In this impassioned and controversial essay, New Yorker writer Joan Acocella accuses literary critics of obscuring the brilliance of a great American writer and offers a witty and engaging defense of Willa Cather and her work. Joan Acocella’s acute and often very funny critique of the critics untangles Cather’s reputation from decades of politically motivated misreadings, and proposes her own view of Cather’s genius. Serving also as a concise and graceful summary of Cather’s life and work, Willa Cather and the Politics of Criticism is a refreshing plea that books be read for themselves, and will inspire readers to return to one of America’s literary stars.