{{Short description|American literary critic and author}} {{about||the American judge|Robert Kirsch (judge)}} {{Infobox person | name = Robert R. Kirsch | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth-date|October 18, 1922}} | birth_place = Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|August 16, 1980|October 18, 1922}} | death_place = Santa Barbara, California, U.S. | employer = ''The Los Angeles Times'' | occupation = Literary critic, author <!--

| title = | salary = | networth = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | religion = | spouse = | children = | parents = | relatives = | box_width = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | residence = | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = | education = | alma mater= -->}} '''Robert R. Kirsch'''<ref name="guidetorobertrkirsch"/> (October 18, 1922 &ndash; August 16, 1980) was an American literary critic and author. He was the literary editor of ''The Los Angeles Times'' for more than two decades.

==Early life== Robert R. Kirsch<ref name="guidetorobertrkirsch"/> was born on October 18, 1922, on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York City.<ref name="latimesobit">{{cite news |last1=Thackrey |first1=Ted Jr. |title=Robert Kirsch, Times Literary Editor for 23 Years, Dies in Santa Barbara |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/387134836/?terms=%22Robert%2BKirsch%22 |accessdate=June 5, 2018 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=August 17, 1980|page=43|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }}</ref><ref name="starpressobit">{{cite news |title=Robert Kirsch, 57; Literary Editor for L.A. Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/252412971/?terms=%22Robert%2BKirsch%22 |accessdate=June 5, 2018 |work=The Star Press|page=7 |date=August 18, 1980|location=Muncie, Indiana|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }}</ref> He moved out of Coney Island at the age of 17.<ref name="latimesobit"/><ref name="starpressobit"/> He had two sons, Paul Kirsch, and Jonathan Kirsch, who is a renowned lawyer. He also later had a daughter named Maria Kirsch in his second marriage.

==Career== Kirsch joined ''The Los Angeles Times'', where he was the literary editor for 23 years.<ref name="latimesobit"/><ref name="starpressobit"/> Over the course of his career, he wrote "thousands of columns, book reviews, and essays."<ref name="guidetorobertrkirsch">{{cite web |title=Guide to the Robert R. Kirsch Collection |url=https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt900006rf/ |website=Online Archive of California |accessdate=June 5, 2018}}</ref> He was one of the first critics to praise the works of Joseph Wambaugh and Tom Sanchez.<ref name="latimesobit"/><ref name="starpressobit"/>

Kirsch authored several books about California and Las Vegas.<ref name="guidetorobertrkirsch"/> He used the pennames of Robert Dundee and Robert Bancroft.<ref name="guidetorobertrkirsch"/>

==Death and legacy== [[File:Richmond Hill, Robert Kirsch's bench, American writer and critic.jpg|thumb|Robert Kirsch's memorial bench, Terrace Gardens, Richmond Hill, London]] Kirsch died of cancer on August 16, 1980, in Santa Barbara, California.<ref name="latimesobit"/><ref name="starpressobit"/> A public funeral was held in the chapel of the American Jewish University in Bel Air.<ref name="latimesobit"/> He is the namesake of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize's Robert Kirsch Award for Lifetime Achievement.

==Selected works== *''In the Wrong Rain'' (1959) *''Madeleine Austrian'' (1960) *''The Wars of Pardon'' (1965) *''West of the West: Witnesses to the California Experience, 1542-1906; The Story of California from the Conquistadores to the Great Earthquake'' (1967) *''Lives, Works, & Transformations: A Quarter Century of Book Reviews and Essays'' (1978) *''Casino: A Novel of Las Vegas'' (1979)

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == * [https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w67d4t2g Kirsch, Robert R., 1922-1980] - SNAC

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirsch, Robert}} Category:1922 births Category:1980 deaths Category:People from Coney Island Category:Writers from Santa Barbara, California Category:Los Angeles Times people Category:Deaths from cancer in California Category:20th-century American people