Cozzens, James Gould (Vol. 11) - Introduction

Cozzens, James Gould 1903–1978

An American novelist, short story writer, and editor, Cozzens is known for his moralistic novels of man in society. He rejected sentimentality and romanticism in favor of a more severe realism, but has been criticized for the haughtiness of his upper-class conservatism. Howard Nemerov has called his style the "work of a mind whose cold temper and grim austerity and firm conviction of despair makes existentialists look somewhat cozy and Rotarian, if not evangelical." Cozzens won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for Guard of Honor, and has also received the O. Henry Award. (See also CLC, Vols. 1, 4, and Contemporary Authors, Vols. 9-12, rev. ed.; obituary, Vols. 81-84.)