Biography
Martin Roger Seymour-Smith (24 April 1928 – 1 July 1998) was a British poet, literary critic, and biographer.<sup>[1][1]</sup>
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Seymour-Smith
Celebrated for his broad range of intellectual interests, his grace as a poet and his sharpness as a critic, Mr. Seymour-Smith was perhaps best known for his ''Guide to Modern World Literature,'' which was published in 1973 and revised and expanded in 1986 as ''The Macmillan Guide to Modern World Literature.'' The book was such a thorough study of 20th-century poetry, drama and fiction that some critics doubted it was the work of one person -- until they read it and found Mr. Seymour-Smith's distinctive voice and deeply felt opinions in every entry.
Mr. Seymour-Smith's whimsical sensibility and relish in not pulling his critical punches could be seen, too, in books like ''Who's Who in 20th-Century Literature'' (1976), in which he offered succinct, pungent analyses of various literary figures. Of Ayn Rand, for example, he said, ''Her crypto-totalitarian and ultra-simplistic ideas have had some influence on the conservatively bred young, since they allow people to be ruthless without a bad conscience.''<sup>[2][2]</sup>
[2]: https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/19/arts/martin-seymour-smith-70-critic-biographer-and-poet.html?auth=login-google1tap&login=google1tap
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Seymour-Smith
Celebrated for his broad range of intellectual interests, his grace as a poet and his sharpness as a critic, Mr. Seymour-Smith was perhaps best known for his ''Guide to Modern World Literature,'' which was published in 1973 and revised and expanded in 1986 as ''The Macmillan Guide to Modern World Literature.'' The book was such a thorough study of 20th-century poetry, drama and fiction that some critics doubted it was the work of one person -- until they read it and found Mr. Seymour-Smith's distinctive voice and deeply felt opinions in every entry.
Mr. Seymour-Smith's whimsical sensibility and relish in not pulling his critical punches could be seen, too, in books like ''Who's Who in 20th-Century Literature'' (1976), in which he offered succinct, pungent analyses of various literary figures. Of Ayn Rand, for example, he said, ''Her crypto-totalitarian and ultra-simplistic ideas have had some influence on the conservatively bred young, since they allow people to be ruthless without a bad conscience.''<sup>[2][2]</sup>
[2]: https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/19/arts/martin-seymour-smith-70-critic-biographer-and-poet.html?auth=login-google1tap&login=google1tap
Books by Martin Seymour-Smith
50 European Novels
50 European Novels
Tea With Miss Stockport; 24 Poems
Un rastro de sentido
Poems of Martin Seymour-Smith
Poems of Martin Seymour-Smith
Dent Dictionary of Fictional C
Dent Dictionary of Fictional Characters
Fifty European Novels
Guide to Mod Wld Lit Gift Pck
Guide to Mod Wld Lit Gift Pck
Guide to Modern World Literature
The bluffer's guide to literat
The bluffer's guide to literature
Literature (Bluffer's Guides)
Literature (Bluffer's Guides)
Robert Graves No. 78 (Bibliographical series of supplements to British book news on writers and their work)