In the story of American literature Malcom Cowley stands as one of the most influential yet least understood figures of the 20th Century. A poet, critic, editor, and advocate for writers Cowley helped shape the canon we read today. His work at The New Republic, his editorial guidance at Viking press, and his friendships with literary giants like Hemmingway, Fitzgerald, and Faulkner placed him at the center of American modernism. Yet, Cowley’s own career was marked by exile, reinvention, and quiet determination.
In the new book “The Insider: Malcolm Cowley and the Triumph of American Literature” editor and critic Gerald Howard brings this complex literary life into focus drawing on Cowley’s letters, essays, and archival material. Howard reveals how one man’s sensibility helped to find what we now consider American literature.
