ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Leo Robson on the Glamour and Craft of Criticism

opinion-review · 2026-06-29

In an interview with Leonard Benardo for The Ideas Letter, British literary critic Leo Robson reflects on the history and nature of criticism. He argues that criticism is a distinct craft, not secondary to creation, and traces its post-WWII flourishing through charismatic figures like Pauline Kael, Kenneth Tynan, Susan Sontag, and Robert Hughes. Robson rejects nostalgia for a lost golden age, noting that critics like Edmund Wilson were not universally recognized in their time. He discusses the critic's job as adjudication through explanation, the rarity of success in both criticism and fiction, and the influence of French theory, particularly Roland Barthes, on everyday criticism. On takedowns, Robson advocates for directness over snideness, citing examples from Hughes, Kael, and James Wood. He observes that the glamour of criticism has attracted new generations, with figures like Martin Amis, Christopher Hitchens, and James Wood reviving interest. Robson is assistant editor at Literary Review and author of the novel The Boys (2025).

Key facts

  • Leo Robson is assistant editor at Literary Review and author of The Boys (2025).
  • Robson argues criticism is a distinct craft, not secondary to creation.
  • He traces criticism's post-WWII flourishing through figures like Pauline Kael, Kenneth Tynan, Susan Sontag, and Robert Hughes.
  • Robson rejects nostalgia for a lost golden age of critical authority.
  • He notes that Edmund Wilson was not universally recognized in his time.
  • Robson defines the critic's job as adjudication through explanation.
  • He discusses the rarity of success in both criticism and fiction.
  • Roland Barthes is cited as the only French theorist with a palpable effect on everyday criticism.
  • Robson advocates for directness in takedowns, closer to rude than snide.
  • He cites examples of takedowns by Hughes, Kael, and James Wood.
  • Robson observes that glamour has attracted new generations to criticism.
  • Figures like Martin Amis, Christopher Hitchens, and James Wood revived interest in criticism.
  • The interview was conducted by Leonard Benardo, vice president for the Open Society Foundations.
  • The interview was published on June 25, 2026 in The Ideas Letter.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • Literary Review
  • The New York Times
  • New Left Review
  • The New Statesman
  • The Ideas Letter
  • Open Society Foundations
  • National Theatre
  • Cahiers du Cinéma
  • The New Yorker
  • Time
  • Partisan Review
  • The Nation
  • The New York Review of Books
  • Vanity Fair
  • Harper's
  • The Village Voice
  • London Review of Books
  • The Believer
  • The New Republic
  • Chicago Sun-Times
  • Columbia Daily Spectator
  • Evergreen Review
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Yale School
  • Kenyon College
  • Louisiana State University
  • Columbia University
  • Vanderbilt University
  • University of Chicago
  • Harvard University
  • Yale University
  • Cambridge University
  • The Telegraph
  • The New York Times (as publisher)
  • The New Yorker (as publisher)
  • Time (as publisher)
  • Partisan Review (as publisher)
  • The Nation (as publisher)
  • The New York Review of Books (as publisher)
  • Vanity Fair (as publisher)
  • Harper's (as publisher)
  • The Village Voice (as publisher)
  • London Review of Books (as publisher)
  • The Believer (as publisher)
  • The New Republic (as publisher)
  • Chicago Sun-Times (as publisher)
  • Columbia Daily Spectator (as publisher)
  • Evergreen Review (as publisher)

Locations

  • New York City
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
  • France
  • Belgium
  • Cuba
  • London
  • Edinburgh
  • Cambridge (England)
  • Kenyon (Ohio)
  • Baton Rouge (Louisiana)
  • New York (state)
  • Nashville (Tennessee)
  • Chicago
  • Harvard (Massachusetts)
  • Yale (Connecticut)
  • Columbia (New York)
  • Vanderbilt (Tennessee)
  • Louisiana State (Louisiana)
  • Johns Hopkins (Maryland)
  • Sardi's (New York City)

Sources

Related stories