Benjamin DeMott
Benjamin Haile DeMott (June 2, 1924, Rockville Centre, New York – September 29, 2005, Worthington, Mass.) was an American writer, scholar, and cultural critic. The author of more than a dozen books, DeMott was best known for his cultural criticism in popular magazines and a trilogy, The Imperial Middle: Why Americans Can't Think Straight about Class (1990), The Trouble with Friendship: Why Americans Can't Think Straight about Race (1995), and Killer Woman Blues: Why Americans Can't Think Straight about Gender (2000).[1]
He wrote glowingly of Otis Redding, the Beatles' "Blue Jay Way" and "the supergorgeous Mantovanian Motown Sound", while mocking Marshall McLuhan and Mary Ellmann.[2] One of DeMott's last pieces was a scalding dissection of the 9/11 Commission report that appeared in Harper's Magazine in 2004.[3] His final piece, "Battling the Hard Man: Notes on Addiction to the Pornography of Violence", was published in Harper's in August 2007.[4]
DeMott taught English at Amherst College for more than 40 years.
DeMott was survived by Margaret, whom he married in 1946, and their four children.
References
- ^ Fox, Margalit (October 2, 2005). "Benjamin DeMott – cultural critic, author, professor". The New York Times. SFGate. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ^ Hawtree, Christopher (December 16, 2005). "Obituary: Benjamin DeMott". The Guardian. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ^ DeMott, Benjamin (October 2004). "Whitewash as public service: How The 9/11 Commission Report defrauds the nation". Harper's Magazine. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ^ DeMott, Benjamin (August 1, 2007). "Battling the Hard Man: Notes on Addiction to the Pornography of Violence". Harper's Magazine. HighBeam Research. Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
http://www.firstofthemonth.org/the-uses-of-benjamin-demott-part-1/
http://www.firstofthemonth.org/the-uses-of-benjamin-demott-part-2/
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
 | This article about a United States writer of non-fiction is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1924 births
- 2005 deaths
- Amherst College faculty
- American social sciences writers
- 20th-century American novelists
- People from Rockville Centre, New York
- American male novelists
- 20th-century American male writers
- Novelists from Massachusetts
- 20th-century American non-fiction writers
- American male non-fiction writers
- American non-fiction writer stubs