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Jonathan Yardley (born October 27, 1939) was the book critic at ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' from 1981 to December 2014, and held the same post from 1978 to 1981 at the ''
Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Sta ...
''. In 1981, he received the
Pulitzer Prize for Criticism The Pulitzer Prize for Criticism has been presented since 1970 to a newspaper writer in the United States who has demonstrated 'distinguished criticism'. Recipients of the award are chosen by an independent board and officially administered by C ...
.


Background and education

Yardley was born on October 27, 1939 in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
and spent his childhood in Chatham, Virginia. His father, William Woolsey Yardley, was a teacher of English and the classics, as well as an Episcopal minister and a headmaster at two East Coast private schools. His mother was Helen Gregory Yardley. Yardley graduated from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
. There, he was a member of St. Anthony Hall and was the editor of the student newspaper, ''
The Daily Tar Heel ''The Daily Tar Heel'' (''DTH'') is the independent student newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was founded on February 23, 1893, and became a daily newspaper in 1929. The paper places a focus on university news and sp ...
'', in 1961.


Career

After leaving Chapel Hill, Yardley interned at the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' as assistant to
James Reston James Barrett Reston (November 3, 1909 – December 6, 1995), nicknamed "Scotty", was an American journalist whose career spanned the mid-1930s to the early 1990s. He was associated for many years with ''The New York Times.'' Early lif ...
, the columnist and Washington Bureau chief. From 1964 to 1974, Yardley worked as an editorial writer and book reviewer at the Greensboro ''Daily News''; during this time, he was also a
Nieman Fellow The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists A Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, academic year 1968-1969, where he studied American literature and
literary biography When studying literature, biography and its relationship to literature is often a subject of literary criticism, and is treated in several different forms. Two scholarly approaches use biography or biographical approaches to the past as a tool for i ...
. From 1974 to 1978, Yardley served as book editor of the '' Miami Herald''. From 1978 to 1981, he was the book critic at the ''
Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Sta ...
'', receiving a Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism in 1981. In 1981, Yardley became book critic and columnist at the ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
''. Yardley is the author of several books, among them biographies of
Frederick Exley Frederick Earl "Fred" Exley (March 28, 1929 – June 17, 1992)Bruce Lambert''New York Times'', June 18, 1992. was an American writer. His fictional memoir '' A Fan's Notes'' received critical acclaim and awards. He followed it up with two more ...
and
Ring Lardner Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (March 6, 1885 – September 25, 1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings on sports, marriage, and the theatre. His contemporaries Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Wo ...
. His memoir about his family, ''Our Kind of People,'' describes his parents' 50-year marriage and casts a wry eye on the American
WASP A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. ...
experience. He edited
H.L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...
's posthumous literary and journalistic memoir, ''My Life as Author and Editor.'' He has written introductions to books by
Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
, A. J. Liebling,
Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels '' The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and '' Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitz ...
and others. Yardley is known simultaneously as a scathingly frank critic and a starmaker. Among the talents he has brought to public light and championed are
Michael Chabon Michael Chabon ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, DC, he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, gr ...
,
Edward P. Jones Edward Paul Jones (born October 5, 1950) is an American novelist and short story writer. His 2003 novel '' The Known World'' received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the International Dublin Literary Award. Biography Edward Paul Jones was born ...
,
Anne Tyler Anne Tyler (born October 25, 1941) is an American novelist, short story writer, and literary critic. She has published twenty-four novels, including '' Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant'' (1982), ''The Accidental Tourist'' (1985), and ''Breathi ...
, William Boyd,
Olga Grushin Olga Grushin (born June 1971) is a Russian-American novelist. Biography Born in Moscow to the family of Boris Grushin, a prominent Soviet sociologist, Olga Grushin spent most of her childhood in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
and
John Berendt John Berendt (born December 5, 1939) is an American author, known for writing the best-selling non-fiction book ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'', which was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction. Biography Ber ...
. He wrote a famously harsh review of
Joe McGinniss Joseph Ralph McGinniss Sr. (December 9, 1942 – March 10, 2014) was an American non-fiction writer and novelist. The author of twelve books, he first came to prominence with the best-selling ''The Selling of the President 1968'' which describe ...
' book ''The Last Brother: The Rise and Fall of Teddy Kennedy'', saying "Not merely is it a textbook example of shoddy journalistic and publishing ethics; it is also a genuinely, unrelievedly rotten book, one without a single redeeming virtue, an embarrassment that should bring nothing except shame to everyone associated with it." In February 2003, Yardley began a series called "Second Reading", described as “An occasional series in which ''The Post''’s book critic reconsiders notable and/or neglected books from the past.” Every month or so, for the next seven years, he published essays about notable books from the past, many of which had gone out of print or were in some way seen as worth reading again. It was in this series that he gained attention for his highly critical look at ''
The Catcher in the Rye ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is an American novel by J. D. Salinger that was partially published in serial form from 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its themes of angs ...
'' in 2004. A collection of the Second Reading columns was published by Europa Editions in July 2011. On December 5, 2014, Yardley announced his retirement as book critic of the ''Post''.


Publications


Books


''Second Reading: Notable and Neglected Books Revisited.''
New York: Europa Editions, 2011. * ''Monday Morning Quarterback.'' Lanham:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing compa ...
, Inc., 1998. * ''Misfit: The Strange Life of Frederick Exley.'' New York:
Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 1997. * ''Out of Step: Notes From a Purple Decade.'' New York: Random House, 1993. * ''States of Mind: A Personal Journey Through the Mid-Atlantic.'' Villard Publishing, 1993. * ''Our Kind of People: The Story of an American Family.'' New York: Grove Press, 1989. * ''Ring: A Biography of Ring Lardner.'' New York: Random House, 1977.


As editor

*
H.L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...
, ''My Life as Author and Editor.'' New York:
Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
, 1993.


Awards

Yardley was awarded the 1981
Pulitzer Prize for Criticism The Pulitzer Prize for Criticism has been presented since 1970 to a newspaper writer in the United States who has demonstrated 'distinguished criticism'. Recipients of the award are chosen by an independent board and officially administered by C ...
. Yardley has been a
Nieman Fellow The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists A Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University ...
. Yardley was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters by George Washington University in 1987, and a distinguished alumnus award by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989.


Personal life

Yardley is married to biographer/novelist
Marie Arana Marie Arana (born Lima, Peru) is an author, editor, journalist, critic, and the inaugural Literary Director of the Library of Congress. Biography Marie Arana was born in Peru, the daughter of Jorge Enrique Arana Cisneros, a Peruvian-born civil ...
, the former editor of ''Washington Post Book World''. His sons, Jim Yardley and William Yardley, with his first wife Rosemary Roberts, are ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reporters, and William writes for the ''Los Angeles Times'' as well. He and his son Jim are one of two father-son recipients of the Pulitzer Prize.


See also

*
Michael Dirda Michael Dirda (born 1948) is a book critic for the ''Washington Post''. He has been a Fulbright Fellow and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1993. Career Having studied at Oberlin College for his undergraduate degree in 1970, Dirda took an M.A. in 1974 a ...
* Ron Charles


References


External links


Inventory of the Jonathan Yardley Papers, 1792-2006
in the Southern Historical Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill. *
Interview
at Washington Technology

by Yardley at ''The Washington Post'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yardley, Jonathan 1939 births University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Nieman Fellows Writers from Pittsburgh Living people American biographers American literary critics The Washington Star people The Washington Post people Pulitzer Prize for Criticism winners American male journalists American male biographers 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American journalists Journalists from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers