Cagey and brainy, Bellow wanted to be the novelist of both the streets and the faculty lounge. Alas, in too much of his work, he serves as a cautionary tale of how schools can open minds but can also sometimes trap the soul.
Jeet Heer, over at The New Republic, offers us a profile of Saul Bellow in the arc from disheartened academe to pretentious clown. As interesting as it is potentially heartbreaking, Bellow’s story may chill those looking to the academy as income in pursuit of art.
