Featured Author: Kenneth Tynan (original) (raw)

Featured Author: Kenneth Tynan From the Archives of The New York Times

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Related Links * Christopher Lehmann-Haupt Reviews 'Kenneth Tynan Letters' (April 26, 1998) * Wendy Lesser Reviews 'Kenneth Tynan Letters' (May 10, 1998)
In This Feature * Reviews of Kenneth Tynan's Earlier Books * Articles About Kenneth Tynan * Articles By Kenneth Tynan

**KENNETH TYNAN IN LONDON, 1950.**Credit: Daniel Farson/ From "Kenneth Tynan Letters"
REVIEWS OF KENNETH TYNAN'S EARLIER BOOKS:

• 'Persona Grata,' reviewed by Leo Lerman (1954)
  "In writing about these chosen people, Kenneth Tynan's prose sometimes cackles rather than crackles; Cecil Beaton's photographs are superb."
• 'Bull Fever' (1956)
  "Mr. Tynan crams into 221 pages more facts, wit and incisive understanding of the fiesta and its participants than most writers could handle in 500. 'Bull Fever' is by far the most intellectually stimulating work of its kind yet published. And it is extraordinarily well-written."
• 'Curtains,' reviewed by Harold Clurman (1961)
  "What makes Tynan that rare phenomenon, a genuine theatre critic, is that he is disposed toward the theatre in the sense that we speak of certain people being naturally musical."
• 'Tynan Right and Left' (1967)
  "[Tynan] raises the right questions even if he does not always come up with the right answers . . . Almost without exception he is readable and stimulating, whatever the subject . . . If he is too interested in himself, there are after all a lot of people who are much less interesting."
• 'The Sound of Two Hands Clapping' (1976)
  "'The Sound of Two Hands Clapping' is a taut, intelligent, sharply written book that should prove once and for all that critics can be just as delightful in their enthusiasms as they can be in their aversions."
• 'Show People: Profiles in Entertainment ' (1980)
  "[W]hat makes these pieces so glittering is that Mr. Tynan has adapted the profile technique to such a variety of ends."
• 'Profiles' (1990)
  "[I]n his feature pieces, Tynan never pontificated or instructed. Rather he commented and informed, enriching his diverse subjects and the era he helped them define with his elegant observations and exquisite prose."
  ARTICLES ABOUT KENNETH TYNAN:
• Adverse Review of Tynan's Book by Mary McCarthy Creates Literary Tempest (October 27, 1961)
  After initially printing Mary McCarthy's biting review of Tynan's book, "Curtains," the London Observer then ran an unusual rebuttal of her review, defending Tynan's work.
• Critic Kenneth Tynan Has Mellowed But Is Still England's Stingingest Gadfly (January 9, 1966)
  This profile was written shortly after Tynan uttered a vulgarity on B.B.C., confirming his continuing ability to shock.
• London Letter (April 10, 1966)
  In an article for the London Observer, Tynan argued that Truman Capote should have brought forth evidence he had obtained that would have helped to establish an insanity defense for the subjects of his book. Capote shot back a vigorous response in the Observer.
• City Officials Consulting With 'Oh! Calcutta!' Staff (May 24, 1969)
  Tynan's revue, "Oh! Calcutta!" which he described as "elegant erotica," attracted the attention of city officials, who had closed another sexually explicit play earlier that year.
• Theater: 'Oh, Calcutta!' a Most Innocent Dirty Show (June 18, 1969)
  Clive Barnes said of Tynan's revue: "This is the kind of show to give pornography a dirty name."
• California, Here Comes Tynan (October 31, 1976)
  Tynan came to America to write a series of profiles for the New Yorker.
• Kenneth Tynan, 53, Dies on Coast; One of Britain's Top Drama Critics (July 29, 1980)
  The obituary of Tynan called him "the greatest theater critic since Shaw."
• Kenneth Tynan -- The Critic As Elegant Conversationalist (August 17, 1980)
  Robert Cushman, the theater critic for the London Observer, pays tribute to his predecessor in that position, Tynan, who "did the job better in all departments than anyone else in our time."
• Dazzling the Killjoys: Kathleen Tynan's 'The Life of Kenneth Tynan' (January 3, 1988)
  The reviewer says that, "In 'The Life of Kenneth Tynan,' Mrs. Tynan shows us the wit, the charmer, the man in whose all-electric company it was impossible to be bored. But her biography is an almost frighteningly judicious work; and she doesn't shirk from observing the narcissist, the poseur, the celebrity-snob and worse, much worse."
• Kathleen Tynan, 57, a Novelist And Her Husband's Biographer (January 11, 1995)
  Kathleen Tynan died shortly after "Kenneth Tynan Letters" was published in England.
  ARTICLES BY KENNETH TYNAN:
• Why London Likes American Musicals (April 13, 1952)
  Tynan says that as a result of movie soundtracks, Americans have come to expect musical cues to clarify dramatic action. British audiences prefer "to reserve music for the embellishment of a frankly artificial narrative."
• Claire Bloom in the Limelight (December 14, 1952)
  In this profile, Tynan traces the development of Claire Bloom's acting technique, praising her "lack of inhibitions."
• Father Said, 'You're Going to Be an Actor' (August 21, 1966)
  Kenneth Tynan talks with Sir Lawrence Olivier about learning from his mentors, playing Shakespearean roles, and forming the National Theater Company.
• Brecht Would Not Applaud His Theater Today (January 11, 1976)
  For years after his death in 1956, Bertrolt Brecht's spirit lived on in the work of his disciples at the Berliner Ensemble. But after spending some time with the Ensemble, Tynan says that that it had devolved into a "badly run musuem."
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