Michiko Kakutani
Encyclopedia
is an American Pulitzer Prize
-winning critic for The New York Times
and is considered by many to be a leading literary critic in the United States.
, was born in New Haven, Connecticut
, the only child of noted Yale
mathematician
Shizuo Kakutani
. She received her B.A.
in English literature from Yale University
in 1976, where she studied under noted author and Yale writing professor John Hersey
, among others. After graduation she initially worked as a reporter for The Washington Post
, and then from 1977 to 1979 for Time
magazine, where Hersey himself had worked. In 1979, she joined The New York Times
as a reporter.
Kakutani has been a highly influential literary critic for The New York Times since 1983. She is best known for her book reviews. Her harsh critiques of some prominent authors have garnered both attention and, on occasion, criticism. She has been known to write reviews in the voice of movie or book characters, including Brian Griffin
, Austin Powers, Holden Caulfield
, Elle Woods of Legally Blonde
, and Truman Capote
's character Holly Golightly.
criticized Kakutani as a "one-woman kamikaze
" who "disdains white male authors" and deliberately "bring[s] out your review two weeks in advance of publication. She trashes it just to hurt sales and embarrass the author." Mailer also said that New York Times editors were "terrified" of Kakutani, and "can't fire her" because she's "a token," "an Asiatic, a feminist." Jonathan Franzen
called her “the stupidest person in New York.” Franzen has also called her an "international embarrassment." Moreover, in recent years, Kakutani's particularly harsh reviews of books by famous authors (for example, John Updike
's The Widows of Eastwick
) are followed by usually milder or openly positive reviews of the same titles by other Times reviewers.
On July 19, 2007, The New York Times published a pre-release story written by Kakutani about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. An account of the ensuing controversy, including the critical comments of some Harry Potter fans, can be found on the Times Public Editor's blog.
Kakutani was criticized for her alleged overuse of the word limn in her reviews. She was also parodied in the essay "I Am Michiko Kakutani" by one of her former classmates, Colin McEnroe
.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning critic for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and is considered by many to be a leading literary critic in the United States.
Life and career
Kakutani, a Japanese AmericanJapanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
, was born in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, the only child of noted Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
Shizuo Kakutani
Shizuo Kakutani
was a Japanese-born American mathematician, best known for his eponymous fixed-point theorem.Kakutani attended Tohoku University in Sendai, where his advisor was Tatsujirō Shimizu. Early in his career he spent two years at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton at the invitation of the...
. She received her B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English literature from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1976, where she studied under noted author and Yale writing professor John Hersey
John Hersey
John Richard Hersey was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer and journalist considered one of the earliest practitioners of the so-called New Journalism, in which storytelling devices of the novel are fused with non-fiction reportage...
, among others. After graduation she initially worked as a reporter for The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, and then from 1977 to 1979 for Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine, where Hersey himself had worked. In 1979, she joined The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as a reporter.
Kakutani has been a highly influential literary critic for The New York Times since 1983. She is best known for her book reviews. Her harsh critiques of some prominent authors have garnered both attention and, on occasion, criticism. She has been known to write reviews in the voice of movie or book characters, including Brian Griffin
Brian Griffin
Brian Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is voiced by Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family, in a 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Brian was created and designed by MacFarlane himself...
, Austin Powers, Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield is the 16-to-17 years old protagonist of author J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. He is universally recognized for his resistance to growing older and desire to protect childhood innocence...
, Elle Woods of Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic, written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and produced by Marc E. Platt...
, and Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
's character Holly Golightly.
Criticism
Salman Rushdie has called her "a weird woman who seems to feel the need to alternately praise and spank." In a June 2005 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, author Norman MailerNorman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
criticized Kakutani as a "one-woman kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
" who "disdains white male authors" and deliberately "bring[s] out your review two weeks in advance of publication. She trashes it just to hurt sales and embarrass the author." Mailer also said that New York Times editors were "terrified" of Kakutani, and "can't fire her" because she's "a token," "an Asiatic, a feminist." Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen is an American novelist and essayist. His third novel, The Corrections , a sprawling, satirical family drama, drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction...
called her “the stupidest person in New York.” Franzen has also called her an "international embarrassment." Moreover, in recent years, Kakutani's particularly harsh reviews of books by famous authors (for example, John Updike
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
's The Widows of Eastwick
The Widows of Eastwick
The Widows of Eastwick is the final novel by John Updike, author of the Pulitzer-prize winning "Rabbit" series. First published in 2008, it is a sequel to his novel The Witches of Eastwick.-Plot:...
) are followed by usually milder or openly positive reviews of the same titles by other Times reviewers.
On July 19, 2007, The New York Times published a pre-release story written by Kakutani about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. An account of the ensuing controversy, including the critical comments of some Harry Potter fans, can be found on the Times Public Editor's blog.
Kakutani was criticized for her alleged overuse of the word limn in her reviews. She was also parodied in the essay "I Am Michiko Kakutani" by one of her former classmates, Colin McEnroe
Colin McEnroe
Colin McEnroe is an American columnist and radio personality. He currently hosts on Connecticut Public Radio, writes for The Hartford Courant, and hosts a blog, , on the Courant's website.-Early life and education:...
.
Media references
- She was referred to in an episode of the show Sex and the CitySex and the CitySex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
titled Critical Condition, in which Carrie BradshawCarrie BradshawCarrie Preston is the fictional narrator and lead character of the HBO sitcom/drama Sex and the City, portrayed by actress Sarah Jessica Parker. She is a semi-autobiographical character created by Candace Bushnell, who published the book Sex and the City, based on her own columns in the New York...
releases a book that Kakutani reviews. In the episode, various characters deem her name "too hard to pronounce", with character Miranda HobbesMiranda HobbesMiranda Hobbes is a fictional character on the American HBO television comedy series Sex and the City and subsequent movies. She is portrayed by actress Cynthia Nixon.-Character analysis:...
memorably dismissing her when Carrie has an apprehension about her review, stating, 'just don't say her name again; it will drive me over the edge.' - There was a reference to her also in an episode of The OC, for having reviewed a novel based on Taylor TownsendTaylor TownsendTaylor Townsend is a fictional character on the FOX television series The O.C., played by Autumn Reeser.-Personality:...
s fling with a French ex-lover. "So Michiko Kakutani called it a 'sexual epic', which I think is a real stretch." - In the 1981 John UpdikeJohn UpdikeJohn Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
novel Bech is Back, Kakutani profiles the fictional author Henry Bech. - In the Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
skit "The Dakota FanningDakota FanningHannah Dakota Fanning , better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web...
Show," a Kakutani review of a Thomas PynchonThomas PynchonThomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
novel is referenced by Fanning as a part on an ongoing joke that Fanning behaves beyond her years. - Recently, a fictionalized account of her life, entitled, "Michiko Kakutani and the Sadness of the World!" was published in the online and print magazine Essays & Fictions.
External links
- Recent and archival news by Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times.
- Michiko Kakutani Jets In From The Late 1800s To Smack Around Thomas Frank, Jonathan Schwarz
- Pulitzer Prize biography
- "Assessing Michiko Kakutani," Ben Yagoda, Slate, April 10, 2006
- "The Redhead and the Gray Lady," Ariel Levy, New York Magazine, November 7, 2005
- From Books, President-elect Barack Obama Found His Voice, Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times, January 18, 2009
- Mitchiko Kakutani and the Sadness of the World!, Joseph Michaels, Essays & Fictions, August 2011