Sontag & Kael

Published in 2004, Sontag & Kael provides a dual biographical and critical study of two of the most influential American cultural critics of the twentieth century. Craig Seligman explores the intersecting careers and contrasting sensibilities of Susan Sontag and Pauline Kael, examining how these two women shaped the landscape of intellectual discourse in the United States through their distinct approaches to literature and film criticism.

Seligman’s work is noted for its sharp, analytical prose and its contextualization of the two critics within the broader post-war intellectual milieu of New York. The book was conceived as a way to untangle the mythologies surrounding both figures, contrasting Sontag’s formal, high-minded intellectualism with Kael’s visceral, populist devotion to cinema. It was generally well-received by literary critics for its clarity and its refusal to simplify the complex professional rivalry and mutual influence that defined the relationship between its subjects.