Michiko Kakutani

Michiko Kakutani Michiko Kakutani is an American literary critic and author known for her long tenure as chief book critic at The New York Times and for influential reviews of contemporary literature. Her criticism shaped public reception of works by novelists and public intellectuals, intersecting with figures from Toni Morrison and Don DeLillo to Colson Whitehead and Philip Roth. Kakutani's career engaged institutions such as Yale University, cultural moments like the rise of postmodernism, and debates involving publications including The New Yorker and The New Republic.

Early life and education

Kakutani was born in New Haven, Connecticut into a family tied to Japan, with parents involved in academia and medicine; her upbringing connected her to communities around Yale School of Medicine and Yale University life. She attended High School of Art and Design and later studied at Yale University, where campus life intersected with programs like the Yale Daily News and extracurriculars linked to theater arts and literary societies that counted alumni such as Garrett Hongo and Martin Fleischer. During her formative years she encountered texts from authors like Vladimir Nabokov, Jane Austen, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and James Baldwin, and she absorbed influences from critics associated with The New York Review of Books and editors at Knopf and HarperCollins.

Career at The New York Times

Kakutani joined The New York Times in the late 1970s, initially working in the copy department before becoming a reporter and later a book critic, a trajectory paralleling critics like John Leonard and reviewers at The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. Appointed chief book critic in the mid-1980s, she reviewed fiction and nonfiction by authors such as Toni Morrison, Don DeLillo, Salman Rushdie, Philip Roth, Alice Munro, Cormac McCarthy, Haruki Murakami, Zadie Smith, Jonathan Franzen, Thomas Pynchon, and Kazuo Ishiguro. Her pieces often addressed books published by houses including Random House, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Simon & Schuster, and Vintage Books, and commented on trends linked to movements like postmodernism, minimalism, magical realism, and the globalizing effects of translation networks exemplified by translations from French literature and Japanese literature. At the Times she engaged editors and colleagues such as A. M. Rosenthal, Jacques Steinberg, Janet Maslin, and cultural commentators affiliated with NPR and PBS programming.

Notable reviews and critical influence

Kakutani's review of Jonathan Franzen's work became emblematic of her capacity to shape careers and controversies, as did her judgments on novels by Don DeLillo and Philip Roth; such reviews sparked responses in journals like The New Republic, Granta, and The London Review of Books. Her negative appraisal of The Bonfire of the Vanities-era successors and positive readings of Toni Morrison's novels intersected with prize committees at the Pulitzer Prize and the Man Booker Prize. She reviewed influential nonfiction by figures like George Orwell, Hannah Arendt, Noam Chomsky, Thomas Piketty, and Malcolm Gladwell, weighing in on debates over subjects also examined by The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and Foreign Affairs. Critics, novelists, and publishers from Jonathan Franzen to Zadie Smith, from Don DeLillo to Kazuo Ishiguro, responded to her prose for its incisiveness; academic discussions in venues such as Columbia University, Harvard University, and Oxford University often cited her perspectives when charting contemporary canons. Her influence extended into conversations about the cultural market that involved Amazon (company), Barnes & Noble, and independent booksellers like Powell's Books.

Awards and honors

Kakutani received recognition for her criticism from institutions such as the National Book Critics Circle and fellowships connected to centers like The New Yorker fellowships and awards associated with journalism organizations including the Pulitzer Prize board conversations and accolades from the Society of Professional Journalists. She was listed among influential critics in lists compiled by outlets such as Time (magazine), The New York Times Book Review, and cultural surveys at Columbia Journalism School. Her work has been discussed in retrospectives at venues including The New School and the Brooklyn Book Festival.

Later career and post-Times work

After leaving The New York Times, Kakutani continued writing and publishing, authoring books and essays that examined topics ranging from political rhetoric to cultural shifts; these projects intersected with publishers such as Grove Press and Knopf Doubleday. She appeared on platforms such as PBS NewsHour, NPR's Fresh Air, and literary festivals including the Sydney Writers' Festival and the Hay Festival. Her later commentary addressed developments involving digital media companies like Google and Facebook, cultural phenomena covered by The Atlantic, and the evolving landscape of literature discussed at institutions such as Yale University and Columbia University. Colleagues and commentators from Michiko's contemporaries to younger critics at The New York Times Book Review and The Guardian have debated her legacy in symposia at venues such as Bard College and symposiums hosted by The New Yorker and The Paris Review.

Category:American literary critics Category:Women literary critics Category:People from New Haven, Connecticut