Sven Birkerts (born 21 September 1951) is an American

essayist An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

and

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

. He is best known for his book ''The Gutenberg Elegies'' (1994), which posits a decline in reading due to the overwhelming advances of the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

and other technologies of the "electronic culture." In 2006 he published a revised edition with new introduction and afterword, reflecting on the endurance of reading. Birkerts was born in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...

, and grew up in the metropolitan

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

area. He graduated from Cranbrook School and from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1973. After publishing several well-received books of collected essays on literature, Birkerts was appointed to many prominent editorial and teaching positions. He became the Director of the

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

Writing Seminars, a position he assumed after the death of Liam Rector. Birkerts was the editor of ''

AGNI Agni ( ) is the Deva (Hinduism), Hindu god of fire. As the Guardians of the directions#Aṣṭa-Dikpāla ("Guardians of Eight Directions"), guardian deity of the southeast direction, he is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. ...

'', the literary journal and has taught writing at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

, and

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

. He lives in

Arlington, Massachusetts Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is six miles (10 km) northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, and its population was 46,308 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Europe ...

, with his wife Lynn. He has two children, Mara and Liam. His father was noted architect Gunnar Birkerts, who based his practice in the Detroit area after immigrating to the United States following completion of his architectural degree in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. He was born and grew up in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, leaving as a young man before the Soviet Army occupied the nation in the last days of World War II.

Works

* ''An Artificial Wilderness: Essays on 20th Century Literature''. (1987). New York: William Morrow. * ''The Electric Life: Essays on Modern Poetry''. (1989). New York: William Morrow. * ''American Energies: Essays on Fiction''. (1992). New York: William Morrow. * ''The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age''. (1994). Boston: Faber and Faber. * ''Readings''. (1999). St. Paul, MN: Graywolf Press. * ''My Sky Blue Trades: Growing Up Counter in a Contrary Time''. (2002). New York: Viking. * ''The Other Walk''. (2011). St. Paul, MN: Graywolf Press. * ''Changing the Subject: Art and Attention in the Internet Age''. (2015). St. Paul, MN: Graywolf Press.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Birkerts, Sven 1951 births University of Michigan alumni Harvard University faculty Bennington College faculty Living people Emerson College faculty Mount Holyoke College faculty People from Arlington, Massachusetts People from Pontiac, Michigan Writing teachers Cranbrook Educational Community alumni American people of Latvian descent Writers from Michigan Writers from Massachusetts Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences American essayists