_High_School_of_Science) from 1963 to 1965, the [University of Wisconsin–Madison](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Madison) from 1965 to 1969, and [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) in 1970.

After working at a series of jobs, he became a part-time editor at [Basic Books](/source/Basic_Books) in New York City.[1]

## Career

Krystal has written for publications including *[The American Scholar](/source/The_American_Scholar_(magazine))*, *[Harper's Magazine](/source/Harper's_Magazine)*, *[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker)*, *[The New York Times Book Review](/source/The_New_York_Times_Book_Review)*, *[The Times Literary Supplement](/source/The_Times_Literary_Supplement)*, *[The Wall Street Journal](/source/The_Wall_Street_Journal)*, *[The Chronicle of Higher Education](/source/The_Chronicle_of_Higher_Education)*, *[The Washington Post Book World](/source/The_Washington_Post_Book_World)*, *[New York Newsday](/source/New_York_Newsday)*, *[The Village Voice](/source/The_Village_Voice)*, *[The New Criterion](/source/The_New_Criterion)*, the *[Los Angeles Review of Books](/source/Los_Angeles_Review_of_Books)*, *[Sports Illustrated](/source/Sports_Illustrated)*, *[Art & Antiques](/source/Art_%26_Antiques)*, the *[Encyclopædia Britannica](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica)*, and *[Collier's Encyclopedia](/source/Collier's_Encyclopedia)*.[2][3]

His first book of essays, *Agitations: Essays on Life and Literature* (2002) was a finalist for the 2003 [PEN Award](/source/List_of_PEN_literary_awards) for the "Art of the Essay". The essay "When Writers Speak", which appeared in *The New York Times Book Review*, was included in *The Best American Essays 2010*, edited by [Christopher Hitchens](/source/Christopher_Hitchens).

Many of Krystal's essays have stirred up controversy for their insistence that intellectual work not be limited or defined by sociopolitical concerns when executed in good faith.[1][4]

Krystal co-wrote the HBO film *[Thick as Thieves](/source/Thick_as_Thieves_(1999_film))* (1999) and wrote the documentary *[Secrets of the Code](/source/Secrets_of_the_Code)* (2006).

## Bibliography

### Books

- *This Thing We Call Literature*. Oxford University Press. 2016.
- *Except When I Write: Reflections of a Recovering Critic*. Oxford University Press. 2011.
- *The Half-Life of an American Essayist*. David R. Godine, Publisher. 2007
- *Agitations: Essays on Life and Literature*. Yale University Press. 2002.
- Krystal, Arthur (2023). *Some Unfinished Chaos: The Lives of [F. Scott Fitzgerald](/source/F._Scott_Fitzgerald)*. University of Virginia Press. ISBN 9780813950617.

### As editor

- *A Company of Readers: Uncollected Writings of [W. H. Auden](/source/W._H._Auden), [Jacques Barzun](/source/Jacques_Barzun), and [Lionel Trilling](/source/Lionel_Trilling) from The Reader's Subscription and Mid-Century Book Clubs*. The Free Press. 2001.
- *Jacques Barzun, The Culture We Deserve*. Wesleyan University Press. 1989.[5]

### Selected essays

- "Closing the Books" (*[Harper's Magazine](/source/Harper's_Magazine)*, March 1996), recounting Krystal's disaffection with reading, generated many irate responses and was the occasion of a lecture by [Sven Birkerts](/source/Sven_Birkerts) at the [New York Public Library](/source/New_York_Public_Library) (May 1, 1996): "The Time of Reading: A meditation on the fate of books in an impatient age".
- "H. C. Witwer and Me" (*[The American Scholar](/source/The_American_Scholar_(magazine))*, Spring 1998). Reprinted in *Rereadings: Seventeen Writers Revisit Books They Love*, edited by [Anne Fadiman](/source/Anne_Fadiman) (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2005).
- "Who Speaks for the Lazy?" (*[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker)*, April 26 & May 3, 1999) was a clarion call to those who find it hard to get any work done. Reprinted in *The New Gilded Age: The New Yorker Looks at the Culture of Affluence*, edited by [David Remnick](/source/David_Remnick) (New York: Random House, 2000)
- "Why Smart People Believe in God" (*The American Scholar*, Fall, 2001) anticipating the "[New Atheism](/source/New_Atheism)" of the twenty-first century.
- "Easy Writers" (*The New Yorker*, May 28, 2012), a highly controversial piece about the distinctions between literature and genre fiction, elicited a notable response from [Lev Grossman](/source/Lev_Grossman) in *[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))* magazine (May 23, 2012): "Literary Revolution in the Supermarket Aisle: Genre Fiction Is Disruptive Technology: How science fiction, fantasy, romance, mysteries and all the rest will take over the world".[6]
- "What is Literature" (*Harper's Magazine*, March 2014) took issue with *[A New Literary History of America](/source/A_New_Literary_History_of_America)*, edited by [Greil Marcus](/source/Greil_Marcus) and [Werner Sollors](/source/Werner_Sollors), and came down firmly on the side of the literary [canon](/source/Western_canon) while recognizing the socio-cultural biases that inform it.
- "The Shrinking World of Ideas" (*[The Chronicle of Higher Education](/source/The_Chronicle_of_Higher_Education)*, November 28, 2014) or how postmodernism and neuroscience have influenced the teaching of the humanities.
- "Is Cultural Appropriation Ever Appropriate?" (*[Los Angeles Review of Books](/source/Los_Angeles_Review_of_Books)*, July 15, 2017) questioned the validity of the debate itself.[7]

## References

1. Mason, Wyatt (2008-08-20). ["The Books Remain Closed: A discussion with Arthur Krystal"](https://harpers.org/2008/08/the-books-remain-closed-a-discussion-with-arthur-krystal/). *[Harper's Magazine](/source/Harper's_Magazine)*. Retrieved 2020-05-03.

1. ["Krystal, Arthur"](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/krystal-arthur). *encyclopedia.com*. Retrieved 2020-05-03.

1. ["Arthur Krystal, Author at T*he American Scholar*"](https://theamericanscholar.org/author/arthur-krystal/). *[The American Scholar](/source/The_American_Scholar_(magazine))*. Retrieved 2020-05-03.

1. Kurp, Patrick. ["'Literature with a Capital L': On Arthur Krystal's *This Thing We Call Literature*"](https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/literature-with-a-capital-l-on-arthur-krystals-this-thing-we-call-literature/). *[Los Angeles Review of Books](/source/Los_Angeles_Review_of_Books)*. Retrieved 2020-05-03.

1. ["A Company of Readers: Uncollected Writings of W. H. Auden, Jacques Barzun, and Lionel Trilling from The Readers' Subscription and Mid-Century Book Clubs. Edited with an Introduction by Arthur Krystal. Foreword by Jacques Barzun"](http://georgescialabba.net/mtgs/2001/10/a-company-of-readers-uncollect.html). *georgescialabba.net*. Retrieved 2020-05-03.

1. Grossman, Lev (May 23, 2012). ["Literary Revolution in the Supermarket Aisle: Genre Fiction Is Disruptive Technology"](https://entertainment.time.com/2012/05/23/genre-fiction-is-disruptive-technology/). *[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))*

1. Sheehan, Elizabeth Mary (2003-02-02). ["Books in Brief: Nonfiction"](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/02/books/books-in-brief-nonfiction-006890.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Retrieved 2020-05-03.

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